What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Afghanistan and Bulgaria?

12.65 km² per grid cell, with Bulgaria ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Bulgaria?

108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Afghanistan vs Bulgaria: Urban area over the long-term

Afghanistan

947.56 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Bulgaria

960.21 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Afghanistan rank

96th

Bulgaria rank

94th

Urban area over the long-term over time

Afghanistan
Bulgaria

How they compare

Bulgaria currently reports 960.21 km² per grid cell against 947.56 km² per grid cell in Afghanistan, a difference of 12.65 km² per grid cell.

Across all 108 years both countries report, Bulgaria has been ahead every year.

Afghanistan ranks 96th and Bulgaria ranks 94th of 202 countries.

Bulgaria has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Afghanistan	Bulgaria	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0005 km² per grid cell	0.0017 km² per grid cell	0.0013 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1100s	0.0015 km² per grid cell	0.0057 km² per grid cell	0.0042 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1200s	0.0046 km² per grid cell	0.0182 km² per grid cell	0.0136 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1300s	0.0097 km² per grid cell	0.0587 km² per grid cell	0.049 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1400s	0.0312 km² per grid cell	0.0969 km² per grid cell	0.0657 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1500s	0.0999 km² per grid cell	0.4227 km² per grid cell	0.3228 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1600s	0.3746 km² per grid cell	1.98 km² per grid cell	1.61 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1700s	1.12 km² per grid cell	5.94 km² per grid cell	4.82 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1710s	2.08 km² per grid cell	6.15 km² per grid cell	4.07 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1720s	2.39 km² per grid cell	6.44 km² per grid cell	4.05 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1730s	2.75 km² per grid cell	6.75 km² per grid cell	3.99 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1740s	3.17 km² per grid cell	7.07 km² per grid cell	3.9 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1750s	3.64 km² per grid cell	7.4 km² per grid cell	3.76 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1760s	4.19 km² per grid cell	7.76 km² per grid cell	3.56 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1770s	4.82 km² per grid cell	8.12 km² per grid cell	3.3 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1780s	5.55 km² per grid cell	8.51 km² per grid cell	2.96 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1790s	6.38 km² per grid cell	8.92 km² per grid cell	2.53 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1800s	7.35 km² per grid cell	9.34 km² per grid cell	2 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1810s	8.45 km² per grid cell	11.87 km² per grid cell	3.42 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1820s	9.72 km² per grid cell	15.55 km² per grid cell	5.82 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1830s	11.3 km² per grid cell	20.05 km² per grid cell	8.75 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1840s	13.42 km² per grid cell	26.38 km² per grid cell	12.96 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1850s	15.94 km² per grid cell	34.72 km² per grid cell	18.78 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1860s	18.93 km² per grid cell	44.15 km² per grid cell	25.22 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1870s	22.48 km² per grid cell	56.12 km² per grid cell	33.64 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1880s	27.09 km² per grid cell	81.62 km² per grid cell	54.53 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1890s	33.01 km² per grid cell	116.11 km² per grid cell	83.1 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1900s	40.24 km² per grid cell	134.49 km² per grid cell	94.25 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1910s	49.03 km² per grid cell	181.55 km² per grid cell	132.52 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1920s	60 km² per grid cell	216.64 km² per grid cell	156.64 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1930s	72.73 km² per grid cell	254.69 km² per grid cell	181.96 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1940s	86.64 km² per grid cell	302.15 km² per grid cell	215.51 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1950s	116.91 km² per grid cell	366.7 km² per grid cell	249.8 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1960s	159.84 km² per grid cell	521.23 km² per grid cell	361.39 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1970s	211.91 km² per grid cell	716.24 km² per grid cell	504.33 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1980s	199.12 km² per grid cell	860.44 km² per grid cell	661.32 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
1990s	245.38 km² per grid cell	898.04 km² per grid cell	652.66 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
2000s	379.15 km² per grid cell	903.24 km² per grid cell	524.09 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
2010s	609.39 km² per grid cell	933.12 km² per grid cell	323.73 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria
2020s	851.1 km² per grid cell	957.04 km² per grid cell	105.94 km² per grid cell	Bulgaria

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Afghanistan or Bulgaria?: Bulgaria, at 960.21 km² per grid cell against 947.56 km² per grid cell in Afghanistan as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Afghanistan and Bulgaria?: 12.65 km² per grid cell, with Bulgaria ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Bulgaria?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Afghanistan and Bulgaria rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Afghanistan ranks 96th and Bulgaria ranks 94th of 202 countries.
Where does this data come from?: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Urban area over the long-term
Unit: km² per grid cell
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 202 places, 21,816 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Total built-up area of a country over time.