Urban area over the long-term in Japan
Japan: Urban area over the long-term was 13,979 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
13,979 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
12th
of 202 countries
All-time high
13,979 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
17.02 km² per grid cell
in 1100
Years of data
108
1000–2025
Urban area over the long-term in Japan, 1000–2025
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 Japan stood at 13,979 km² per grid cell. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Japan peaked at 13,979 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 17.02 km² per grid cell, in 1100.
Japan ranks 12th of 202 countries on this measure, 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 | 83.38 km² per grid cell | 83.38 km² per grid cell | 83.38 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1100s | 17.02 km² per grid cell | 17.02 km² per grid cell | 17.02 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1200s | 26.35 km² per grid cell | 26.35 km² per grid cell | 26.35 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1300s | 45.09 km² per grid cell | 45.09 km² per grid cell | 45.09 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1400s | 86.16 km² per grid cell | 86.16 km² per grid cell | 86.16 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1500s | 170.93 km² per grid cell | 170.93 km² per grid cell | 170.93 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1600s | 358.43 km² per grid cell | 358.43 km² per grid cell | 358.43 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1700s | 628.27 km² per grid cell | 628.27 km² per grid cell | 628.27 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1710s | 675.08 km² per grid cell | 675.08 km² per grid cell | 675.08 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1720s | 664.37 km² per grid cell | 664.37 km² per grid cell | 664.37 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1730s | 649.32 km² per grid cell | 649.32 km² per grid cell | 649.32 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1740s | 629.03 km² per grid cell | 629.03 km² per grid cell | 629.03 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1750s | 602.97 km² per grid cell | 602.97 km² per grid cell | 602.97 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1760s | 567.2 km² per grid cell | 567.2 km² per grid cell | 567.2 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1770s | 526.91 km² per grid cell | 526.91 km² per grid cell | 526.91 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1780s | 483.65 km² per grid cell | 483.65 km² per grid cell | 483.65 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1790s | 439.36 km² per grid cell | 439.36 km² per grid cell | 439.36 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1800s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1810s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1820s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1830s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1840s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1850s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1860s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1870s | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 396.06 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1880s | 404.29 km² per grid cell | 404.29 km² per grid cell | 404.29 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1890s | 450.7 km² per grid cell | 450.7 km² per grid cell | 450.7 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1900s | 1,344 km² per grid cell | 1,344 km² per grid cell | 1,344 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1910s | 1,640 km² per grid cell | 1,640 km² per grid cell | 1,640 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1920s | 1,984 km² per grid cell | 1,984 km² per grid cell | 1,984 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1930s | 2,603 km² per grid cell | 2,603 km² per grid cell | 2,603 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1940s | 3,187 km² per grid cell | 3,187 km² per grid cell | 3,187 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1950s | 5,042 km² per grid cell | 4,313 km² per grid cell | 5,738 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1960s | 6,725 km² per grid cell | 5,887 km² per grid cell | 7,749 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1970s | 9,069 km² per grid cell | 8,001 km² per grid cell | 9,981 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1980s | 10,704 km² per grid cell | 10,146 km² per grid cell | 11,286 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1990s | 11,979 km² per grid cell | 11,488 km² per grid cell | 12,331 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2000s | 12,606 km² per grid cell | 12,383 km² per grid cell | 12,809 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2010s | 13,224 km² per grid cell | 12,850 km² per grid cell | 13,579 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2020s | 13,841 km² per grid cell | 13,677 km² per grid cell | 13,979 km² per grid cell | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.24 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.1053 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.7172 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.9 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5865 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 118.04 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 Japan?
- Urban area over the long-term in Japan was 13,979 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 13,979 km² per grid cell in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.02 km² per grid cell in 1100.
- How does Japan rank for urban area over the long-term?
- Japan ranks 12th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Japan 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.