Belgium vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Urban area over the long-term

Belgium
5,207 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Democratic Republic of Congo
5,799 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Belgium rank
29th
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
27th

Urban area over the long-term over time

  • Belgium
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
02.0k4.0k6.0k100015122025

How they compare

Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 5,799 km² per grid cell against 5,207 km² per grid cell in Belgium, a difference of 592 km² per grid cell.

That makes Democratic Republic of Congo's figure about 1.1 times Belgium's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Belgium ahead.

Belgium ranks 29th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 27th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 39 and Democratic Republic of Congo in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Belgium Democratic Republic of Congo Difference Ahead
1000s 9.44 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 9.44 km² per grid cell Belgium
1100s 38.17 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 38.17 km² per grid cell Belgium
1200s 59.77 km² per grid cell 0.0006 km² per grid cell 59.77 km² per grid cell Belgium
1300s 85.51 km² per grid cell 0.002 km² per grid cell 85.51 km² per grid cell Belgium
1400s 86.66 km² per grid cell 0.0071 km² per grid cell 86.65 km² per grid cell Belgium
1500s 147.91 km² per grid cell 0.0242 km² per grid cell 147.88 km² per grid cell Belgium
1600s 176.82 km² per grid cell 0.0773 km² per grid cell 176.74 km² per grid cell Belgium
1700s 219.51 km² per grid cell 0.2455 km² per grid cell 219.26 km² per grid cell Belgium
1710s 227.67 km² per grid cell 0.478 km² per grid cell 227.19 km² per grid cell Belgium
1720s 233.6 km² per grid cell 0.6475 km² per grid cell 232.95 km² per grid cell Belgium
1730s 237.28 km² per grid cell 0.8767 km² per grid cell 236.4 km² per grid cell Belgium
1740s 238.7 km² per grid cell 1.19 km² per grid cell 237.51 km² per grid cell Belgium
1750s 237.83 km² per grid cell 1.61 km² per grid cell 236.23 km² per grid cell Belgium
1760s 252.73 km² per grid cell 2.17 km² per grid cell 250.56 km² per grid cell Belgium
1770s 267.6 km² per grid cell 2.94 km² per grid cell 264.66 km² per grid cell Belgium
1780s 282.45 km² per grid cell 3.98 km² per grid cell 278.47 km² per grid cell Belgium
1790s 297.27 km² per grid cell 5.38 km² per grid cell 291.89 km² per grid cell Belgium
1800s 312.08 km² per grid cell 7.27 km² per grid cell 304.8 km² per grid cell Belgium
1810s 398.66 km² per grid cell 9.83 km² per grid cell 388.83 km² per grid cell Belgium
1820s 492.42 km² per grid cell 13.29 km² per grid cell 479.13 km² per grid cell Belgium
1830s 616.78 km² per grid cell 17.96 km² per grid cell 598.82 km² per grid cell Belgium
1840s 705.58 km² per grid cell 24.26 km² per grid cell 681.32 km² per grid cell Belgium
1850s 846.07 km² per grid cell 32.78 km² per grid cell 813.29 km² per grid cell Belgium
1860s 1,004 km² per grid cell 43.95 km² per grid cell 960.4 km² per grid cell Belgium
1870s 1,173 km² per grid cell 62.43 km² per grid cell 1,110 km² per grid cell Belgium
1880s 1,412 km² per grid cell 89.81 km² per grid cell 1,322 km² per grid cell Belgium
1890s 1,682 km² per grid cell 125.1 km² per grid cell 1,557 km² per grid cell Belgium
1900s 1,998 km² per grid cell 157.09 km² per grid cell 1,841 km² per grid cell Belgium
1910s 2,377 km² per grid cell 183.38 km² per grid cell 2,194 km² per grid cell Belgium
1920s 2,553 km² per grid cell 209.64 km² per grid cell 2,344 km² per grid cell Belgium
1930s 2,946 km² per grid cell 261.52 km² per grid cell 2,684 km² per grid cell Belgium
1940s 3,221 km² per grid cell 295.5 km² per grid cell 2,925 km² per grid cell Belgium
1950s 3,643 km² per grid cell 368.88 km² per grid cell 3,274 km² per grid cell Belgium
1960s 3,938 km² per grid cell 514.61 km² per grid cell 3,424 km² per grid cell Belgium
1970s 4,162 km² per grid cell 753.37 km² per grid cell 3,409 km² per grid cell Belgium
1980s 4,280 km² per grid cell 958.45 km² per grid cell 3,321 km² per grid cell Belgium
1990s 4,435 km² per grid cell 1,351 km² per grid cell 3,084 km² per grid cell Belgium
2000s 4,635 km² per grid cell 2,085 km² per grid cell 2,550 km² per grid cell Belgium
2010s 4,919 km² per grid cell 3,606 km² per grid cell 1,313 km² per grid cell Belgium
2020s 5,140 km² per grid cell 5,258 km² per grid cell 118.24 km² per grid cell Democratic Republic of Congo

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Belgium or Democratic Republic of Congo?
Democratic Republic of Congo, at 5,799 km² per grid cell against 5,207 km² per grid cell in Belgium as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Belgium and Democratic Republic of Congo?
592 km² per grid cell, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Democratic Republic of Congo?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Belgium and Democratic Republic of Congo rank globally for urban area over the long-term?
Belgium ranks 29th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 27th 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.

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Belgium vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-area-long-term/belgium/congo-dem-rep/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-area-long-term/belgium/congo-dem-rep/">Belgium vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Urban area over the long-term</a> — Statizoid

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

Total built-up area of a country over time.