What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Burkina Faso and Kenya?

65 km² per grid cell, with Kenya ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Kenya?

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.

Burkina Faso vs Kenya: Urban area over the long-term

Burkina Faso

1,502 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Kenya

1,567 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Burkina Faso rank

81st

Kenya rank

79th

Urban area over the long-term over time

Burkina Faso
Kenya

How they compare

Kenya currently reports 1,567 km² per grid cell against 1,502 km² per grid cell in Burkina Faso, a difference of 65 km² per grid cell.

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

Burkina Faso ranks 81st and Kenya ranks 79th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Burkina Faso averaged higher in 33 and Kenya in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Burkina Faso	Kenya	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0007 km² per grid cell	0.0006 km² per grid cell	0.0002 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1100s	0.0025 km² per grid cell	0.0021 km² per grid cell	0.0005 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1200s	0.0086 km² per grid cell	0.0072 km² per grid cell	0.0014 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1300s	0.0292 km² per grid cell	0.0243 km² per grid cell	0.005 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1400s	0.0994 km² per grid cell	0.0811 km² per grid cell	0.0183 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1500s	0.3379 km² per grid cell	0.2683 km² per grid cell	0.0695 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1600s	1.15 km² per grid cell	0.9368 km² per grid cell	0.2119 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1700s	3.91 km² per grid cell	3.13 km² per grid cell	0.7795 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1710s	4.42 km² per grid cell	3.66 km² per grid cell	0.7597 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1720s	4.88 km² per grid cell	4.14 km² per grid cell	0.7387 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1730s	5.4 km² per grid cell	4.68 km² per grid cell	0.7196 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1740s	5.97 km² per grid cell	5.26 km² per grid cell	0.7061 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1750s	6.61 km² per grid cell	5.91 km² per grid cell	0.7033 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1760s	7.32 km² per grid cell	6.6 km² per grid cell	0.7176 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1770s	8.11 km² per grid cell	7.35 km² per grid cell	0.7576 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1780s	8.99 km² per grid cell	8.16 km² per grid cell	0.8337 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1790s	9.98 km² per grid cell	9.02 km² per grid cell	0.9584 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1800s	11.08 km² per grid cell	9.93 km² per grid cell	1.15 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1810s	12.31 km² per grid cell	10.9 km² per grid cell	1.42 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1820s	13.7 km² per grid cell	11.91 km² per grid cell	1.79 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1830s	15.27 km² per grid cell	12.98 km² per grid cell	2.29 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1840s	17.03 km² per grid cell	14.08 km² per grid cell	2.95 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1850s	17.59 km² per grid cell	15.24 km² per grid cell	2.35 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1860s	19.65 km² per grid cell	16.99 km² per grid cell	2.66 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1870s	21.96 km² per grid cell	18.91 km² per grid cell	3.04 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1880s	25.03 km² per grid cell	21.23 km² per grid cell	3.8 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1890s	28.51 km² per grid cell	23.79 km² per grid cell	4.72 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1900s	32.76 km² per grid cell	23.79 km² per grid cell	8.97 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1910s	39.81 km² per grid cell	23.79 km² per grid cell	16.01 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1920s	47.09 km² per grid cell	23.79 km² per grid cell	23.29 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1930s	55.82 km² per grid cell	28.78 km² per grid cell	27.04 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1940s	63.86 km² per grid cell	34.55 km² per grid cell	29.31 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1950s	77.65 km² per grid cell	54.96 km² per grid cell	22.7 km² per grid cell	Burkina Faso
1960s	91.08 km² per grid cell	96.08 km² per grid cell	5 km² per grid cell	Kenya
1970s	108.91 km² per grid cell	195.09 km² per grid cell	86.19 km² per grid cell	Kenya
1980s	192.38 km² per grid cell	358.74 km² per grid cell	166.36 km² per grid cell	Kenya
1990s	281.03 km² per grid cell	540.57 km² per grid cell	259.54 km² per grid cell	Kenya
2000s	495.78 km² per grid cell	762.55 km² per grid cell	266.77 km² per grid cell	Kenya
2010s	924.98 km² per grid cell	1,092 km² per grid cell	167.36 km² per grid cell	Kenya
2020s	1,346 km² per grid cell	1,448 km² per grid cell	101.32 km² per grid cell	Kenya

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Burkina Faso or Kenya?: Kenya, at 1,567 km² per grid cell against 1,502 km² per grid cell in Burkina Faso as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Burkina Faso and Kenya?: 65 km² per grid cell, with Kenya ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Kenya?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Burkina Faso and Kenya rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Burkina Faso ranks 81st and Kenya ranks 79th 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.