Statistically , over half of the the great unwashed reading this clause live in a metropolis , with a higher universe density than rural or suburban area . For instance , New York City hasnearly 27,000 peoplecrammed into each square mile ( 2.6 square km ) of Edwin Herbert Land .
That might seem like acute overpopulation , but it ’s nothing compared to themost densely populated cityin the cosmos . Here , we ’ve order the cities with the high universe densities by number of people per square international nautical mile .
1. Manila, Philippines: 119,600
According toWorld Population Review , Manila is home to 119,600 people per satisfying knot , although the metropolis has a relatively low population of 1.8 million people .
Manila isalso the capitalof the Philippines and has been a major fiscal and shipping hub in the land for over a millennium . Manila ’s strategic position in the Pacific has moderate to its active economy .
However , it ’s also given foreign colonizers reason to take advantage of the Philippines , include Taiwanese and Hindu rulers in ancient times , then Moslem and Spanish occupation in the 1500s .
In 1898 , the United States seized Manila from Spanish force-out during the Spanish - American warfare . Then the city was invaded by the Nipponese war machine during Word War II . It was n’t until 1948 that Manila officialy take independency along with the ease of the country .
2. Pateros, Philippines: 94,400
The Philippines is home to many city of the highest universe denseness , with secondbeing Pateros , at 94,400 citizens per straight geographical mile . Despite its eminent density , Pateros is actually a petite village of less than one square mile , with about 65,000 full universe . Pateros was antecedently known for duck farming and sportfishing , but water pollution has get these industries to worsen . However , salted duck’s egg eggs are still a popular food to determine within the village .
3. Mandaluyong, Philippines: 90,460
Mandaluyongis a city just a few mi east of Manila . While they could be see a part of the same metropolitan area , Mandaluyong is lawfully its own city , with a population density of 90,460 per satisfying mile .
This urban center has faced many of the same political struggles as the capital , which makes signified , consider its close propinquity . Today , Mandaluyong is home to one of the large financial districts in the Philippines , along with high - rise apartments and sumptuousness shopping centers .
4. Baghdad, Iraq: 85,140
Baghdad is thecapital of Iraq . As the nation ’s declamatory city , it is one of the busiest sphere in the Middle East . Baghdad is also one of the oldest active cities in the globe , having been ground in 762 C.E.
Today , the city is home to 85,140 people per substantial mile , along with a total population of about 7 million . The city is also home to some of other surviving examples of Islamic computer architecture know today .
Throughout the 20th C , Baghdad had been at the center of conflicts with other Arab states , culminating in the 2003 encroachment of Iraq which launch the metropolis into agitation for years . Today , Baghdad is on its way to recuperate economically thanks to dynamic industrial infrastructure that includes steel manufacturing and oil product .
5. Mumbai, India: 83,660
Mumbaiis the enceinte city in India and widely considered the financial hub of South Asia . The Mumbai metro area boasts a stupefying population of over 23 million people , along with a population denseness of 83,660 people per square mile .
The city is home to the Indian stock interchange , raking in money from all over the country , but it also features a massive shipping industry which has been active for C .
6. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 75,290
Dhakais the orotund urban center in Bangladesh , as well as its official majuscule .
Over the last 150 years , the city has become home to massive industrialization , including a transportation port and textile manufacturing dominion . The need for trade union movement has bring over 22 million masses into the area and counting , with a population density of 75,290 per square mile .
7. Caloocan, Philippines: 72,490
Caloocanis the final Filipino city to be sport in this objet d’art , and yet another one that borders on the Manila metropolitan orbit . Caloocan was a site for battles with Imperial Japan during World War II , but has since been rebuild to become a hub for the country ’s textile industry , as well as food product .
Today , the city is home to 72,490 hoi polloi per solid international nautical mile .
8. Port-au-Prince, Haiti: 70,950
porthole - au - Princeis the capital letter of Haiti as well as the prime hub of its shipping economic system . The metropolis is locate in a perfect strategical military position when it comes to international trade through North America , South America , and the Caribbean .
However , Haiti has been the subject of turmoil for one C , include Gallic settlement , the hard worker trade , economic sanctions and multiple instinctive disasters .
The economic DoS of Haiti does n’t leave a lot of job opportunity . As a result , most 20 pct of the country ’s universe has flood the Port - Astronomical Unit - Prince surface area to support the shipping business and related industries . As of 2024 , the population density is 70,950 masses per square nautical mile .
City Population vs. Population Density
It can be easy to mix the central geographical terminal figure of universe density with a metropolis ’s total universe . While cities with high-pitched population growing can also contain high population densities , ecumenical universe come to to the phone number of individuals living within the metropolis , while population compactness is a office of universe over the total ground arena of the city .
Therefore , the most densely populate city have the most people living in the small urban arena . To judge cities by highest universe density , we went by data put out by theWorld Population Review . This data studies the number of individuals per square mil for the most densely dwell city according 2024 census .