On 1 January 2011, the largest proportion of the population lived in urban regions in nine Member States, in intermediate regions in seven and in rural regions in ten. In France, the share of the population living in urban and intermediate regions was equal.
The largest shares of the population living in urban regions were recorded in Malta (100% of the population), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (both 71%) and Belgium (68%). Luxembourg and Cyprus are each considered as one NUTS 3 region and were classified as intermediate. With the exception of these two Member States, the largest proportions of the population living in intermediate regions were observed in Sweden (56%), Estonia (52%) and Bulgaria (45%). The largest shares of the population living in rural areas were registered in Ireland (73%), Slovakia (50%), Estonia (48%) and Hungary (47%).
Fastest urban population growth in Sweden and Denmark in 2010
In the EU27 in 2010, the population of urban regions grew by 5.2 per 1000 inhabitants and intermediate regions by 2.2‰, while rural regions decreased by 0.8‰. In nearly all Member States, it was in urban regions that the population grew most rapidly. Ireland was an exception with growth in its rural population, while the urban population declined. The highest population growth in urban regions in 2010 was observed in Sweden (+17.3 per 1000 inhabitants), Denmark (+15.0‰), the Czech Republic (+10.2‰) and Finland (+10.0‰). Lithuania (-13.6‰), Ireland (-5.7‰) and Latvia (-5.4‰) recorded a decrease in their urban populations.
The rural population rose in ten Member states and fell in fourteen. The largest increases were registered in Belgium (+7.3‰ in 2009), Ireland (+6.1‰) and France (+5.1‰ in 2009), and the largest decreases in Lithuania(-31.6‰), Bulgaria (-13.2‰) and Latvia (-11.6‰).
