Costa Rica vs Cuba: Urban area over the long-term

Costa Rica
1,053 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Cuba
1,140 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
93rd
Cuba rank
90th

Urban area over the long-term over time

  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
02505007501.0k1.2k100015122025

How they compare

Cuba currently reports 1,140 km² per grid cell against 1,053 km² per grid cell in Costa Rica, a difference of 87 km² per grid cell.

That makes Cuba's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.

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

Costa Rica ranks 93rd and Cuba ranks 90th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 6 and Cuba in 34.

Head to head by decade

Decade Costa Rica Cuba Difference Ahead
1000s 0.0035 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0033 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1100s 0.0113 km² per grid cell 0.0007 km² per grid cell 0.0106 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1200s 0.0371 km² per grid cell 0.0026 km² per grid cell 0.0344 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1300s 0.1213 km² per grid cell 0.0099 km² per grid cell 0.1115 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1400s 0.3971 km² per grid cell 0.037 km² per grid cell 0.3601 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1500s 1.3 km² per grid cell 0.1388 km² per grid cell 1.16 km² per grid cell Costa Rica
1600s 0.0693 km² per grid cell 0.513 km² per grid cell 0.4437 km² per grid cell Cuba
1700s 0.5912 km² per grid cell 1.42 km² per grid cell 0.8271 km² per grid cell Cuba
1710s 0.7206 km² per grid cell 1.73 km² per grid cell 1.01 km² per grid cell Cuba
1720s 0.854 km² per grid cell 2.04 km² per grid cell 1.19 km² per grid cell Cuba
1730s 1.01 km² per grid cell 2.4 km² per grid cell 1.39 km² per grid cell Cuba
1740s 1.2 km² per grid cell 2.81 km² per grid cell 1.61 km² per grid cell Cuba
1750s 1.42 km² per grid cell 3.29 km² per grid cell 1.87 km² per grid cell Cuba
1760s 1.68 km² per grid cell 3.86 km² per grid cell 2.18 km² per grid cell Cuba
1770s 2 km² per grid cell 4.55 km² per grid cell 2.55 km² per grid cell Cuba
1780s 2.36 km² per grid cell 5.38 km² per grid cell 3.02 km² per grid cell Cuba
1790s 2.8 km² per grid cell 6.42 km² per grid cell 3.61 km² per grid cell Cuba
1800s 3.32 km² per grid cell 7.71 km² per grid cell 4.39 km² per grid cell Cuba
1810s 4.06 km² per grid cell 9.35 km² per grid cell 5.28 km² per grid cell Cuba
1820s 4.97 km² per grid cell 11.45 km² per grid cell 6.48 km² per grid cell Cuba
1830s 6.43 km² per grid cell 15.3 km² per grid cell 8.87 km² per grid cell Cuba
1840s 8.43 km² per grid cell 20.59 km² per grid cell 12.17 km² per grid cell Cuba
1850s 10.78 km² per grid cell 28.03 km² per grid cell 17.25 km² per grid cell Cuba
1860s 13.49 km² per grid cell 32.61 km² per grid cell 19.13 km² per grid cell Cuba
1870s 18.41 km² per grid cell 37.9 km² per grid cell 19.49 km² per grid cell Cuba
1880s 24.8 km² per grid cell 44.65 km² per grid cell 19.85 km² per grid cell Cuba
1890s 30.21 km² per grid cell 52.78 km² per grid cell 22.57 km² per grid cell Cuba
1900s 36.09 km² per grid cell 62.51 km² per grid cell 26.42 km² per grid cell Cuba
1910s 39.15 km² per grid cell 91.03 km² per grid cell 51.87 km² per grid cell Cuba
1920s 41.27 km² per grid cell 138.75 km² per grid cell 97.48 km² per grid cell Cuba
1930s 41.27 km² per grid cell 202.01 km² per grid cell 160.74 km² per grid cell Cuba
1940s 49.15 km² per grid cell 249.56 km² per grid cell 200.4 km² per grid cell Cuba
1950s 87.77 km² per grid cell 427.73 km² per grid cell 339.97 km² per grid cell Cuba
1960s 132.09 km² per grid cell 545.7 km² per grid cell 413.62 km² per grid cell Cuba
1970s 208.04 km² per grid cell 712.57 km² per grid cell 504.53 km² per grid cell Cuba
1980s 317.71 km² per grid cell 866.95 km² per grid cell 549.24 km² per grid cell Cuba
1990s 498.08 km² per grid cell 998.33 km² per grid cell 500.25 km² per grid cell Cuba
2000s 712.16 km² per grid cell 1,067 km² per grid cell 355.27 km² per grid cell Cuba
2010s 881.12 km² per grid cell 1,105 km² per grid cell 223.77 km² per grid cell Cuba
2020s 1,015 km² per grid cell 1,135 km² per grid cell 119.99 km² per grid cell Cuba

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Costa Rica or Cuba?
Cuba, at 1,140 km² per grid cell against 1,053 km² per grid cell in Costa Rica as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Costa Rica and Cuba?
87 km² per grid cell, with Cuba ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Cuba?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Costa Rica and Cuba rank globally for urban area over the long-term?
Costa Rica ranks 93rd and Cuba ranks 90th 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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Costa Rica vs Cuba: 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/costa-rica/cuba/

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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.