The 5 Most Densely Populated Cities On Earth

In 2018, 1.7 billion people (23% of the world’s population) lived in a city with at least 1 million inhabitants. It is estimated that by 2030, 28% of people worldwide will be concentrated in cities with at least 1 million inhabitants. Cities with more than 10 million inhabitants are often termed ‘megacities’. Globally, the number of megacities is projected to rise from 33 in 2018 to 43 in 2030.

Currently, the 5 most densely populated cities on earth are the following (in descending order).

Mumbai, India: Population – 20.4 million, people per square mile – 109,000.
Shanghai, China: Population – 24.2 million, people per square mile – 84,000.
Karachi, Pakistan: Population – 16.1 million, people per square mile – 80,500.
Kolkata, India: Population – 14.9 million, people per square mile – 72,700.
Shenzhen, China: Population – 13.0 million, people per square mile – 72,200.

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This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 2 months ago by Freebird.

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- 31 May 2023 at 1:21 pm #13444
  
  Chris Lewer
  Keymaster
  
  In 2018, 1.7 billion people (23% of the world’s population) lived in a city with at least 1 million inhabitants. It is estimated that by 2030, 28% of people worldwide will be concentrated in cities with at least 1 million inhabitants.
  
  Has urbanisation gone too far? Is it possible to avoid the rise of megacities (more than 10 million inhabitants) without reducing the global human population?
- 31 May 2023 at 1:42 pm #13473
  
  DayWalker
  Participant
  
  Scary numbers. I live in a small city with a population of 145,000 and even that feels crowded sometimes. I can’t imagine the claustrophobia of over 10 million people in one city, let alone the noise, air pollution, heat, etc. Who would want that life?
- 31 May 2023 at 3:04 pm #13493
  
  Planet Watcher
  Participant
  
  43 megacities by 2030… that’s half a billion people living in just 43 cities! I’ll take a cottage in the countryside thank you very much.
- 1 June 2023 at 9:08 am #13494
  
  Freebird
  Participant
  
  How much energy must it take to supply one megacity? How many vehicles causing air pollution? How many air conditioning units increasing the air temperature? Staggering. And yet we keep on building them!
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