These Are The Most Densely Populated Places On The Planet

Bright Side

Some of the most densely populated places on the planet are found in cities like Mumbai, India, where neighborhoods can be extremely crowded with people living close together in high-rise buildings and narrow streets. Tokyo, Japan, also stands out for its densely packed urban areas and efficient land use. In places like Hong Kong and Singapore, skyscrapers and apartment complexes are common, accommodating large populations in relatively small areas. In some places, a whole village lives on a territory that is smaller than a football field!  Credit: AFP News Agency / YouTube Mapmory / Pinterest Great Big Story / YouTube EM Walking Tour / YouTube Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00From tiny islands to giant cities fanning out for dozens of miles, you're gonna learn

00:06about the most densely populated places on Earth.

00:10It'll make you question the limits of the impossible.

00:13To what lengths are people ready to go in their search of a better life, or simply trying

00:18to survive?

00:20The list of such places includes both Hong Kong and the Maldives, the Egyptian city of

00:27and a tiny island in Lake Victoria in Africa.

00:30Let's find out more about how people manage to live there.

00:34Hong Kong has an official population of 7.5 million people, and this number is expected

00:41to reach 8.5 million by 2041.

00:45The density of the city's population is more than 18,000 people per square mile.

00:50Despite a rather low birth rate, the population of Hong Kong is on the rise.

00:56This paradox has an explanation.

00:58A lot of people immigrate to Hong Kong all the time because of all the opportunities

01:03this city offers, like various jobs.

01:07The city has an incredibly high price of land.

01:10It's one of the main reasons for its high-density development.

01:14People with low and even middle incomes can only afford to live in high-rise buildings,

01:19and Hong Kong has more than 9,000 of those.

01:22Plus, there are more than 300 buildings that are over 490 feet in height.

01:29It's more than New York, Shanghai, and Dubai can boast.

01:34Hong Kong's incredible growth as one of the tallest cities in the world has a lot to do

01:38with its incredible urban planning.

01:41At the same time, housing is unbelievably expensive in this region.

01:47Median home costs are 18 times the median annual income.

01:51That's the reason why less fortunate residents live in the so-called coffin houses, where

01:56apartments are tinier than a standard parking space in the USA.

02:01Take Quarry Bay, for example, a densely packed neighborhood in eastern Hong Kong, and its

02:07monster building.

02:09It's actually not one building, but a group of five connected constructions.

02:14There are more than 2,200 units in these five blocks, and rumor has it that it houses

02:20around 10,000 people.

02:23Despite such cramped living conditions most Hong Kong's inhabitants have to deal with,

02:28the city is home to several dozen billionaires.

02:31Look, this is half a football field, and that's what one-third of Bill Gates' home looks

02:37like.

02:38Another example for you, two-fifths of the White House.

02:42These are not random numbers, that's the territory of Magingo Island, located in Lake

02:47Victoria between Kenya and Uganda.

02:50Over 100 people live on this tiny piece of land.

02:54Don't you think that those metal-tiled roofs make the island look like a huge turtle floating

02:58on the water?

03:00Unfortunately, because of the island's small size, there's barely any vegetation there.

03:05Most of the surface of the island is covered with rocks, except for this tiny area.

03:10It's covered with grass and hosts not more than five shrubs.

03:14The island is all about fish and fishing.

03:18The landing point turns into a fish market every day at noon.

03:21The trade doesn't last long, it usually finishes at 2 p.m. when the boat leaves.

03:27The only thing the inhabitants of the island have is fish, so every morning they get essential

03:32supplies for small businesses from Kenya.

03:35That's why you can buy everything you need in local stores, from food to fishing equipment.

03:41The inhabitants of the island not only catch fish but also gut them on the rocks and then

03:46fry and eat them in cafes.

03:48Yep, there are around 13 cafes and bars on the islands where people eat, play dice, and

03:54cook ugali, a typical dish made from maize flour.

03:58Back to giant cities and busy streets.

04:01Welcome to Shenzhen, the most densely populated city in China.

04:05This city hosts around 17.5 million people.

04:09With so many inhabitants, the city faces loads of challenges.

04:13For example, overcrowded schools and beaches.

04:17Speaking of the latter, some areas even implement a booking system to manage beach crowds.

04:23The most astonishing thing about this megapolis is that it's grown to its current size within

04:28a mere 40 years or so.

04:31It used to be a fishing village, but then, thanks to the support of the authorities and

04:35the city's close proximity to Hong Kong, it turned into a bustling financial and economic

04:41center.

04:42These days, it has the status of one of the busiest container ports in the world, along

04:46with Shanghai and Singapore.

04:49Shenzhen also has had the fastest growth in millionaires over the last 10 years, 140%.

04:57Such an increase is far greater than in the first-tier cities in China, including Beijing

05:02and Shanghai.

05:04Ailat Abrui is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, and it's one of the most densely

05:09populated islands in the world.

05:12Around 500 people living there share an area of a mere 0.4 hectares.

05:18You might think this is just another fishing village, but Ailat Abrui is more like a factory.

05:24Once you set foot on this island, you'll instantly see a maze of alleyways.

05:30Follow them, walking past crooked thatch and tarp-covered huts, and you'll eventually

05:34find yourself in the center of town.

05:37The main landmarks are two concrete buildings, and one of them is a store.

05:42In the middle, you'll see a modest town square equipped with two solar streetlights.

05:47One is old and is no longer in use, and the other is shiny and new.

05:51On the island, men outnumber women and kids.

05:55Many people are out of town fishing during the day.

05:58The horizon surrounding the island is dotted with sails and pirogues.

06:02The rest remain on the island doing other jobs, like repairing boats, mending nets and

06:08traps, and preparing tons of fish for shipment to Haiti and other places.

06:13As for kids, they spend their days swimming.

06:17Our last destination is the Egyptian city of Tanta, which is also one of the most densely

06:22populated places in the world.

06:24It has about 70,000 people per square mile.

06:29Just for comparison, there are slightly under 30,000 people per square mile in New York.

06:35The city is located between Cairo and Alexandria.

06:38It has huge cotton plantations, and in 1856, it became a stop on the railway network, mostly

06:46for exporting the cotton growing in the area to Europe.

06:49And even though the area around Tanta was mostly fields, the settlement turned into

06:54a large, crowded city.

06:57In late October, the city becomes the center of celebration of the cotton harvest.

07:03Three million people come from around the delta and other parts of the Arab world for

07:08the colorful eight-day celebration.

07:11Tanta is famous for its sweet candy.

07:13It's made of gelatin, coconut, sesame, peanuts, and chickpeas.

07:18Thousands of these sweets are sold during festivals when many Egyptians visit the city.

07:23No wonder they've been considered a delicacy since the 1800s.

07:28Tanta also has a lot of cotton processing factories, as well as textile industries.

07:34Plus, it's a university town.

07:36Tanta University was established in 1972.

07:40Mali, the capital of the Maldives, has a population of more than 200,000 people.

07:47It means 49,000 people per square mile.

07:5080% of the land sits around 4 feet above sea level, which means that if part of the islands

07:56go underwater, people will have to relocate.

08:00An artificial island that was created to manage waste is getting overburdened.

08:05In 1997, Hulamale, another artificial island, was built to alleviate dramatic population

08:12pressure.

08:13These days, it's already as developed as Mali.

08:17The Maldives consists of more than 1,000 islands stretching along a 500-mile axis.

08:23All of them are coral islands.

08:26They grew around the rims of prehistoric undersea volcanoes.

08:30Only 188 islands are inhabited, but most of them have fewer than 1,000 residents.

08:37More and more Maldivians are giving up on island life and moving to the capital city.

08:43But Mali is already pressed hard against the limits of human habitation.

08:48If even more people move there, its physical structure would need to be completely reworked.

08:54The authorities are already surrounding Mali with sea bridges and artificial islands packed

08:59with houses.

09:00That's it for today.

09:02So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

09:06friends.

09:07Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side.

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