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Top 10 Most Densely Populated Cities in the World

In the last years, there have been mass migration movements from rural to urban areas around the world to find jobs and opportunities for business.
In the last couple of years, there has been a steady increase in the population of metropolitan cities worldwide.
Here are the top 10 most densely populated cities:

10. New York City

People per square kilometer: 17,767
Population: 8,323,338
Area: 468.484 sq km
Country: United States

New York City has 8.6 million inhabitants in an area just a little over 300 square miles!
We didn’t even count the estimated 61.8 million tourists visiting the world’s financial capital each year.
New York City’s population density is much higher than most metropolitan areas in the United States.
The population density of Manhattan alone (69,468 people a mile) also sweeps through other packed locations worldwide.

Why is New York so populated?
New York is one of the few places inhabitants in the last few years where people can find white-collar jobs quickly. 
If you are a Philly stockbroker and your company is going into it, your other work options are scarce. 
But if you move to NYC and there are many more job opportunities in financial services, health care, professional services, retail, educational services, arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media industry.
Speaking about housing,
NYC was always about real estate. In Manhattan, an acre lot could possibly hold dozens of households and hundreds of companies, so owning property was much more a path to wealth (or status of wealth).
As for crowding, this is less related to NY than to economics in the last 40 years. 
For a city of eight million as foreseen in the late 19th century, the infrastructure development parts which define New York City, such as the subway and bus system were designed and constructed.

9. Alexandria

People per square kilometer: 18,023
Population: 5,280,664
Area: 293 sq km
Country: Egypt

Alexandria is the second-largest city in Egypt by population and one of the most important economic centers of the country. 
According to various estimates, Alexandria has a population of 5,280,664 in 2020. 
In 1950, as per official census reports, there were 1,037,462 people in Alexandria. Since 2015, Alexandria has grown to 491,302, an annual change of 1.97%.

Speaking about its history,
Alexander the Great was believed to have founded the town of Alexandria in 331 BC. 
It was a major cultural and intellectual center during ancient times. 
Because of its important role as the economic center of Egypt, the city of Alexandria has grown significantly throughout the years. 
Also known as a laid back culture, the city has become attractive to immigrants.
Many reports project the population to continue to grow because of the city’s culture, history, and commerce, with 5 million people living across the horizon at the next milestone.

8. Bogota

People per square kilometer: 18,766
Population: 10,978,360
Area: 585 sq km
Country: Colombia

Bogotá is Colombia’s capital and the biggest city by both population and area. 
Tourist attractions,
Bogotá is a city of contrasts and offers its visitors a unique experience. 
Get ready to find a hectic balance of the old and the new and a combination of a peaceful and frenzied atmosphere. 
Find century-old squares and churches shaded by tall skyscrapers. Find peaceful bicycle routes, tree-lined through avenues of wild traffic. 
Population growth,
Bogota is among the major financial centers in South America for official business transactions, ranging from internationally recognized corporations to regional offices for multinationals.

7. Surat

People per square kilometer: 22,039
Population: 7,184,590
Area: 326 sq km
Country: India

Surat is the oldest and primary financial center in the state of Gujarat India (also known as Surat city).
Why Surat is famous?
Today, Surat has earned the reputation of the country’s major industrial and commercial hub. 
Because of its strategic position, we also know the place as India‘s West Gateway. 
Surat is the primary industrial hub for the most extensive diamond cutting and polishing plants in the world.
The city is home to over 5,000 diamond production plants, including the most advanced diamond cutting plants. 
Surat is popularly known as the diamond city of the world.
The Surat SEZ has over 100 listed companies and is quickly becoming a major manufacturing hub for jewelry.

6. Manila

People per square kilometer: 22,473
Population: 13,923,452
Area: 620 sq km
Country: Philippines

The idea of reaching a living city with urban planning and design sounds pretty much like a pie to the sky to those who live in the Dystopian world of Metro Manila.
Manila is the capital city of Philippines.
It is a highly urbanized city and a part of Metropolitan Manila.
National Capital Region (NCR) comprises City of Manila (capital of country), Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Quezon City, Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Muntinlupa.
Manila is the most densely populated city in the world if we consider the capital city alone.

Why is Manila so densely populated?
Manila or Metro Manila (MM) are so populated in general because people from the provinces have migrated to seek opportunities. 
It’s because there are many opportunities as compared to rural agricultural areas. 
Most migrants are from other minor cities and rural provinces. 
The rural migrants then preferred to stay in the city, stay well, build a family, and continue their way of life instead of going home to their hometowns.

5. Ahmedabad

People per square kilometer: 23,027
Population: 8,059,441
Area: 350 sq km
Country: India

Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat and one of the primary business hubs in Western India.
Ahmedabad was the third fastest-growing city of the decade, according to Forbes in 2010.
The estimated gross national product of Ahmedabad as of 2017 stood at $68 billion.
In July 2017 it was declared as India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City to be the historic city of Ahmedabad or Old Ahmedabad.
In recent years, Ahmedabad has emerged as an important business and industrial hub in India.
Being a globalized city, it is India’s second-largest cotton producer and the country’s second-largest stock exchange.
Nowadays, the city is excellent for the production of medicinal products and detergents.
A booming economy and disposable income drove the boom in the megacity of Ahmedabad.
The textile industry, Pharmaceutical Industry, Detergent Industry, Major industrial corporations attract the workforce not just across the state but throughout the country.

4. Kinshasa

People per square kilometer: 24,601
Population: 14,342,439
Area: 583 sq km
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo and also the largest city. 
The city is located on the bank of the Congo River. 
Kinshasa is once a fishing and trading location with an estimated population of over 11 million. Kinshasa now represents one megacity.
Why is Kinshasa crowded?
In 1920, Kinshasa’s population was only 20,000. By 1940 it had around 450,000 inhabitants. 
It is currently likely to be the second-largest city in Africa with 75 million people within 50 years and is currently 12 million. 
It’s a dysfunctional megalopolis on Western standards, surrounded by vast settlements of informal villages with no existing and/or collapsing infrastructure.

3. Hong Kong

People per square kilometer: 26,483
Population: 7,547,652
Area: 285 sq km
Country: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKSAR)

Hong Kong’s urban area has the highest population and working population in the world.
Measurement of population densities at the block level can be over 400,000 per square kilometer.
Hong Kong has around eight million residents.
You feel that a large majority of those eight million people are hanging out if they visited Mong Kok District in Hong Kong.
It is an understatement to call the district busy. ‘Mong Kok’ literally means “busy corner” in the local Cantonese language.
In fact, with an average of 130,000 living in each square kilometer, Mong Kok district of Hong Kong is the most populous area on earth, according to the Guinness World Records.
Hong Kong’s high real estate prices are also one of the contributing factors.
Those with low and medium incomes, and even some with high incomes, can live only in high-rise buildings.
Hong Kong is still a liveable city compared to other major cities throughout the world despite its very high density.

2. Mumbai

People per square kilometer: 33,452
Population: 20,185,064
Area: 603 sq km
Country: India

The environmental status report has demonstrated that over 33,000 people live on per sq kilometers of land in the city. 
Mumbai continues to be the world’s top three most densely populated cities. 
By 2041 many reports estimate it that the population in the city will be 17.24 million.
The estimated population of the city is 12.73 million, according to the data from the city department of health. 
It has a population density of over 30,000 people per sq km (no development area excluded). 
The addition of 404 million urban residents to India is anticipated by 2050. 
This explosion in urban development leads to informal urban settlements and slums. 
Dharavi is one of them allegedly, has 2,00,000 people per square kilometer density.

Why is Mumbai so populated?
Around 24.5 million people live in the Greater Mumbai Metropolitan Area – the “Suburban District of Mumbai,” as do the towns of Navi Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, & Kalyan. 
The largest city in the country is second only to the metropolis of New Delhi, the Indian capital, with a population of 25 million in 2014.
Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital, is one of the richest cities in India, accounting for 25% of industrial output and 70% of maritime trade.
These cultural and financial institutions attract migrants from around the country creating a top-level of diversity in the megapolis.
With migrants seeking business and employment opportunities, we attribute the rapid population growth to migration from other regions in the country. 
Since 1991, when the census showed that 9.9 million people lived in the area, the population of Mumbai has more than doubled.

1. Dhaka

People per square kilometer: 56,343
Population: 20,283,552
Area: 360 sq km
Country: Bangladesh

Dhaka has been the most densely populated city in the world for the third consecutive year, with a density of 47,400 people per square kilometer.
To take advantage of livelihood opportunities, people travel from various areas all across Bangladesh to Dhaka, resulting in rapid population growth in the city.

Why is Dhaka so populated?
Rural migration to urban Dhaka in rural areas contributes actively to population growth.
2,000 people are reported to be moving to Dhaka every day. According to Habitat for Humanity, over 26% of Bangladeshi people who are migrating to Dhaka leave their hometowns because of natural disasters and climate change. 
Dhaka rotates its daily life in the local markets. Many workers work along the Buriganga, which runs through Dhaka and is heavily contaminated with human and manufacturing waste. 
While this growth has been slowing since then, Dhaka is still experiencing steady growth, with estimates of nearly 21 million people by 2020, while up to 27.3 million residents by 2030.
As high rates of poverty show, the rapidly growing population has already placed tremendous stress upon it, with increasing congestion, a higher percentage of unemployment, and inadequate infrastructure in future concerns.

The UN report shows that more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas and is expected to rise to 66 percent by 2050.
The report further states that ‘the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa.’

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