What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Canada and South Africa?

881 km² per grid cell, with Canada ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and South Africa?

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.

Canada vs South Africa: Urban area over the long-term

Canada

9,053 km² per grid cell

in 2025

South Africa

8,172 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Canada rank

15th

South Africa rank

18th

Urban area over the long-term over time

Canada
South Africa

How they compare

Canada currently reports 9,053 km² per grid cell against 8,172 km² per grid cell in South Africa, a difference of 881 km² per grid cell.

That makes Canada's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

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

Canada ranks 15th and South Africa ranks 18th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 24 and South Africa in 16.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Canada	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0006 km² per grid cell	0.0026 km² per grid cell	0.002 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1100s	0.0023 km² per grid cell	0.0093 km² per grid cell	0.0071 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1200s	0.0079 km² per grid cell	0.0326 km² per grid cell	0.0247 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1300s	0.0271 km² per grid cell	0.1118 km² per grid cell	0.0846 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1400s	0.0916 km² per grid cell	0.3772 km² per grid cell	0.2856 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1500s	0.3052 km² per grid cell	1.26 km² per grid cell	0.9521 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1600s	0.9156 km² per grid cell	4.4 km² per grid cell	3.49 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1700s	2.75 km² per grid cell	18.86 km² per grid cell	16.11 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1710s	3.1 km² per grid cell	20.92 km² per grid cell	17.82 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1720s	4.2 km² per grid cell	22.88 km² per grid cell	18.68 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1730s	5.71 km² per grid cell	24.75 km² per grid cell	19.04 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1740s	7.8 km² per grid cell	26.53 km² per grid cell	18.74 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1750s	10.66 km² per grid cell	28.22 km² per grid cell	17.55 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1760s	14.62 km² per grid cell	29.81 km² per grid cell	15.19 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1770s	20.09 km² per grid cell	31.31 km² per grid cell	11.22 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1780s	27.65 km² per grid cell	32.71 km² per grid cell	5.06 km² per grid cell	South Africa
1790s	38.11 km² per grid cell	34.03 km² per grid cell	4.08 km² per grid cell	Canada
1800s	52.53 km² per grid cell	35.25 km² per grid cell	17.28 km² per grid cell	Canada
1810s	72.23 km² per grid cell	36.38 km² per grid cell	35.85 km² per grid cell	Canada
1820s	99.52 km² per grid cell	37.41 km² per grid cell	62.11 km² per grid cell	Canada
1830s	135.4 km² per grid cell	38.35 km² per grid cell	97.05 km² per grid cell	Canada
1840s	180.25 km² per grid cell	39.19 km² per grid cell	141.06 km² per grid cell	Canada
1850s	232.59 km² per grid cell	48.2 km² per grid cell	184.39 km² per grid cell	Canada
1860s	339.51 km² per grid cell	61.75 km² per grid cell	277.76 km² per grid cell	Canada
1870s	387.76 km² per grid cell	84.07 km² per grid cell	303.69 km² per grid cell	Canada
1880s	442.36 km² per grid cell	166.07 km² per grid cell	276.3 km² per grid cell	Canada
1890s	487.17 km² per grid cell	193.06 km² per grid cell	294.11 km² per grid cell	Canada
1900s	531.7 km² per grid cell	237.22 km² per grid cell	294.48 km² per grid cell	Canada
1910s	749.95 km² per grid cell	298.57 km² per grid cell	451.38 km² per grid cell	Canada
1920s	926.64 km² per grid cell	331.84 km² per grid cell	594.8 km² per grid cell	Canada
1930s	1,209 km² per grid cell	397.13 km² per grid cell	811.46 km² per grid cell	Canada
1940s	1,452 km² per grid cell	487.77 km² per grid cell	964.35 km² per grid cell	Canada
1950s	2,154 km² per grid cell	1,057 km² per grid cell	1,097 km² per grid cell	Canada
1960s	3,088 km² per grid cell	1,477 km² per grid cell	1,611 km² per grid cell	Canada
1970s	3,924 km² per grid cell	2,038 km² per grid cell	1,886 km² per grid cell	Canada
1980s	4,586 km² per grid cell	2,840 km² per grid cell	1,746 km² per grid cell	Canada
1990s	5,485 km² per grid cell	4,087 km² per grid cell	1,398 km² per grid cell	Canada
2000s	6,472 km² per grid cell	5,352 km² per grid cell	1,120 km² per grid cell	Canada
2010s	7,642 km² per grid cell	6,693 km² per grid cell	949 km² per grid cell	Canada
2020s	8,714 km² per grid cell	7,835 km² per grid cell	879.35 km² per grid cell	Canada

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Canada or South Africa?: Canada, at 9,053 km² per grid cell against 8,172 km² per grid cell in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Canada and South Africa?: 881 km² per grid cell, with Canada ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and South Africa?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Canada and South Africa rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Canada ranks 15th and South Africa ranks 18th 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.