Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Svalbard and Jan Mayen or Tonga?

Svalbard and Jan Mayen, at 8.7 km² per grid cell against 6.56 km² per grid cell in Tonga as of 2025.

What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Svalbard and Jan Mayen and Tonga?

2.14 km² per grid cell, with Svalbard and Jan Mayen ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Svalbard and Jan Mayen and Tonga?

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.

Svalbard and Jan Mayen vs Tonga: Urban area over the long-term

Svalbard and Jan Mayen

8.7 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Tonga

6.56 km² per grid cell

in 2025

Svalbard and Jan Mayen rank

190th

Tonga rank

192nd

Urban area over the long-term over time

Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Tonga

How they compare

Svalbard and Jan Mayen currently reports 8.7 km² per grid cell against 6.56 km² per grid cell in Tonga, a difference of 2.14 km² per grid cell.

That makes Svalbard and Jan Mayen's figure about 1.3 times Tonga's.

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

Svalbard and Jan Mayen ranks 190th and Tonga ranks 192nd of 202 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Svalbard and Jan Mayen averaged higher in 4 and Tonga in 36.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Tonga	Difference	Ahead
1000s	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1100s	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1200s	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1300s	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	0 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1400s	0 km² per grid cell	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0.0001 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1500s	0 km² per grid cell	0.0004 km² per grid cell	0.0004 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1600s	0 km² per grid cell	0.0019 km² per grid cell	0.0019 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1700s	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0.0085 km² per grid cell	0.0084 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1710s	0.0001 km² per grid cell	0.0054 km² per grid cell	0.0053 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1720s	0.0002 km² per grid cell	0.0071 km² per grid cell	0.007 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1730s	0.0002 km² per grid cell	0.0094 km² per grid cell	0.0092 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1740s	0.0003 km² per grid cell	0.0124 km² per grid cell	0.0121 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1750s	0.0004 km² per grid cell	0.0163 km² per grid cell	0.0159 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1760s	0.0005 km² per grid cell	0.0214 km² per grid cell	0.0209 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1770s	0.0006 km² per grid cell	0.0282 km² per grid cell	0.0275 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1780s	0.0009 km² per grid cell	0.037 km² per grid cell	0.0362 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1790s	0.0011 km² per grid cell	0.0487 km² per grid cell	0.0476 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1800s	0.0015 km² per grid cell	0.0641 km² per grid cell	0.0626 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1810s	0.002 km² per grid cell	0.0844 km² per grid cell	0.0824 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1820s	0.0027 km² per grid cell	0.1113 km² per grid cell	0.1086 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1830s	0.0038 km² per grid cell	0.1469 km² per grid cell	0.1431 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1840s	0.0053 km² per grid cell	0.1938 km² per grid cell	0.1885 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1850s	0.0074 km² per grid cell	0.2558 km² per grid cell	0.2483 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1860s	0.0104 km² per grid cell	0.3375 km² per grid cell	0.3271 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1870s	0.0131 km² per grid cell	0.4363 km² per grid cell	0.4232 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1880s	0.0165 km² per grid cell	0.5634 km² per grid cell	0.5469 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1890s	0.0209 km² per grid cell	0.7242 km² per grid cell	0.7033 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1900s	0.0263 km² per grid cell	0.9151 km² per grid cell	0.8888 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1910s	0.0332 km² per grid cell	1.1 km² per grid cell	1.07 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1920s	0.0462 km² per grid cell	1.22 km² per grid cell	1.17 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1930s	0.0641 km² per grid cell	1.22 km² per grid cell	1.15 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1940s	0.0891 km² per grid cell	1.22 km² per grid cell	1.13 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1950s	0.2042 km² per grid cell	1.53 km² per grid cell	1.32 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1960s	0.4891 km² per grid cell	2.57 km² per grid cell	2.08 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1970s	1.05 km² per grid cell	3.21 km² per grid cell	2.16 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1980s	2.25 km² per grid cell	3.53 km² per grid cell	1.28 km² per grid cell	Tonga
1990s	5.22 km² per grid cell	3.97 km² per grid cell	1.25 km² per grid cell	Svalbard and Jan Mayen
2000s	8.27 km² per grid cell	4.5 km² per grid cell	3.76 km² per grid cell	Svalbard and Jan Mayen
2010s	8.35 km² per grid cell	5.26 km² per grid cell	3.09 km² per grid cell	Svalbard and Jan Mayen
2020s	8.6 km² per grid cell	6.18 km² per grid cell	2.42 km² per grid cell	Svalbard and Jan Mayen

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban area over the long-term, Svalbard and Jan Mayen or Tonga?: Svalbard and Jan Mayen, at 8.7 km² per grid cell against 6.56 km² per grid cell in Tonga as of 2025.
What is the difference in urban area over the long-term between Svalbard and Jan Mayen and Tonga?: 2.14 km² per grid cell, with Svalbard and Jan Mayen ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Svalbard and Jan Mayen and Tonga?: 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
How do Svalbard and Jan Mayen and Tonga rank globally for urban area over the long-term?: Svalbard and Jan Mayen ranks 190th and Tonga ranks 192nd 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.