What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Nicaragua and Western Sahara?

25.85 km² per grid cell, with Western Sahara ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Nicaragua and Western Sahara?

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.

Nicaragua vs Western Sahara: Urban area over the long-term

Nicaragua

500.71 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Western Sahara

526.56 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Nicaragua rank

123rd

Western Sahara rank

122nd

Urban area over the long-term over time

Nicaragua
Western Sahara

How they compare

Western Sahara currently reports 526.56 km² per grid cell against 500.71 km² per grid cell in Nicaragua, a difference of 25.85 km² per grid cell.

That makes Western Sahara's figure about 1.1 times Nicaragua's.

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

Nicaragua ranks 123rd and Western Sahara ranks 122nd of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Nicaragua averaged higher in 34 and Western Sahara in 6.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Nicaragua	Western Sahara	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.001 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.001 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1100s	0.0033 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.0033 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1200s	0.0109 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.0108 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1300s	0.0355 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0.0355 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1400s	0.1162 km² per grid cell	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0.1162 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1500s	0.3804 km² per grid cell	0.0003 km² per grid cell	0.3801 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1600s	0.5707 km² per grid cell	0.0016 km² per grid cell	0.5691 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1700s	0.856 km² per grid cell	0.007 km² per grid cell	0.849 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1710s	1.03 km² per grid cell	0.0103 km² per grid cell	1.02 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1720s	1.21 km² per grid cell	0.0129 km² per grid cell	1.2 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1730s	1.42 km² per grid cell	0.0162 km² per grid cell	1.41 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1740s	1.67 km² per grid cell	0.0204 km² per grid cell	1.65 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1750s	1.96 km² per grid cell	0.0255 km² per grid cell	1.93 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1760s	2.3 km² per grid cell	0.032 km² per grid cell	2.27 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1770s	2.7 km² per grid cell	0.0402 km² per grid cell	2.66 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1780s	3.17 km² per grid cell	0.0504 km² per grid cell	3.12 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1790s	3.72 km² per grid cell	0.0632 km² per grid cell	3.65 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1800s	4.36 km² per grid cell	0.0793 km² per grid cell	4.28 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1810s	5.12 km² per grid cell	0.0994 km² per grid cell	5.02 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1820s	6 km² per grid cell	0.1253 km² per grid cell	5.88 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1830s	7.79 km² per grid cell	0.1579 km² per grid cell	7.63 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1840s	9.96 km² per grid cell	0.1991 km² per grid cell	9.76 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1850s	12.72 km² per grid cell	0.2507 km² per grid cell	12.47 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1860s	14.79 km² per grid cell	0.3151 km² per grid cell	14.48 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1870s	17.14 km² per grid cell	0.3976 km² per grid cell	16.74 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1880s	21.39 km² per grid cell	0.4914 km² per grid cell	20.9 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1890s	26.73 km² per grid cell	0.5811 km² per grid cell	26.15 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1900s	33.18 km² per grid cell	0.6413 km² per grid cell	32.54 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1910s	40.21 km² per grid cell	0.6595 km² per grid cell	39.55 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1920s	45.78 km² per grid cell	1.28 km² per grid cell	44.5 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1930s	51.77 km² per grid cell	2.55 km² per grid cell	49.22 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1940s	51.77 km² per grid cell	5.39 km² per grid cell	46.37 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1950s	59.63 km² per grid cell	17.92 km² per grid cell	41.71 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1960s	80.3 km² per grid cell	50.91 km² per grid cell	29.4 km² per grid cell	Nicaragua
1970s	121.24 km² per grid cell	140.03 km² per grid cell	18.79 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara
1980s	173.72 km² per grid cell	307.98 km² per grid cell	134.27 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara
1990s	238.62 km² per grid cell	350.47 km² per grid cell	111.85 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara
2000s	310.74 km² per grid cell	359.54 km² per grid cell	48.8 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara
2010s	398.95 km² per grid cell	452.2 km² per grid cell	53.25 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara
2020s	479.36 km² per grid cell	513.02 km² per grid cell	33.66 km² per grid cell	Western Sahara

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Nicaragua or Western Sahara?: Western Sahara, at 526.56 km² per grid cell against 500.71 km² per grid cell in Nicaragua as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Nicaragua and Western Sahara?: 25.85 km² per grid cell, with Western Sahara ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Nicaragua and Western Sahara?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Nicaragua and Western Sahara rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Nicaragua ranks 123rd and Western Sahara ranks 122nd 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.