Urban area over the long-term in Tanzania

Tanzania: Urban area over the long-term was 3,054 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
3,054 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 6.9%
World rank
41st
of 202 countries
All-time high
3,054 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.0004 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

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

01.0k2.0k3.0k100015122025

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

Analysis

Tanzania recorded 3,054 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 6.9% on the previous year and up 65.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Tanzania peaked at 3,054 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0004 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

That places Tanzania 41st out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0004 km² per grid cell 0.0004 km² per grid cell 0.0004 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0021 km² per grid cell 0.0021 km² per grid cell 0.0021 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0088 km² per grid cell 0.0088 km² per grid cell 0.0088 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0337 km² per grid cell 0.0337 km² per grid cell 0.0337 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.1227 km² per grid cell 0.1227 km² per grid cell 0.1227 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.2387 km² per grid cell 0.2387 km² per grid cell 0.2387 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.8695 km² per grid cell 0.8695 km² per grid cell 0.8695 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 3.07 km² per grid cell 3.07 km² per grid cell 3.07 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 3.73 km² per grid cell 3.73 km² per grid cell 3.73 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 4.39 km² per grid cell 4.39 km² per grid cell 4.39 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 5.13 km² per grid cell 5.13 km² per grid cell 5.13 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 5.98 km² per grid cell 5.98 km² per grid cell 5.98 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 6.94 km² per grid cell 6.94 km² per grid cell 6.94 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 8.04 km² per grid cell 8.04 km² per grid cell 8.04 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 9.27 km² per grid cell 9.27 km² per grid cell 9.27 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 10.67 km² per grid cell 10.67 km² per grid cell 10.67 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 12.26 km² per grid cell 12.26 km² per grid cell 12.26 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 14.04 km² per grid cell 14.04 km² per grid cell 14.04 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 16.06 km² per grid cell 16.06 km² per grid cell 16.06 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 18.34 km² per grid cell 18.34 km² per grid cell 18.34 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 20.9 km² per grid cell 20.9 km² per grid cell 20.9 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 23.78 km² per grid cell 23.78 km² per grid cell 23.78 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 27.02 km² per grid cell 27.02 km² per grid cell 27.02 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 29.3 km² per grid cell 29.3 km² per grid cell 29.3 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 31.77 km² per grid cell 31.77 km² per grid cell 31.77 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 34.45 km² per grid cell 34.45 km² per grid cell 34.45 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 38.49 km² per grid cell 38.49 km² per grid cell 38.49 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 38.91 km² per grid cell 38.91 km² per grid cell 38.91 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 40.94 km² per grid cell 40.94 km² per grid cell 40.94 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 44.84 km² per grid cell 44.84 km² per grid cell 44.84 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 56.99 km² per grid cell 56.99 km² per grid cell 56.99 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 71.73 km² per grid cell 71.73 km² per grid cell 71.73 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 132.57 km² per grid cell 93.9 km² per grid cell 175.5 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 247.01 km² per grid cell 185.78 km² per grid cell 335.73 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 551.37 km² per grid cell 370.34 km² per grid cell 709.27 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 712.35 km² per grid cell 712.35 km² per grid cell 712.35 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 721.07 km² per grid cell 712.35 km² per grid cell 773.01 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 1,043 km² per grid cell 811.5 km² per grid cell 1,319 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 1,784 km² per grid cell 1,362 km² per grid cell 2,236 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 2,651 km² per grid cell 2,337 km² per grid cell 3,054 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Tanzania

  1. 38 Iraq 3,477 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 39 Kazakhstan 3,421 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 40 Yemen 3,250 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 42 Sweden 2,988 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 43 Puerto Rico 2,845 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 44 South Korea 2,837 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Tanzania

All data for Tanzania →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Tanzania?
Urban area over the long-term in Tanzania was 3,054 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 Tanzania?
The highest recorded value was 3,054 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Tanzania?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0004 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Tanzania rank for urban area over the long-term?
Tanzania ranks 41st out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Tanzania?
Over the last ten years it is up 65.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Tanzania 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.