Urban area over the long-term in Greenland

Greenland: Urban area over the long-term was 30.16 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
30.16 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
183rd
of 202 countries
All-time high
30.16 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

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

0102030100015122025

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

Analysis

Greenland recorded 30.16 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 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Greenland peaked at 30.16 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

Greenland ranks 183rd of 202 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 0 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0003 km² per grid cell 0.0003 km² per grid cell 0.0003 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.001 km² per grid cell 0.001 km² per grid cell 0.001 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.0031 km² per grid cell 0.0031 km² per grid cell 0.0031 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 0.0094 km² per grid cell 0.0094 km² per grid cell 0.0094 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 0.013 km² per grid cell 0.013 km² per grid cell 0.013 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 0.0175 km² per grid cell 0.0175 km² per grid cell 0.0175 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 0.0236 km² per grid cell 0.0236 km² per grid cell 0.0236 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 0.0319 km² per grid cell 0.0319 km² per grid cell 0.0319 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 0.0431 km² per grid cell 0.0431 km² per grid cell 0.0431 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 0.0582 km² per grid cell 0.0582 km² per grid cell 0.0582 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 0.0785 km² per grid cell 0.0785 km² per grid cell 0.0785 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 0.106 km² per grid cell 0.106 km² per grid cell 0.106 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 0.1431 km² per grid cell 0.1431 km² per grid cell 0.1431 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 0.1932 km² per grid cell 0.1932 km² per grid cell 0.1932 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 0.2608 km² per grid cell 0.2608 km² per grid cell 0.2608 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 0.352 km² per grid cell 0.352 km² per grid cell 0.352 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 0.4753 km² per grid cell 0.4753 km² per grid cell 0.4753 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 0.6416 km² per grid cell 0.6416 km² per grid cell 0.6416 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 0.8661 km² per grid cell 0.8661 km² per grid cell 0.8661 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1.17 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 1.58 km² per grid cell 1.58 km² per grid cell 1.58 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 2.13 km² per grid cell 2.13 km² per grid cell 2.13 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 2.87 km² per grid cell 2.87 km² per grid cell 2.87 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 3.81 km² per grid cell 3.81 km² per grid cell 3.81 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 4.9 km² per grid cell 4.9 km² per grid cell 4.9 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 5.85 km² per grid cell 5.85 km² per grid cell 5.85 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 6.3 km² per grid cell 6.3 km² per grid cell 6.3 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 6.36 km² per grid cell 6.36 km² per grid cell 6.36 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 7.46 km² per grid cell 6.54 km² per grid cell 8.87 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 11.92 km² per grid cell 9.28 km² per grid cell 14.99 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 16.98 km² per grid cell 15.67 km² per grid cell 17.84 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 19.77 km² per grid cell 18.07 km² per grid cell 21.53 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 22.77 km² per grid cell 21.84 km² per grid cell 23.74 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 25.37 km² per grid cell 24.01 km² per grid cell 26.62 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 27.66 km² per grid cell 26.56 km² per grid cell 28.76 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 29.58 km² per grid cell 29 km² per grid cell 30.16 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Greenland

  1. 180 Vanuatu 35.17 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 181 Trinidad and Tobago 35.03 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 182 Aruba 31.05 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 184 Belize 25.88 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 185 Turks and Caicos Islands 21.01 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 186 Samoa 13.46 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Greenland

All data for Greenland →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Greenland?
Urban area over the long-term in Greenland was 30.16 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 Greenland?
The highest recorded value was 30.16 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Greenland?
The lowest recorded value was 0 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Greenland rank for urban area over the long-term?
Greenland ranks 183rd out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Greenland?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Greenland 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.