Japan vs Nigeria: Urban area over the long-term

Japan
13,979 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Nigeria
11,202 km² per grid cell
in 2025
Japan rank
12th
Nigeria rank
14th

Urban area over the long-term over time

  • Japan
  • Nigeria
05.0k10.0k15.0k100015122025

How they compare

Japan currently reports 13,979 km² per grid cell against 11,202 km² per grid cell in Nigeria, a difference of 2,777 km² per grid cell.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.2 times Nigeria's.

Across all 108 years both countries report, Japan has been ahead every year.

Japan ranks 12th and Nigeria ranks 14th of 202 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Nigeria Difference Ahead
1000s 83.38 km² per grid cell 0.0071 km² per grid cell 83.37 km² per grid cell Japan
1100s 17.02 km² per grid cell 0.0227 km² per grid cell 17 km² per grid cell Japan
1200s 26.35 km² per grid cell 0.0726 km² per grid cell 26.28 km² per grid cell Japan
1300s 45.09 km² per grid cell 0.2451 km² per grid cell 44.84 km² per grid cell Japan
1400s 86.16 km² per grid cell 0.8169 km² per grid cell 85.34 km² per grid cell Japan
1500s 170.93 km² per grid cell 2.7 km² per grid cell 168.24 km² per grid cell Japan
1600s 358.43 km² per grid cell 10.29 km² per grid cell 348.14 km² per grid cell Japan
1700s 628.27 km² per grid cell 39.7 km² per grid cell 588.57 km² per grid cell Japan
1710s 675.08 km² per grid cell 44.25 km² per grid cell 630.83 km² per grid cell Japan
1720s 664.37 km² per grid cell 47.94 km² per grid cell 616.43 km² per grid cell Japan
1730s 649.32 km² per grid cell 51.93 km² per grid cell 597.39 km² per grid cell Japan
1740s 629.03 km² per grid cell 56.24 km² per grid cell 572.79 km² per grid cell Japan
1750s 602.97 km² per grid cell 60.9 km² per grid cell 542.06 km² per grid cell Japan
1760s 567.2 km² per grid cell 65.94 km² per grid cell 501.25 km² per grid cell Japan
1770s 526.91 km² per grid cell 71.39 km² per grid cell 455.52 km² per grid cell Japan
1780s 483.65 km² per grid cell 77.28 km² per grid cell 406.37 km² per grid cell Japan
1790s 439.36 km² per grid cell 83.64 km² per grid cell 355.71 km² per grid cell Japan
1800s 396.06 km² per grid cell 90.52 km² per grid cell 305.54 km² per grid cell Japan
1810s 396.06 km² per grid cell 97.94 km² per grid cell 298.12 km² per grid cell Japan
1820s 396.06 km² per grid cell 105.96 km² per grid cell 290.1 km² per grid cell Japan
1830s 396.06 km² per grid cell 114.62 km² per grid cell 281.44 km² per grid cell Japan
1840s 396.06 km² per grid cell 123.97 km² per grid cell 272.1 km² per grid cell Japan
1850s 396.06 km² per grid cell 134.05 km² per grid cell 262.01 km² per grid cell Japan
1860s 396.06 km² per grid cell 152.54 km² per grid cell 243.52 km² per grid cell Japan
1870s 396.06 km² per grid cell 174.32 km² per grid cell 221.74 km² per grid cell Japan
1880s 404.29 km² per grid cell 201.24 km² per grid cell 203.05 km² per grid cell Japan
1890s 450.7 km² per grid cell 234.38 km² per grid cell 216.32 km² per grid cell Japan
1900s 1,344 km² per grid cell 269.15 km² per grid cell 1,075 km² per grid cell Japan
1910s 1,640 km² per grid cell 312.45 km² per grid cell 1,328 km² per grid cell Japan
1920s 1,984 km² per grid cell 341.09 km² per grid cell 1,643 km² per grid cell Japan
1930s 2,603 km² per grid cell 359.04 km² per grid cell 2,244 km² per grid cell Japan
1940s 3,187 km² per grid cell 359.04 km² per grid cell 2,828 km² per grid cell Japan
1950s 5,042 km² per grid cell 402.15 km² per grid cell 4,640 km² per grid cell Japan
1960s 6,725 km² per grid cell 674.33 km² per grid cell 6,051 km² per grid cell Japan
1970s 9,069 km² per grid cell 1,062 km² per grid cell 8,008 km² per grid cell Japan
1980s 10,704 km² per grid cell 1,796 km² per grid cell 8,908 km² per grid cell Japan
1990s 11,979 km² per grid cell 3,011 km² per grid cell 8,968 km² per grid cell Japan
2000s 12,606 km² per grid cell 4,835 km² per grid cell 7,771 km² per grid cell Japan
2010s 13,224 km² per grid cell 7,525 km² per grid cell 5,699 km² per grid cell Japan
2020s 13,841 km² per grid cell 10,243 km² per grid cell 3,598 km² per grid cell Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Japan or Nigeria?
Japan, at 13,979 km² per grid cell against 11,202 km² per grid cell in Nigeria as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Japan and Nigeria?
2,777 km² per grid cell, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Nigeria?
108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Japan and Nigeria rank globally for urban area over the long-term?
Japan ranks 12th and Nigeria ranks 14th 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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Japan vs Nigeria: 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/japan/nigeria/

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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.