Urban area over the long-term in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Urban area over the long-term was 2,256 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
2,256 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 4.3%
World rank
56th
of 202 countries
All-time high
2,256 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0005 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

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

05001.0k1.5k2.0k2.5k100015122025

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

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 2,256 km² per grid cell for urban area over the long-term in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

The figure is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 55.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Ethiopia peaked at 2,256 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0005 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

Ethiopia ranks 56th of 202 countries on this measure, 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 0.0005 km² per grid cell 0.0005 km² per grid cell 0.0005 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0018 km² per grid cell 0.0018 km² per grid cell 0.0018 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.006 km² per grid cell 0.006 km² per grid cell 0.006 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0213 km² per grid cell 0.0213 km² per grid cell 0.0213 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0738 km² per grid cell 0.0738 km² per grid cell 0.0738 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.2505 km² per grid cell 0.2505 km² per grid cell 0.2505 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.8454 km² per grid cell 0.8454 km² per grid cell 0.8454 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 2.82 km² per grid cell 2.82 km² per grid cell 2.82 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 3.96 km² per grid cell 3.96 km² per grid cell 3.96 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 5.21 km² per grid cell 5.21 km² per grid cell 5.21 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 6.65 km² per grid cell 6.65 km² per grid cell 6.65 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 8.32 km² per grid cell 8.32 km² per grid cell 8.32 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 10.24 km² per grid cell 10.24 km² per grid cell 10.24 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 12.46 km² per grid cell 12.46 km² per grid cell 12.46 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 15.01 km² per grid cell 15.01 km² per grid cell 15.01 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 17.93 km² per grid cell 17.93 km² per grid cell 17.93 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 21.27 km² per grid cell 21.27 km² per grid cell 21.27 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 25.09 km² per grid cell 25.09 km² per grid cell 25.09 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 29.43 km² per grid cell 29.43 km² per grid cell 29.43 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 34.38 km² per grid cell 34.38 km² per grid cell 34.38 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 40 km² per grid cell 40 km² per grid cell 40 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 46.38 km² per grid cell 46.38 km² per grid cell 46.38 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 53.58 km² per grid cell 53.58 km² per grid cell 53.58 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 58.6 km² per grid cell 58.6 km² per grid cell 58.6 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 63.99 km² per grid cell 63.99 km² per grid cell 63.99 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 70.34 km² per grid cell 70.34 km² per grid cell 70.34 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 76.86 km² per grid cell 76.86 km² per grid cell 76.86 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 83.15 km² per grid cell 83.15 km² per grid cell 83.15 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 94.01 km² per grid cell 94.01 km² per grid cell 94.01 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 103 km² per grid cell 103 km² per grid cell 103 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 114.39 km² per grid cell 114.39 km² per grid cell 114.39 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 121.26 km² per grid cell 121.26 km² per grid cell 121.26 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 161.16 km² per grid cell 134.7 km² per grid cell 190.85 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 241.19 km² per grid cell 198.75 km² per grid cell 284.23 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 332.31 km² per grid cell 293.32 km² per grid cell 365.63 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 444.02 km² per grid cell 376.65 km² per grid cell 527.88 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 673.74 km² per grid cell 552.61 km² per grid cell 795.53 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 961.27 km² per grid cell 823.92 km² per grid cell 1,110 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 1,426 km² per grid cell 1,147 km² per grid cell 1,732 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 2,027 km² per grid cell 1,801 km² per grid cell 2,256 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 53 Ecuador 2,359 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 54 Angola 2,310 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 55 United Arab Emirates 2,302 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 57 Myanmar 2,250 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 58 Taiwan 2,214 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 59 Morocco 2,151 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Ethiopia?
Urban area over the long-term in Ethiopia was 2,256 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 Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 2,256 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0005 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Ethiopia rank for urban area over the long-term?
Ethiopia ranks 56th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 55.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ethiopia 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.