Urban area over the long-term in Zambia

Zambia: Urban area over the long-term was 1,407 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
1,407 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 3.7%
World rank
83rd
of 202 countries
All-time high
1,407 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 Zambia, 1000–2025

05001.0k1.5k100015122025

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 Zambia stood at 1,407 km² per grid cell. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 46.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Zambia peaked at 1,407 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0004 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

That places Zambia 83rd out of 202 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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 0.0013 km² per grid cell 0.0013 km² per grid cell 0.0013 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0045 km² per grid cell 0.0045 km² per grid cell 0.0045 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0155 km² per grid cell 0.0155 km² per grid cell 0.0155 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0523 km² per grid cell 0.0523 km² per grid cell 0.0523 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.1744 km² per grid cell 0.1744 km² per grid cell 0.1744 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 0.5675 km² per grid cell 0.5675 km² per grid cell 0.5675 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 3.11 km² per grid cell 3.11 km² per grid cell 3.11 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 3.86 km² per grid cell 3.86 km² per grid cell 3.86 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 4.62 km² per grid cell 4.62 km² per grid cell 4.62 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 5.5 km² per grid cell 5.5 km² per grid cell 5.5 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 6.49 km² per grid cell 6.49 km² per grid cell 6.49 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 7.63 km² per grid cell 7.63 km² per grid cell 7.63 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 8.92 km² per grid cell 8.92 km² per grid cell 8.92 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 10.39 km² per grid cell 10.39 km² per grid cell 10.39 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 12.06 km² per grid cell 12.06 km² per grid cell 12.06 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 13.96 km² per grid cell 13.96 km² per grid cell 13.96 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 16.1 km² per grid cell 16.1 km² per grid cell 16.1 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 18.53 km² per grid cell 18.53 km² per grid cell 18.53 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 21.27 km² per grid cell 21.27 km² per grid cell 21.27 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 24.37 km² per grid cell 24.37 km² per grid cell 24.37 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 27.87 km² per grid cell 27.87 km² per grid cell 27.87 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 31.81 km² per grid cell 31.81 km² per grid cell 31.81 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 35.18 km² per grid cell 35.18 km² per grid cell 35.18 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 38.8 km² per grid cell 38.8 km² per grid cell 38.8 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 42.96 km² per grid cell 42.96 km² per grid cell 42.96 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 48.42 km² per grid cell 48.42 km² per grid cell 48.42 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 59.64 km² per grid cell 51.92 km² per grid cell 73.77 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 111.26 km² per grid cell 78.23 km² per grid cell 156.89 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 227.72 km² per grid cell 167.51 km² per grid cell 298.24 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 375.17 km² per grid cell 318.03 km² per grid cell 435.76 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 498.75 km² per grid cell 450.22 km² per grid cell 551.65 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 658.5 km² per grid cell 563.75 km² per grid cell 763.09 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 932.28 km² per grid cell 746.94 km² per grid cell 1,108 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 1,282 km² per grid cell 1,146 km² per grid cell 1,407 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 80 Mozambique 1,550 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 81 Burkina Faso 1,502 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 82 Bolivia 1,418 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 84 Oman 1,399 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 85 Libya 1,243 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 86 Benin 1,225 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Zambia?
Urban area over the long-term in Zambia was 1,407 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 Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 1,407 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0004 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Zambia rank for urban area over the long-term?
Zambia ranks 83rd out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia 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.

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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.