What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Hong Kong and Lesotho?

8.98 km² per grid cell, with Lesotho ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong and Lesotho?

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.

Hong Kong vs Lesotho: Urban area over the long-term

Hong Kong

305.85 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Lesotho

314.83 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Hong Kong rank

148th

Lesotho rank

147th

Urban area over the long-term over time

Hong Kong
Lesotho

How they compare

Lesotho currently reports 314.83 km² per grid cell against 305.85 km² per grid cell in Hong Kong, a difference of 8.98 km² per grid cell.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Hong Kong ahead.

Hong Kong ranks 148th and Lesotho ranks 147th of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Hong Kong averaged higher in 32 and Lesotho in 8.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Hong Kong	Lesotho	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.0001 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1100s	0.0007 km² per grid cell	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0.0006 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1200s	0.0023 km² per grid cell	0.0003 km² per grid cell	0.0021 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1300s	0.0002 km² per grid cell	0.0009 km² per grid cell	0.0007 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1400s	0.0005 km² per grid cell	0.0031 km² per grid cell	0.0025 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1500s	0.0016 km² per grid cell	0.0106 km² per grid cell	0.009 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1600s	0.0046 km² per grid cell	0.0362 km² per grid cell	0.0315 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1700s	0.0136 km² per grid cell	0.124 km² per grid cell	0.1104 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1710s	0.062 km² per grid cell	0.1438 km² per grid cell	0.0818 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1720s	0.1143 km² per grid cell	0.1622 km² per grid cell	0.0479 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1730s	0.1709 km² per grid cell	0.1832 km² per grid cell	0.0123 km² per grid cell	Lesotho
1740s	0.232 km² per grid cell	0.2073 km² per grid cell	0.0247 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1750s	0.2979 km² per grid cell	0.2348 km² per grid cell	0.0631 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1760s	0.3689 km² per grid cell	0.2665 km² per grid cell	0.1024 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1770s	0.4453 km² per grid cell	0.3031 km² per grid cell	0.1422 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1780s	0.5274 km² per grid cell	0.3454 km² per grid cell	0.182 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1790s	0.6156 km² per grid cell	0.3945 km² per grid cell	0.2211 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1800s	0.7102 km² per grid cell	0.4519 km² per grid cell	0.2583 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1810s	0.8114 km² per grid cell	0.5191 km² per grid cell	0.2923 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1820s	0.9192 km² per grid cell	0.5985 km² per grid cell	0.3207 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1830s	1.19 km² per grid cell	0.6928 km² per grid cell	0.4971 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1840s	1.54 km² per grid cell	0.8425 km² per grid cell	0.6933 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1850s	1.84 km² per grid cell	0.953 km² per grid cell	0.8882 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1860s	4.49 km² per grid cell	1.15 km² per grid cell	3.33 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1870s	7.05 km² per grid cell	1.4 km² per grid cell	5.65 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1880s	9.21 km² per grid cell	1.69 km² per grid cell	7.52 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1890s	10.64 km² per grid cell	2.05 km² per grid cell	8.59 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1900s	13.35 km² per grid cell	2.48 km² per grid cell	10.87 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1910s	18.3 km² per grid cell	3.17 km² per grid cell	15.13 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1920s	21.39 km² per grid cell	3.99 km² per grid cell	17.4 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1930s	24.5 km² per grid cell	5.19 km² per grid cell	19.32 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1940s	50.56 km² per grid cell	8.48 km² per grid cell	42.08 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1950s	81.44 km² per grid cell	12.3 km² per grid cell	69.14 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1960s	109.66 km² per grid cell	35.68 km² per grid cell	73.98 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1970s	142.81 km² per grid cell	61.87 km² per grid cell	80.94 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1980s	181.87 km² per grid cell	74.38 km² per grid cell	107.48 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
1990s	231.67 km² per grid cell	103.98 km² per grid cell	127.7 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
2000s	263.61 km² per grid cell	151.31 km² per grid cell	112.3 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
2010s	289.02 km² per grid cell	230.72 km² per grid cell	58.3 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong
2020s	302.9 km² per grid cell	294.17 km² per grid cell	8.74 km² per grid cell	Hong Kong

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Hong Kong or Lesotho?: Lesotho, at 314.83 km² per grid cell against 305.85 km² per grid cell in Hong Kong as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Hong Kong and Lesotho?: 8.98 km² per grid cell, with Lesotho ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong and Lesotho?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Hong Kong and Lesotho rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Hong Kong ranks 148th and Lesotho ranks 147th 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.