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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