Urban area over the long-term in Botswana

Botswana: Urban area over the long-term was 1,792 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1,792 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
70th
of 202 countries
All-time high
1,792 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0002 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Urban area over the long-term in Botswana, 1000–2025

05001.0k1.5k2.0k100015122025

Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in km² per grid cell.

Analysis

In 2025, urban area over the long-term in Botswana stood at 1,792 km² per grid cell. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

The figure is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 33.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Botswana peaked at 1,792 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0002 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

That places Botswana 70th out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 0.0002 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0005 km² per grid cell 0.0005 km² per grid cell 0.0005 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0016 km² per grid cell 0.0016 km² per grid cell 0.0016 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0052 km² per grid cell 0.0052 km² per grid cell 0.0052 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0169 km² per grid cell 0.0169 km² per grid cell 0.0169 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.0545 km² per grid cell 0.0545 km² per grid cell 0.0545 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.1756 km² per grid cell 0.1756 km² per grid cell 0.1756 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 0.5657 km² per grid cell 0.5657 km² per grid cell 0.5657 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 0.6434 km² per grid cell 0.6434 km² per grid cell 0.6434 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 0.7111 km² per grid cell 0.7111 km² per grid cell 0.7111 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 0.7859 km² per grid cell 0.7859 km² per grid cell 0.7859 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 0.8684 km² per grid cell 0.8684 km² per grid cell 0.8684 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 0.9595 km² per grid cell 0.9595 km² per grid cell 0.9595 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 1.06 km² per grid cell 1.06 km² per grid cell 1.06 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 1.29 km² per grid cell 1.29 km² per grid cell 1.29 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 1.43 km² per grid cell 1.43 km² per grid cell 1.43 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 1.58 km² per grid cell 1.58 km² per grid cell 1.58 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 1.74 km² per grid cell 1.74 km² per grid cell 1.74 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 1.93 km² per grid cell 1.93 km² per grid cell 1.93 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 2.13 km² per grid cell 2.13 km² per grid cell 2.13 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 2.35 km² per grid cell 2.35 km² per grid cell 2.35 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 2.59 km² per grid cell 2.59 km² per grid cell 2.59 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 3.11 km² per grid cell 3.11 km² per grid cell 3.11 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 3.8 km² per grid cell 3.8 km² per grid cell 3.8 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 4.6 km² per grid cell 4.6 km² per grid cell 4.6 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 5.52 km² per grid cell 5.52 km² per grid cell 5.52 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 6.75 km² per grid cell 6.75 km² per grid cell 6.75 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 8.7 km² per grid cell 8.7 km² per grid cell 8.7 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 11.12 km² per grid cell 11.12 km² per grid cell 11.12 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 14.99 km² per grid cell 14.99 km² per grid cell 14.99 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 20.05 km² per grid cell 20.05 km² per grid cell 20.05 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 33.62 km² per grid cell 28.95 km² per grid cell 37.67 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 52.14 km² per grid cell 38.39 km² per grid cell 82.32 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 126 km² per grid cell 93.18 km² per grid cell 158.07 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 263.43 km² per grid cell 167.03 km² per grid cell 399.06 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 578.99 km² per grid cell 442.3 km² per grid cell 702.49 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 880.27 km² per grid cell 729.29 km² per grid cell 1,054 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 1,317 km² per grid cell 1,102 km² per grid cell 1,546 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 1,696 km² per grid cell 1,600 km² per grid cell 1,792 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 67 Uganda 1,870 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 68 Mali 1,814 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 69 Switzerland 1,802 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 71 Austria 1,765 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 72 Cote d'Ivoire 1,697 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 73 Cambodia 1,688 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Botswana?
Urban area over the long-term in Botswana was 1,792 km² per grid cell in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest urban area over the long-term recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 1,792 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0002 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Botswana rank for urban area over the long-term?
Botswana ranks 70th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Urban area over the long-term. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.