Proposal Description

This session highlights how territorial statistics are evolving to better capture the realities of people and places, and how these innovations are supporting policies that aim to strengthen social cohesion and territorial equality across Europe.

The demand for granular, place-based evidence is increasing, as policymakers seek to understand the spatial dimensions of demographic change, service accessibility, and regional disparities. This session will present three complementary approaches illustrating the potential of territorial statistics to inform impactful, evidence-based policymaking.

Eurostat will showcase recent progress in developing urban and rural statistical indicators aligned with the Degree of Urbanisation and other territorial typologies. These indicators are designed to improve the understanding of urban and rural areas, while providing policymakers with robust tools to tailor interventions that respond to specific local needs—whether in cities, towns and suburbs, or rural areas.

The European Commission Joint Research Centre will explore what helps small towns and villages retain population over time. Drawing on the new concept of functional rural areas and a harmonised EU-wide methodology, this work combines demographic, socio-economic, and services data to identify factors associated with population stability. The findings can support policies aimed at reversing rural depopulation and strengthening resilience at local level.

Statistics Portugal will present a pioneering initiative that measures accessibility to essential services—such as education and healthcare—based on actual travel times. Using a geo-based application that integrates statistical and spatial data, they produce new indicators on territorial asymmetries, enabling a better understanding of how distance and infrastructure influence social inclusion and equal access.

Together, these contributions demonstrate the role of territorial statistics in shaping smarter, fairer policies that respond to people’s lived realities, ultimately improving quality of life and promoting territorial cohesion.