Urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Urban area over the long-term was 168.91 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
168.91 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 3.7%
World rank
156th
of 202 countries
All-time high
168.91 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0001 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea, 1000–2025

050100150100015122025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea is 168.91 km² per grid cell, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.7% on the previous year and up 44.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea peaked at 168.91 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0001 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

That places Papua New Guinea 156th out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 0.0001 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0004 km² per grid cell 0.0004 km² per grid cell 0.0004 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0012 km² per grid cell 0.0012 km² per grid cell 0.0012 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 0.012 km² per grid cell 0.012 km² per grid cell 0.012 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.0378 km² per grid cell 0.0378 km² per grid cell 0.0378 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.1185 km² per grid cell 0.1185 km² per grid cell 0.1185 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 0.3626 km² per grid cell 0.3626 km² per grid cell 0.3626 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 0.1632 km² per grid cell 0.1632 km² per grid cell 0.1632 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 0.1894 km² per grid cell 0.1894 km² per grid cell 0.1894 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 0.2195 km² per grid cell 0.2195 km² per grid cell 0.2195 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 0.254 km² per grid cell 0.254 km² per grid cell 0.254 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 0.2933 km² per grid cell 0.2933 km² per grid cell 0.2933 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 0.338 km² per grid cell 0.338 km² per grid cell 0.338 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 0.3885 km² per grid cell 0.3885 km² per grid cell 0.3885 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 0.4455 km² per grid cell 0.4455 km² per grid cell 0.4455 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 0.5095 km² per grid cell 0.5095 km² per grid cell 0.5095 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 0.5811 km² per grid cell 0.5811 km² per grid cell 0.5811 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 0.6609 km² per grid cell 0.6609 km² per grid cell 0.6609 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 0.7496 km² per grid cell 0.7496 km² per grid cell 0.7496 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 0.8478 km² per grid cell 0.8478 km² per grid cell 0.8478 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 0.9563 km² per grid cell 0.9563 km² per grid cell 0.9563 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 1.08 km² per grid cell 1.08 km² per grid cell 1.08 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 1.21 km² per grid cell 1.21 km² per grid cell 1.21 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 1.35 km² per grid cell 1.35 km² per grid cell 1.35 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 1.51 km² per grid cell 1.51 km² per grid cell 1.51 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 1.69 km² per grid cell 1.69 km² per grid cell 1.69 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 1.88 km² per grid cell 1.88 km² per grid cell 1.88 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 2.09 km² per grid cell 2.09 km² per grid cell 2.09 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 2.47 km² per grid cell 2.47 km² per grid cell 2.47 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 2.92 km² per grid cell 2.92 km² per grid cell 2.92 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 3.45 km² per grid cell 3.45 km² per grid cell 3.45 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 6.27 km² per grid cell 4.09 km² per grid cell 9.05 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 16.23 km² per grid cell 9.91 km² per grid cell 26.56 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 39.56 km² per grid cell 30.64 km² per grid cell 46.2 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 56.94 km² per grid cell 47.84 km² per grid cell 66.92 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 73.16 km² per grid cell 69.43 km² per grid cell 77.06 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 86.03 km² per grid cell 77.93 km² per grid cell 94.27 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 114.81 km² per grid cell 96.11 km² per grid cell 134.75 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 154 km² per grid cell 139.39 km² per grid cell 168.91 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 153 Reunion 217.46 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 154 Laos 201.75 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 155 Bahamas 171.55 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 157 Eritrea 155.22 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 158 Suriname 153.68 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 159 Fiji 152.36 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea?
Urban area over the long-term in Papua New Guinea was 168.91 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 Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 168.91 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0001 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for urban area over the long-term?
Papua New Guinea ranks 156th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is up 44.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.