Urban area over the long-term in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Urban area over the long-term was 14,143 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
14,143 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
11th
of 202 countries
All-time high
14,143 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
27.1 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025
Urban area over the long-term in United Kingdom, 1000–2025
Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in km² per grid cell.
Analysis
United Kingdom recorded 14,143 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 0.6% on the previous year and up 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in United Kingdom peaked at 14,143 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 27.1 km² per grid cell, in 1000.
United Kingdom ranks 11th 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 | 27.1 km² per grid cell | 27.1 km² per grid cell | 27.1 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1100s | 52.65 km² per grid cell | 52.65 km² per grid cell | 52.65 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1200s | 65.71 km² per grid cell | 65.71 km² per grid cell | 65.71 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1300s | 88.29 km² per grid cell | 88.29 km² per grid cell | 88.29 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1400s | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1500s | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1600s | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1700s | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 39.58 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1710s | 93.19 km² per grid cell | 93.19 km² per grid cell | 93.19 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1720s | 164.48 km² per grid cell | 164.48 km² per grid cell | 164.48 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1730s | 243.67 km² per grid cell | 243.67 km² per grid cell | 243.67 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1740s | 331.46 km² per grid cell | 331.46 km² per grid cell | 331.46 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1750s | 428.76 km² per grid cell | 428.76 km² per grid cell | 428.76 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1760s | 475.08 km² per grid cell | 475.08 km² per grid cell | 475.08 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1770s | 524.72 km² per grid cell | 524.72 km² per grid cell | 524.72 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1780s | 577.95 km² per grid cell | 577.95 km² per grid cell | 577.95 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1790s | 635.1 km² per grid cell | 635.1 km² per grid cell | 635.1 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1800s | 696.54 km² per grid cell | 696.54 km² per grid cell | 696.54 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1810s | 783.4 km² per grid cell | 783.4 km² per grid cell | 783.4 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1820s | 1,098 km² per grid cell | 1,098 km² per grid cell | 1,098 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1830s | 1,384 km² per grid cell | 1,384 km² per grid cell | 1,384 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1840s | 1,819 km² per grid cell | 1,819 km² per grid cell | 1,819 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1850s | 2,071 km² per grid cell | 2,071 km² per grid cell | 2,071 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1860s | 2,446 km² per grid cell | 2,446 km² per grid cell | 2,446 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1870s | 2,934 km² per grid cell | 2,934 km² per grid cell | 2,934 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1880s | 3,547 km² per grid cell | 3,547 km² per grid cell | 3,547 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1890s | 4,193 km² per grid cell | 4,193 km² per grid cell | 4,193 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1900s | 4,967 km² per grid cell | 4,967 km² per grid cell | 4,967 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1910s | 5,805 km² per grid cell | 5,805 km² per grid cell | 5,805 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1920s | 6,459 km² per grid cell | 6,459 km² per grid cell | 6,459 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1930s | 7,139 km² per grid cell | 7,139 km² per grid cell | 7,139 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1940s | 7,809 km² per grid cell | 7,809 km² per grid cell | 7,809 km² per grid cell | 1 |
| 1950s | 8,823 km² per grid cell | 8,717 km² per grid cell | 8,977 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1960s | 9,288 km² per grid cell | 9,032 km² per grid cell | 9,491 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1970s | 10,229 km² per grid cell | 9,515 km² per grid cell | 10,938 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1980s | 11,246 km² per grid cell | 11,069 km² per grid cell | 11,401 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 1990s | 11,669 km² per grid cell | 11,444 km² per grid cell | 11,905 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2000s | 12,278 km² per grid cell | 11,968 km² per grid cell | 12,632 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2010s | 13,156 km² per grid cell | 12,722 km² per grid cell | 13,597 km² per grid cell | 10 |
| 2020s | 13,915 km² per grid cell | 13,690 km² per grid cell | 14,143 km² per grid cell | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.37 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 2.09 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.4402 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies -0.1504 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.74 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 153.13 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 United Kingdom?
- Urban area over the long-term in United Kingdom was 14,143 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 14,143 km² per grid cell in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.1 km² per grid cell in 1000.
- How does United Kingdom rank for urban area over the long-term?
- United Kingdom ranks 11th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.