Urban area over the long-term in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Urban area over the long-term was 2,675 km² per grid cell in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
2,675 km² per grid cell
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
46th
of 202 countries
All-time high
2,675 km² per grid cell
in 2025
All-time low
0.001 km² per grid cell
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

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

01.0k2.0k3.0k100015122025

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 Zimbabwe is 2,675 km² per grid cell, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 23.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban area over the long-term in Zimbabwe peaked at 2,675 km² per grid cell in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.001 km² per grid cell, in 1000.

Zimbabwe ranks 46th 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.001 km² per grid cell 0.001 km² per grid cell 0.001 km² per grid cell 1
1100s 0.0029 km² per grid cell 0.0029 km² per grid cell 0.0029 km² per grid cell 1
1200s 0.0087 km² per grid cell 0.0087 km² per grid cell 0.0087 km² per grid cell 1
1300s 0.0262 km² per grid cell 0.0262 km² per grid cell 0.0262 km² per grid cell 1
1400s 0.0787 km² per grid cell 0.0787 km² per grid cell 0.0787 km² per grid cell 1
1500s 0.4719 km² per grid cell 0.4719 km² per grid cell 0.4719 km² per grid cell 1
1600s 1.54 km² per grid cell 1.54 km² per grid cell 1.54 km² per grid cell 1
1700s 4.97 km² per grid cell 4.97 km² per grid cell 4.97 km² per grid cell 1
1710s 5.79 km² per grid cell 5.79 km² per grid cell 5.79 km² per grid cell 1
1720s 6.56 km² per grid cell 6.56 km² per grid cell 6.56 km² per grid cell 1
1730s 7.42 km² per grid cell 7.42 km² per grid cell 7.42 km² per grid cell 1
1740s 8.38 km² per grid cell 8.38 km² per grid cell 8.38 km² per grid cell 1
1750s 9.46 km² per grid cell 9.46 km² per grid cell 9.46 km² per grid cell 1
1760s 10.67 km² per grid cell 10.67 km² per grid cell 10.67 km² per grid cell 1
1770s 12.03 km² per grid cell 12.03 km² per grid cell 12.03 km² per grid cell 1
1780s 13.54 km² per grid cell 13.54 km² per grid cell 13.54 km² per grid cell 1
1790s 15.23 km² per grid cell 15.23 km² per grid cell 15.23 km² per grid cell 1
1800s 17.13 km² per grid cell 17.13 km² per grid cell 17.13 km² per grid cell 1
1810s 19.25 km² per grid cell 19.25 km² per grid cell 19.25 km² per grid cell 1
1820s 21.61 km² per grid cell 21.61 km² per grid cell 21.61 km² per grid cell 1
1830s 24.25 km² per grid cell 24.25 km² per grid cell 24.25 km² per grid cell 1
1840s 27.2 km² per grid cell 27.2 km² per grid cell 27.2 km² per grid cell 1
1850s 30.49 km² per grid cell 30.49 km² per grid cell 30.49 km² per grid cell 1
1860s 36.92 km² per grid cell 36.92 km² per grid cell 36.92 km² per grid cell 1
1870s 44.71 km² per grid cell 44.71 km² per grid cell 44.71 km² per grid cell 1
1880s 54.15 km² per grid cell 54.15 km² per grid cell 54.15 km² per grid cell 1
1890s 65.58 km² per grid cell 65.58 km² per grid cell 65.58 km² per grid cell 1
1900s 79.42 km² per grid cell 79.42 km² per grid cell 79.42 km² per grid cell 1
1910s 102.39 km² per grid cell 102.39 km² per grid cell 102.39 km² per grid cell 1
1920s 130.79 km² per grid cell 130.79 km² per grid cell 130.79 km² per grid cell 1
1930s 176.3 km² per grid cell 176.3 km² per grid cell 176.3 km² per grid cell 1
1940s 234.49 km² per grid cell 234.49 km² per grid cell 234.49 km² per grid cell 1
1950s 374.8 km² per grid cell 325.07 km² per grid cell 417.97 km² per grid cell 10
1960s 470.08 km² per grid cell 424.81 km² per grid cell 520.38 km² per grid cell 10
1970s 564.77 km² per grid cell 527.93 km² per grid cell 610.38 km² per grid cell 10
1980s 782.46 km² per grid cell 631.17 km² per grid cell 986.25 km² per grid cell 10
1990s 1,247 km² per grid cell 1,040 km² per grid cell 1,429 km² per grid cell 10
2000s 1,685 km² per grid cell 1,462 km² per grid cell 1,951 km² per grid cell 10
2010s 2,111 km² per grid cell 1,827 km² per grid cell 2,385 km² per grid cell 10
2020s 2,556 km² per grid cell 2,438 km² per grid cell 2,675 km² per grid cell 6

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 43 Puerto Rico 2,845 km² per grid cell compare
  2. 44 South Korea 2,837 km² per grid cell compare
  3. 45 Colombia 2,817 km² per grid cell compare
  4. 47 Denmark 2,630 km² per grid cell compare
  5. 48 Bangladesh 2,570 km² per grid cell compare
  6. 49 Chile 2,558 km² per grid cell compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More reference data data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban area over the long-term in Zimbabwe?
Urban area over the long-term in Zimbabwe was 2,675 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 Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 2,675 km² per grid cell in 2025.
What is the lowest urban area over the long-term recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 0.001 km² per grid cell in 1000.
How does Zimbabwe rank for urban area over the long-term?
Zimbabwe ranks 46th out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is urban area over the long-term rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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.