Burundi vs Rwanda: Urban area over the long-term

Burundi
390.75 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Rwanda
369.67 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Burundi rank
137th
Rwanda rank
138th

Urban area over the long-term over time

  • Burundi
  • Rwanda
0100200300400100015122025

How they compare

Burundi currently reports 390.75 km² per grid cell against 369.67 km² per grid cell in Rwanda, a difference of 21.08 km² per grid cell.

That makes Burundi's figure about 1.1 times Rwanda's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Burundi ahead.

Burundi ranks 137th and Rwanda ranks 138th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Burundi averaged higher in 38 and Rwanda in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Burundi Rwanda Difference Ahead
1000s 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell Burundi
1100s 0.0005 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0003 km² per grid cell Burundi
1200s 0.0018 km² per grid cell 0.0009 km² per grid cell 0.001 km² per grid cell Burundi
1300s 0.0064 km² per grid cell 0.003 km² per grid cell 0.0033 km² per grid cell Burundi
1400s 0.0216 km² per grid cell 0.0103 km² per grid cell 0.0113 km² per grid cell Burundi
1500s 0.0721 km² per grid cell 0.0345 km² per grid cell 0.0376 km² per grid cell Burundi
1600s 0.2344 km² per grid cell 0.1121 km² per grid cell 0.1223 km² per grid cell Burundi
1700s 0.709 km² per grid cell 0.3391 km² per grid cell 0.3699 km² per grid cell Burundi
1710s 0.8223 km² per grid cell 0.4046 km² per grid cell 0.4177 km² per grid cell Burundi
1720s 0.9249 km² per grid cell 0.4661 km² per grid cell 0.4588 km² per grid cell Burundi
1730s 1.04 km² per grid cell 0.5337 km² per grid cell 0.5027 km² per grid cell Burundi
1740s 1.16 km² per grid cell 0.6076 km² per grid cell 0.5496 km² per grid cell Burundi
1750s 1.29 km² per grid cell 0.688 km² per grid cell 0.5994 km² per grid cell Burundi
1760s 1.43 km² per grid cell 0.7752 km² per grid cell 0.6522 km² per grid cell Burundi
1770s 1.58 km² per grid cell 0.8693 km² per grid cell 0.708 km² per grid cell Burundi
1780s 1.74 km² per grid cell 0.9705 km² per grid cell 0.7668 km² per grid cell Burundi
1790s 1.91 km² per grid cell 1.08 km² per grid cell 0.8286 km² per grid cell Burundi
1800s 2.09 km² per grid cell 1.2 km² per grid cell 0.8934 km² per grid cell Burundi
1810s 2.28 km² per grid cell 1.32 km² per grid cell 0.9615 km² per grid cell Burundi
1820s 2.48 km² per grid cell 1.45 km² per grid cell 1.03 km² per grid cell Burundi
1830s 2.7 km² per grid cell 1.59 km² per grid cell 1.11 km² per grid cell Burundi
1840s 2.93 km² per grid cell 1.74 km² per grid cell 1.19 km² per grid cell Burundi
1850s 3.17 km² per grid cell 1.9 km² per grid cell 1.27 km² per grid cell Burundi
1860s 3.54 km² per grid cell 2.02 km² per grid cell 1.52 km² per grid cell Burundi
1870s 3.95 km² per grid cell 2.14 km² per grid cell 1.81 km² per grid cell Burundi
1880s 4.45 km² per grid cell 2.28 km² per grid cell 2.18 km² per grid cell Burundi
1890s 5.02 km² per grid cell 2.49 km² per grid cell 2.53 km² per grid cell Burundi
1900s 5.02 km² per grid cell 2.49 km² per grid cell 2.53 km² per grid cell Burundi
1910s 5.02 km² per grid cell 2.49 km² per grid cell 2.53 km² per grid cell Burundi
1920s 5.02 km² per grid cell 2.49 km² per grid cell 2.53 km² per grid cell Burundi
1930s 6.03 km² per grid cell 2.96 km² per grid cell 3.07 km² per grid cell Burundi
1940s 7.31 km² per grid cell 3.59 km² per grid cell 3.72 km² per grid cell Burundi
1950s 10.66 km² per grid cell 5.85 km² per grid cell 4.81 km² per grid cell Burundi
1960s 14.51 km² per grid cell 9.79 km² per grid cell 4.72 km² per grid cell Burundi
1970s 23.56 km² per grid cell 18.42 km² per grid cell 5.14 km² per grid cell Burundi
1980s 47.39 km² per grid cell 32.54 km² per grid cell 14.85 km² per grid cell Burundi
1990s 80.67 km² per grid cell 53.87 km² per grid cell 26.8 km² per grid cell Burundi
2000s 130.46 km² per grid cell 141.65 km² per grid cell 11.19 km² per grid cell Rwanda
2010s 234.01 km² per grid cell 242.17 km² per grid cell 8.16 km² per grid cell Rwanda
2020s 351.18 km² per grid cell 336.42 km² per grid cell 14.76 km² per grid cell Burundi

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Burundi or Rwanda?
Burundi, at 390.75 km² per grid cell against 369.67 km² per grid cell in Rwanda as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Burundi and Rwanda?
21.08 km² per grid cell, with Burundi ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Burundi and Rwanda?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Burundi and Rwanda rank globally for urban area over the long-term?
Burundi ranks 137th and Rwanda ranks 138th 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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Burundi vs Rwanda: 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/burundi/rwanda/

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<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-area-long-term/burundi/rwanda/">Burundi vs Rwanda: 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.