Urban area over the long-term in El Salvador

El Salvador: Urban area over the long-term was 539.22 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
539.22 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
121st
of 202 countries
All-time high
539.22 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 El Salvador, 1000–2025

0200400600100015122025

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 El Salvador stood at 539.22 km² per grid cell. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 12.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in El Salvador peaked at 539.22 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0002 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

That places El Salvador 121st 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 0.0017 km² per grid cell 0.0017 km² per grid cell 0.0017 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0056 km² per grid cell 0.0056 km² per grid cell 0.0056 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0185 km² per grid cell 0.0185 km² per grid cell 0.0185 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.0605 km² per grid cell 0.0605 km² per grid cell 0.0605 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.198 km² per grid cell 0.198 km² per grid cell 0.198 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 0.648 km² per grid cell 0.648 km² per grid cell 0.648 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 0.7081 km² per grid cell 0.7081 km² per grid cell 0.7081 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 0.8079 km² per grid cell 0.8079 km² per grid cell 0.8079 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 0.9255 km² per grid cell 0.9255 km² per grid cell 0.9255 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 1.07 km² per grid cell 1.07 km² per grid cell 1.07 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 1.24 km² per grid cell 1.24 km² per grid cell 1.24 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 1.45 km² per grid cell 1.45 km² per grid cell 1.45 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 1.72 km² per grid cell 1.72 km² per grid cell 1.72 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 2.27 km² per grid cell 2.27 km² per grid cell 2.27 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 2.94 km² per grid cell 2.94 km² per grid cell 2.94 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 3.73 km² per grid cell 3.73 km² per grid cell 3.73 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 4.68 km² per grid cell 4.68 km² per grid cell 4.68 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 5.81 km² per grid cell 5.81 km² per grid cell 5.81 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 7.57 km² per grid cell 7.57 km² per grid cell 7.57 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 9.68 km² per grid cell 9.68 km² per grid cell 9.68 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 12.19 km² per grid cell 12.19 km² per grid cell 12.19 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 16 km² per grid cell 16 km² per grid cell 16 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 20.33 km² per grid cell 20.33 km² per grid cell 20.33 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 26.27 km² per grid cell 26.27 km² per grid cell 26.27 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 31.39 km² per grid cell 31.39 km² per grid cell 31.39 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 34.23 km² per grid cell 34.23 km² per grid cell 34.23 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 39.27 km² per grid cell 39.27 km² per grid cell 39.27 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 48.47 km² per grid cell 48.47 km² per grid cell 48.47 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 48.47 km² per grid cell 48.47 km² per grid cell 48.47 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 54.36 km² per grid cell 54.36 km² per grid cell 54.36 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 80.8 km² per grid cell 71.5 km² per grid cell 92.25 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 113.11 km² per grid cell 95.6 km² per grid cell 131.78 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 160.75 km² per grid cell 136.22 km² per grid cell 188.52 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 223.99 km² per grid cell 194.69 km² per grid cell 254.22 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 310.24 km² per grid cell 262.01 km² per grid cell 360.6 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 401.62 km² per grid cell 366.38 km² per grid cell 436.82 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 476.25 km² per grid cell 444.84 km² per grid cell 508.02 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 527.24 km² per grid cell 515.16 km² per grid cell 539.22 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 118 Somalia 597.81 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 119 Namibia 563.77 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 120 Senegal 563.31 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 122 Western Sahara 526.56 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 123 Nicaragua 500.71 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 124 Qatar 499.79 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in El Salvador?
Urban area over the long-term in El Salvador was 539.22 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 El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 539.22 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0002 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does El Salvador rank for urban area over the long-term?
El Salvador ranks 121st out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador 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.