NUTS Finder

NUTS regional breakdown (EU statistical territorial units)

NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) is the EU classification that divides countries into comparable statistical regions. The NUTS 2024 classification is valid from 1 Jan 2024 and includes 92 regions at NUTS 1, 244 regions at NUTS 2, and 1,165 regions at NUTS 3.

NUTS is widely used in EU statistics, public reporting, and regional benchmarking.

Three levels

• NUTS 1: large socio-economic regions (coarse regional breakdown).
• NUTS 2: “basic regions” for regional and cohesion policy analysis (eligibility and general comparisons).
• NUTS 3: smaller regions for more detailed analysis (regional diagnostics and finer statistics).

Below NUTS levels, many countries use LAU (Local Administrative Units), which correspond to local administrative entities (e.g., municipalities). This is often relevant when the place of performance needs to be specified more precisely than NUTS 3.

Why NUTS matters in public procurement

NUTS is not just statistics: it appears directly in procurement notices and data analysis.

Regional codes in procurement notices (HILMA/TED/eForms)

EU notices (TED/eForms) use official code lists that include NUTS. In Finnish HILMA guidance, NUTS codes are typically used at least for:

• the contracting authority’s region code
• place of performance
• supplier region code (in some notices / datasets).

Market and competition analysis

When procurements are analyzed as regional markets (e.g., supplier landscape or competition intensity), NUTS provides a consistent regional breakdown across countries. This supports, for example:

• comparing bid activity and competition density by region
• supplier coverage analysis (where there are “gaps”)
• regional profiles of procurement volume, value, and sectors.

EU regional and cohesion policy

Eligibility and regional development comparisons in cohesion policy are traditionally assessed at NUTS 2 level, making NUTS 2 regions a key reference point when procurement ties into EU funding or regional development programs.

Principles of the NUTS classification (practical interpretation for procurement)

NUTS is built on three principles:

• Preference for administrative boundaries: the regional breakdown typically mirrors national administrative divisions so data and implementation are practical.
• Comparability via population thresholds: guidance thresholds exist for each level (NUTS 1: 3–7M, NUTS 2: 0.8–3M, NUTS 3: 0.15–0.8M) to keep regions broadly comparable in scale.
• Stability: the classification is typically updated at most every 3 years, usually reflecting national administrative reforms.

Example: Finland (codes “FI…”)

Finnish NUTS codes start with FI, and level names/codes can change with revisions. Statistics Finland maintains the NUTS 2024 classification (valid 2024–2026) and change notes. A common example in notices and analysis is Lappi, which appears at NUTS 3 level with code FI1D7.

Viran context

A clear explanation and quick lookup of NUTS/LAU codes acts as a “micro tool” that reduces friction in notice publishing and data work while attracting recurring organic usage (search intent is often concrete: “which NUTS code is this?”). This aligns directly with Viran’s low-friction utility tools and early PLG-style distribution.