The world population is growing at a consistent rate of 1.05% every year. This increase may not seem like much, but when you consider that there are 7.7 billion people on this planet, this annual population increase of 77 million people turns out to be a lot. With so many people, city populations across the world will continue to grow. But which cities have the highest population density? We sought the answer to this question by comparing the population per square mile of cities around the world.
Explore our findings with this map that highlights the 25 cities with the highest population density.
You may be surprised to see which cities didn’t end up making the list, like New York City, which is known by many for having millions of people living on a very small amount of land. However, one of NYC’s neighboring cities, Guttenberg, New Jersey, did manage to squeak onto the list, landing in the 23rd spot for highest population density. Cities in Asia made up the majority of the list, especially in the Philippines, which has the three cities with the highest population densities.
Which city were you surprised to see had or hadn’t made this list of cities with the highest population density in the world?
Which City Has the Highest Population Density in the World?
The city that has the highest population density in the world is Manila in the Philippines, which was found to have a population per square mile of 119,600. Cities in the Philippines dominated the list with six in the top 25, three of which landed in the top spots. Pateros and Mandaluyong came in second and third on the list, respectively, with population densities of 94,400 and 90,460.
Asia had strong representation on the chart, with 16 of the cities with the highest population density located on this continent, followed by Europe, with seven cities making their way onto the list. How do these population densities compare to that of New York City, a location that many would consider to be a high-density city? You may be surprised to learn that New York City’s population per square mile is just 27,016, which is less than a quarter of the population density of Manila.
The 25 Cities With the Highest Population Density per Square Mile
- Manila, Philippines: 119,600
- Pateros, Philippines: 94,400
- Mandaluyong, Philippines: 90,460
- Baghdad, Iraq: 85,140
- Mumbai, India: 83,660
- Dhaka, Bangladesh: 75,290
- Caloocan, Philippines: 72,490
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti: 70,950
- Bnei Brak, Israel: 70,810
- Levallois-Perret, France: 69,190
- Vincennes, France: 67,650
- Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France: 66,420
- Karachi, Pakistan: 65,340
- Saint-Mandé, France: 63,680
- Makati, Philippines: 63,060
- Kolkata, India: 62,950
- Montrouge, France: 62,900
- Sint-Joost-ten-Node, Belgium: 62,590
- Kathmandu, Nepal: 61,960
- Subang Jaya, Malaysia: 61,930
- Neapoli, Thessaloniki, Greece: 59,960
- Malé, Maldives: 59,570
- Guttenberg, New Jersey, United States: 58,650
- Damascus, Syria: 57,550
- Malabon, Philippines: 57,340