The chart above shows the population density of each urban area with a population of over 500,000 with a population density over 9,200 people per square kilometer (23,828 people per square mile) while the charts below show all urban areas with a population of over 500,000 with an area between 5,600 people per square kilometer (14,504 people per square mile) and 9,200 people per square kilometer, between 4,000 people per square kilometer (10,360 people per square mile) and 5,600 people per square kilometer, and below 4,000 people per square kilometer. The urban areas have been normalized so as to avoid any inconsistencies with how cities and their metropolitan areas are defined by their governments. Each urban area has similar characteristics making this the definitive method with which to compare cities across various countries. Bangladesh has the largest urban area by population density by far.
Findings
- The difference between the urban area with the greatest population density, Dhaka, and the urban area with the least, Namangan, is 32,740 people per square kilometer (84,796 people per square mile).
- Dhaka has 29.77 times the population density that Namangan does.
- The median population density of urban areas with a minimum population of 500,000 in Asia is 5,647 people per square kilometer (14,626 people per square mile) and the mean 7,205.98 people per square kilometer (18,663.41 people per square mile).
Caveats
- Data is from 2020.
- The methodology for how these urban areas have been defined can be found in the source link below. As of this writing this is the most reliable way to compare urban areas throughout the world.
- Some of these urban areas span several states, and the state that is being used here is the one where the core of the urban area is located. For instance, Milan's urban area spans both Italy and Switzerland, but since the core of the urban area is in Italy it would be listed as an Italian urban area and not a Swiss one.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest whole.
Details
Only 46 of the 54 Asian states have urban areas with at least 500,000 people. Of these, China has 248; India has 108; Indonesia has 24; Japan has 21; Iran and Turkey each have 16; Pakistan has 14; South Korea has 11; Iraq and Saudi Arabia each have ten; the Philippines has nine; Vietnam has eight; Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand each have six; Syria and Taiwan each have five; Israel, Kazakhstan, and Yemen each have four; Afghanistan, North Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan each have three; Jordan and Myanmar each have two; and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan each have one.
Seven of the 12 urban areas with a population of over 500,000 people that have a population density of over 20,000 people per square kilometer (51,800 people per square mile) are located in India; Bangladesh has two; Hong Kong, Macao, and Syria each have one. Six of the 11 urban areas with a population of over 500,000 people that have a population density less than 1,000 people per square kilometer (2,590 people per square mile) are located in China and Thailand with three each; Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan each have one.
Hong Kong has the largest mean population density in its urban areas of over 500,000 people with a mean of 25,327 people per square kilometer (65,597 people per square mile) distributed among its one urban area. Macao has the second largest mean population density in its urban areas of over 500,000 people with a mean of 24,826 people per square kilometer (64,299 people per square mile) distributed among its one urban area.
Bhutan, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cyprus, Maldives, and Timor-Leste do not have any urban areas with a population of over 500,000 inhabitants.
Sources
Demographia. 2021. "Demographia World Urban Areas: 16th Annual Edition." Accessed March 9, 2021. http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf.