What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between South Africa and Spain?

1,282 km² per grid cell, with South Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Spain?

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.

South Africa vs Spain: Urban area over the long-term

South Africa

8,172 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Spain

6,890 km² per grid cell

in 2025

South Africa rank

18th

Spain rank

21st

Urban area over the long-term over time

South Africa
Spain

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 8,172 km² per grid cell against 6,890 km² per grid cell in Spain, a difference of 1,282 km² per grid cell.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Spain's.

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

South Africa ranks 18th and Spain ranks 21st of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 2 and Spain in 38.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	Spain	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0.0026 km² per grid cell	94.4 km² per grid cell	94.4 km² per grid cell	Spain
1100s	0.0093 km² per grid cell	114.38 km² per grid cell	114.37 km² per grid cell	Spain
1200s	0.0326 km² per grid cell	104.29 km² per grid cell	104.26 km² per grid cell	Spain
1300s	0.1118 km² per grid cell	380.03 km² per grid cell	379.92 km² per grid cell	Spain
1400s	0.3772 km² per grid cell	180.26 km² per grid cell	179.89 km² per grid cell	Spain
1500s	1.26 km² per grid cell	128.02 km² per grid cell	126.76 km² per grid cell	Spain
1600s	4.4 km² per grid cell	211.64 km² per grid cell	207.24 km² per grid cell	Spain
1700s	18.86 km² per grid cell	244.37 km² per grid cell	225.51 km² per grid cell	Spain
1710s	20.92 km² per grid cell	279.68 km² per grid cell	258.76 km² per grid cell	Spain
1720s	22.88 km² per grid cell	291.5 km² per grid cell	268.62 km² per grid cell	Spain
1730s	24.75 km² per grid cell	303.8 km² per grid cell	279.05 km² per grid cell	Spain
1740s	26.53 km² per grid cell	316.61 km² per grid cell	290.08 km² per grid cell	Spain
1750s	28.22 km² per grid cell	329.93 km² per grid cell	301.71 km² per grid cell	Spain
1760s	29.81 km² per grid cell	334.24 km² per grid cell	304.43 km² per grid cell	Spain
1770s	31.31 km² per grid cell	338.51 km² per grid cell	307.21 km² per grid cell	Spain
1780s	32.71 km² per grid cell	342.74 km² per grid cell	310.02 km² per grid cell	Spain
1790s	34.03 km² per grid cell	346.9 km² per grid cell	312.87 km² per grid cell	Spain
1800s	35.25 km² per grid cell	351 km² per grid cell	315.75 km² per grid cell	Spain
1810s	36.38 km² per grid cell	402.06 km² per grid cell	365.69 km² per grid cell	Spain
1820s	37.41 km² per grid cell	456.02 km² per grid cell	418.61 km² per grid cell	Spain
1830s	38.35 km² per grid cell	533.39 km² per grid cell	495.04 km² per grid cell	Spain
1840s	39.19 km² per grid cell	578.88 km² per grid cell	539.69 km² per grid cell	Spain
1850s	48.2 km² per grid cell	683.02 km² per grid cell	634.82 km² per grid cell	Spain
1860s	61.75 km² per grid cell	809.28 km² per grid cell	747.53 km² per grid cell	Spain
1870s	84.07 km² per grid cell	912.78 km² per grid cell	828.71 km² per grid cell	Spain
1880s	166.07 km² per grid cell	1,025 km² per grid cell	859.24 km² per grid cell	Spain
1890s	193.06 km² per grid cell	1,140 km² per grid cell	946.93 km² per grid cell	Spain
1900s	237.22 km² per grid cell	1,234 km² per grid cell	997.09 km² per grid cell	Spain
1910s	298.57 km² per grid cell	1,397 km² per grid cell	1,099 km² per grid cell	Spain
1920s	331.84 km² per grid cell	1,575 km² per grid cell	1,243 km² per grid cell	Spain
1930s	397.13 km² per grid cell	1,831 km² per grid cell	1,434 km² per grid cell	Spain
1940s	487.77 km² per grid cell	2,110 km² per grid cell	1,623 km² per grid cell	Spain
1950s	1,057 km² per grid cell	2,595 km² per grid cell	1,538 km² per grid cell	Spain
1960s	1,477 km² per grid cell	3,219 km² per grid cell	1,742 km² per grid cell	Spain
1970s	2,038 km² per grid cell	4,091 km² per grid cell	2,052 km² per grid cell	Spain
1980s	2,840 km² per grid cell	4,735 km² per grid cell	1,895 km² per grid cell	Spain
1990s	4,087 km² per grid cell	4,999 km² per grid cell	912.03 km² per grid cell	Spain
2000s	5,352 km² per grid cell	5,554 km² per grid cell	201.26 km² per grid cell	Spain
2010s	6,693 km² per grid cell	6,300 km² per grid cell	392.98 km² per grid cell	South Africa
2020s	7,835 km² per grid cell	6,773 km² per grid cell	1,062 km² per grid cell	South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, South Africa or Spain?: South Africa, at 8,172 km² per grid cell against 6,890 km² per grid cell in Spain as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between South Africa and Spain?: 1,282 km² per grid cell, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Spain?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do South Africa and Spain rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: South Africa ranks 18th and Spain ranks 21st 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.