Urban area over the long-term in New Zealand
New Zealand: Urban area over the long-term was 2,471 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
2,471 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
51st
of 202 countries
All-time high
2,471 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 New Zealand, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in km² per grid cell.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 2,471 km² per grid cell for urban area over the long-term in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in New Zealand peaked at 2,471 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 km² per grid cell, in 1000.
New Zealand ranks 51st of 202 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 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 | 0.001 km² per grid cell | 0.001 km² per grid cell | 0.001 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1300s | 0.0038 km² per grid cell | 0.0038 km² per grid cell | 0.0038 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1400s | 0.0113 km² per grid cell | 0.0113 km² per grid cell | 0.0113 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1500s | 0.1276 km² per grid cell | 0.1276 km² per grid cell | 0.1276 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1600s | 0.4711 km² per grid cell | 0.4711 km² per grid cell | 0.4711 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1700s | 1.15 km² per grid cell | 1.15 km² per grid cell | 1.15 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1710s | 3.28 km² per grid cell | 3.28 km² per grid cell | 3.28 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1720s | 5.25 km² per grid cell | 5.25 km² per grid cell | 5.25 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1730s | 7.05 km² per grid cell | 7.05 km² per grid cell | 7.05 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1740s | 8.73 km² per grid cell | 8.73 km² per grid cell | 8.73 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1750s | 10.32 km² per grid cell | 10.32 km² per grid cell | 10.32 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1760s | 11.85 km² per grid cell | 11.85 km² per grid cell | 11.85 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1770s | 13.35 km² per grid cell | 13.35 km² per grid cell | 13.35 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1780s | 14.86 km² per grid cell | 14.86 km² per grid cell | 14.86 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1790s | 16.4 km² per grid cell | 16.4 km² per grid cell | 16.4 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1800s | 17.97 km² per grid cell | 17.97 km² per grid cell | 17.97 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1810s | 19.52 km² per grid cell | 19.52 km² per grid cell | 19.52 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1820s | 24.83 km² per grid cell | 24.83 km² per grid cell | 24.83 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1830s | 31.42 km² per grid cell | 31.42 km² per grid cell | 31.42 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1840s | 39.57 km² per grid cell | 39.57 km² per grid cell | 39.57 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1850s | 49.64 km² per grid cell | 49.64 km² per grid cell | 49.64 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1860s | 62.08 km² per grid cell | 62.08 km² per grid cell | 62.08 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1870s | 77.42 km² per grid cell | 77.42 km² per grid cell | 77.42 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1880s | 96.31 km² per grid cell | 96.31 km² per grid cell | 96.31 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1890s | 144.67 km² per grid cell | 144.67 km² per grid cell | 144.67 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1900s | 201.67 km² per grid cell | 201.67 km² per grid cell | 201.67 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1910s | 267.64 km² per grid cell | 267.64 km² per grid cell | 267.64 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1920s | 360.69 km² per grid cell | 360.69 km² per grid cell | 360.69 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1930s | 466.73 km² per grid cell | 466.73 km² per grid cell | 466.73 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1940s | 586.25 km² per grid cell | 586.25 km² per grid cell | 586.25 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1950s | 815.47 km² per grid cell | 719.76 km² per grid cell | 922.32 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1960s | 1,078 km² per grid cell | 949.48 km² per grid cell | 1,193 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1970s | 1,338 km² per grid cell | 1,220 km² per grid cell | 1,409 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1980s | 1,481 km² per grid cell | 1,418 km² per grid cell | 1,546 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1990s | 1,704 km² per grid cell | 1,569 km² per grid cell | 1,814 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2000s | 1,957 km² per grid cell | 1,836 km² per grid cell | 2,055 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,221 km² per grid cell | 2,064 km² per grid cell | 2,346 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2020s | 2,420 km² per grid cell | 2,369 km² per grid cell | 2,471 km² per grid cell | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2008 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0464 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5251 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5536 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 144.86 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 New Zealand?
- Urban area over the long-term in New Zealand was 2,471 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 2,471 km² per grid cell in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 km² per grid cell in 1000.
- How does New Zealand rank for urban area over the long-term?
- New Zealand ranks 51st out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand 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.