NUTSRegionen

NUTSRegionen, or NUTS regions, is a geographical nomenclature of territorial units for statistics established by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. This system divides the EU's territory into a progressively finer hierarchy of regions at three different levels: NUTS 1, NUTS 2, and NUTS 3. The primary purpose of NUTS is to provide a common, harmonized classification of regional administrative units across all member states for the production of comparable regional statistics.

NUTS 1 regions represent the largest administrative divisions, often corresponding to major countries or groups of countries within larger member states. NUTS 2 regions are typically the primary sub-national administrative divisions used for implementing regional policy, such as the allocation of structural and cohesion funds. NUTS 3 regions are the smallest territorial units in the classification, generally representing sub-provincial areas.

The specific boundaries and names of NUTS regions are defined by Eurostat in agreement with each member state. While the NUTS classification aims for comparability, it's important to note that the size and population of NUTS regions can vary significantly between and within member states due to historical, administrative, and geographical differences. The NUTS classification is essential for many EU policy areas, including economic and social cohesion, as well as for research and analysis of regional disparities.