What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Ecuador and New Zealand?

112 km² per grid cell, with New Zealand ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Ecuador and New Zealand?

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.

Ecuador vs New Zealand: Urban area over the long-term

Ecuador

2,359 km² per grid cell

in 2025

New Zealand

2,471 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Ecuador rank

53rd

New Zealand rank

51st

Urban area over the long-term over time

Ecuador
New Zealand

How they compare

New Zealand currently reports 2,471 km² per grid cell against 2,359 km² per grid cell in Ecuador, a difference of 112 km² per grid cell.

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

Ecuador ranks 53rd and New Zealand ranks 51st of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Ecuador averaged higher in 13 and New Zealand in 27.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Ecuador	New Zealand	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0024 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.0024 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1100s	0.008 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.008 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1200s	0.0261 km² per grid cell	0.001 km² per grid cell	0.0251 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1300s	0.085 km² per grid cell	0.0038 km² per grid cell	0.0812 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1400s	0.2745 km² per grid cell	0.0113 km² per grid cell	0.2631 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1500s	0.8823 km² per grid cell	0.1276 km² per grid cell	0.7547 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1600s	2.21 km² per grid cell	0.4711 km² per grid cell	1.73 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1700s	6.61 km² per grid cell	1.15 km² per grid cell	5.46 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1710s	7.45 km² per grid cell	3.28 km² per grid cell	4.17 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1720s	8.16 km² per grid cell	5.25 km² per grid cell	2.91 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1730s	8.93 km² per grid cell	7.05 km² per grid cell	1.88 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1740s	9.79 km² per grid cell	8.73 km² per grid cell	1.05 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1750s	10.72 km² per grid cell	10.32 km² per grid cell	0.4023 km² per grid cell	Ecuador
1760s	11.74 km² per grid cell	11.85 km² per grid cell	0.1048 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1770s	12.86 km² per grid cell	13.35 km² per grid cell	0.49 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1780s	14.09 km² per grid cell	14.86 km² per grid cell	0.7738 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1790s	15.43 km² per grid cell	16.4 km² per grid cell	0.9749 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1800s	16.9 km² per grid cell	17.97 km² per grid cell	1.07 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1810s	18.51 km² per grid cell	19.52 km² per grid cell	1.02 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1820s	20.25 km² per grid cell	24.83 km² per grid cell	4.59 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1830s	27.61 km² per grid cell	31.42 km² per grid cell	3.8 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1840s	34.23 km² per grid cell	39.57 km² per grid cell	5.33 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1850s	41.87 km² per grid cell	49.64 km² per grid cell	7.77 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1860s	48.92 km² per grid cell	62.08 km² per grid cell	13.16 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1870s	54.2 km² per grid cell	77.42 km² per grid cell	23.22 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1880s	58.85 km² per grid cell	96.31 km² per grid cell	37.46 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1890s	58.88 km² per grid cell	144.67 km² per grid cell	85.79 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1900s	58.88 km² per grid cell	201.67 km² per grid cell	142.78 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1910s	60 km² per grid cell	267.64 km² per grid cell	207.64 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1920s	62.07 km² per grid cell	360.69 km² per grid cell	298.63 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1930s	66.65 km² per grid cell	466.73 km² per grid cell	400.08 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1940s	105.44 km² per grid cell	586.25 km² per grid cell	480.8 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1950s	172.81 km² per grid cell	815.47 km² per grid cell	642.67 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1960s	278.06 km² per grid cell	1,078 km² per grid cell	800.02 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1970s	452.04 km² per grid cell	1,338 km² per grid cell	885.82 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1980s	736.98 km² per grid cell	1,481 km² per grid cell	744.05 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
1990s	1,101 km² per grid cell	1,704 km² per grid cell	602.56 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
2000s	1,520 km² per grid cell	1,957 km² per grid cell	436.65 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
2010s	1,958 km² per grid cell	2,221 km² per grid cell	263.31 km² per grid cell	New Zealand
2020s	2,258 km² per grid cell	2,420 km² per grid cell	161.68 km² per grid cell	New Zealand

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Ecuador or New Zealand?: New Zealand, at 2,471 km² per grid cell against 2,359 km² per grid cell in Ecuador as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Ecuador and New Zealand?: 112 km² per grid cell, with New Zealand ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ecuador and New Zealand?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Ecuador and New Zealand rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Ecuador ranks 53rd and New Zealand ranks 51st 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.