These cities are some of the most densely populated in the world. See what they look like in photos.

• Some cities around the world have tens of millions of residents.
• In cities like Mumbai, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, people deal with extreme traffic and crowds.
• Some cities have experienced population changes due to refugees and conflict.

Mogadishu, Somalia, is one of the biggest port cities on Africa’s eastern coast.

Mogadishu is Somalia’s capital and the country’s most populous city. The African Cities Research Consortium estimates its population at anywhere from 1.7 million to 2.9 million residents.

The city has often been the site of conflict in the ongoing Somali Civil War.

Manila, Philippines, is the most densely populated city in Metro Manila.

The city of Manila consists of roughly 2 million residents, although the broader metro area is much larger. Depending on which areas are included, the metro area has roughly 25 million residents, according to the UN report.

The larger area is known as the National Capital Region — or Metro Manila — and includes cities such as Quezon City, Makati City, and Pateros.

The city of Manila itself had 73,920 people per square kilometer, or about 191,000 people per square mile, in 2020, per the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Cultural and religious events draw large crowds in the city.

The Catholic tradition known as The Traslación, or The Feast of the Black Nazarene, takes place in Manila. In the tradition, crowds carry a 17th-century statue of Jesus in a procession through the city.

More than 8.12 million people participated in the event in 2025, The Inquirer reported.

Baghdad is Iraq’s most populous city and one of the most populous in the Middle East.

The city’s metro area has a population of roughly 6.4 million residents, according to the UN report.

Millions of vehicles per day generate significant traffic in the city, according to Shafaq News.

Dhaka, Bangladesh, like much of the country, is afflicted by flooding.

The greater metro area has a population of 36.5 million, according to the UN report. The city of Dhaka has over 10 million residents living in an area of less than 150 square miles.

Due to its climate and proximity to rivers, Dhaka is prone to extreme flooding. The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery labeled it “among the most climate-vulnerable megacities in the world.”

The city is seeking to expand its public transit system to support its population.

Dhaka has a metro system with one fully operational line and others in planning or construction. According to an Asian Transport Observatory report from 2024, 29% of the city’s population has convenient access to public transportation.

Residents also use rickshaws to get around.

There are about 80,000 of these bicycle passenger vehicles registered in Dhaka, with hundreds of thousands more unregistered, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Rickshaws in Bangladesh are often painted with custom designs and are recognized by UNESCO for their cultural heritage.

While many people have fled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, it still remains densely populated.

Population estimates for Port-au-Prince vary heavily.

Per the UN, gang violence and crime are common in Port-au-Prince, and UN officials have estimated that gangs control about 90% of the city. This has caused a mass number of refugees, with roughly 30,000 residents fleeing the city in recent weeks after a new wave of attacks.

The displacement in the city represents the broader trend in the country, in which 1.4 million people have fled their homes due to violence.

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