Definition: Maritime coastal area

Category: Transport

A maritime coastal area is normally defined as a contiguous stretch of coastline, together with islands offshore. It is defined either in terms of one or more ranges of ports along the coastline, or in terms of the latitude and longitude of one or more sets of extremities of the coastal area.

Note: River banks can be included. For some countries, two separate stretches of coastline may be counted as one maritime coastal area, as, for example, the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of Mexico. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/KS-BI-03-002-__-N-EN.pdf