Statistical Sectors of Belgium, NIS, October 2001

The term 'statistical sector' was introduced in 1970 by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). Previously, the municipality was the smallest administrative entity for which socio-economic data were available. Statistical sectors shall classify the territory on the basis of morphological and/or socio-economic characteristics. The delimitation of statistical sectors usually coincides with elements clearly recognisable in the landscape or administrative/administrative divisions. Many inventories are generalised to information at the level of the statistical sector. This data product contains the official statistical sectors defined by the NIS in October 2001.