Urban area over the long-term in Canada
Canada: Urban area over the long-term was 9,053 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
9,053 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
15th
of 202 countries
All-time high
9,053 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0006 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025
Urban area over the long-term in Canada, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in km² per grid cell.
Analysis
Canada recorded 9,053 km² per grid cell for urban area over the long-term in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 17.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Canada peaked at 9,053 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0006 km² per grid cell, in 1000.
That places Canada 15th out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0006 km² per grid cell | 0.0006 km² per grid cell | 0.0006 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1100s | 0.0023 km² per grid cell | 0.0023 km² per grid cell | 0.0023 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1200s | 0.0079 km² per grid cell | 0.0079 km² per grid cell | 0.0079 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1300s | 0.0271 km² per grid cell | 0.0271 km² per grid cell | 0.0271 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1400s | 0.0916 km² per grid cell | 0.0916 km² per grid cell | 0.0916 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1500s | 0.3052 km² per grid cell | 0.3052 km² per grid cell | 0.3052 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1600s | 0.9156 km² per grid cell | 0.9156 km² per grid cell | 0.9156 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1700s | 2.75 km² per grid cell | 2.75 km² per grid cell | 2.75 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1710s | 3.1 km² per grid cell | 3.1 km² per grid cell | 3.1 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1720s | 4.2 km² per grid cell | 4.2 km² per grid cell | 4.2 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1730s | 5.71 km² per grid cell | 5.71 km² per grid cell | 5.71 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1740s | 7.8 km² per grid cell | 7.8 km² per grid cell | 7.8 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1750s | 10.66 km² per grid cell | 10.66 km² per grid cell | 10.66 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1760s | 14.62 km² per grid cell | 14.62 km² per grid cell | 14.62 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1770s | 20.09 km² per grid cell | 20.09 km² per grid cell | 20.09 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1780s | 27.65 km² per grid cell | 27.65 km² per grid cell | 27.65 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1790s | 38.11 km² per grid cell | 38.11 km² per grid cell | 38.11 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1800s | 52.53 km² per grid cell | 52.53 km² per grid cell | 52.53 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1810s | 72.23 km² per grid cell | 72.23 km² per grid cell | 72.23 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1820s | 99.52 km² per grid cell | 99.52 km² per grid cell | 99.52 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1830s | 135.4 km² per grid cell | 135.4 km² per grid cell | 135.4 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1840s | 180.25 km² per grid cell | 180.25 km² per grid cell | 180.25 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1850s | 232.59 km² per grid cell | 232.59 km² per grid cell | 232.59 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1860s | 339.51 km² per grid cell | 339.51 km² per grid cell | 339.51 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1870s | 387.76 km² per grid cell | 387.76 km² per grid cell | 387.76 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1880s | 442.36 km² per grid cell | 442.36 km² per grid cell | 442.36 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1890s | 487.17 km² per grid cell | 487.17 km² per grid cell | 487.17 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1900s | 531.7 km² per grid cell | 531.7 km² per grid cell | 531.7 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1910s | 749.95 km² per grid cell | 749.95 km² per grid cell | 749.95 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1920s | 926.64 km² per grid cell | 926.64 km² per grid cell | 926.64 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1930s | 1,209 km² per grid cell | 1,209 km² per grid cell | 1,209 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1940s | 1,452 km² per grid cell | 1,452 km² per grid cell | 1,452 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1950s | 2,154 km² per grid cell | 1,759 km² per grid cell | 2,569 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1960s | 3,088 km² per grid cell | 2,658 km² per grid cell | 3,541 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1970s | 3,924 km² per grid cell | 3,639 km² per grid cell | 4,197 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1980s | 4,586 km² per grid cell | 4,258 km² per grid cell | 4,962 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1990s | 5,485 km² per grid cell | 5,049 km² per grid cell | 5,934 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2000s | 6,472 km² per grid cell | 6,043 km² per grid cell | 6,942 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2010s | 7,642 km² per grid cell | 7,054 km² per grid cell | 8,243 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,714 km² per grid cell | 8,379 km² per grid cell | 9,053 km² per grid cell | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More reference data data for Canada
- Spring temperature anomalies -4.58 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.7 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 2.12 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.47 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -2.57 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 140.97 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban area over the long-term in Canada?
- Urban area over the long-term in Canada was 9,053 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 9,053 km² per grid cell in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0006 km² per grid cell in 1000.
- How does Canada rank for urban area over the long-term?
- Canada ranks 15th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Canada 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
Total built-up area of a country over time.