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Staggering photos show what daily life in the most crowded cities in the world is really like
Staggering photos show what daily life in the most crowded cities in the world is really like
Myelle LansatOct 19, 2018, 01:12 IST
Sk Hasan Ali/Shutterstock
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Living in an overcrowded city is a very different experience than simply visiting one.
Business Insider looked at cities around the world crowded with residents and tourists to see what it's really like to live there on a daily basis.
Some cities even have fewer locals than tourists. For example, Paris, France has a total population of 11 million people but hosted 36.5 million tourists in 2016.
Living in an overcrowded city is a very different experience than simply visiting one.
While a tourist passes through for a select amount of time, locals are stuck dealing with large vacation crowds and navigating through other locals on lesser-known streets.
Business Insider looked at cities around the world with high populations and millions of tourists annually to see what it's really like to live there on a daily basis.
Tokyo is the largest and most populated city in the world with 37.4 million inhabitants and had 20 million visitors in 2017. The city's shopping hubs are jam-packed.
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Some cities on the list have fewer locals than tourists. For example, Paris, France, has a total population of 11 million people had 36.5 million tourists flooding its streets and monuments in 2016.
However, locals in cities like Dhaka, Bangladesh make up the majority of the crowds. With 19.5 million residents in a total area of 300 kilometers, or about 186 miles, the city has a density of about 40,000 people per square kilometer.
Check out what it's like to live in the most crowded cities around the world.
The main street in Old Delhi used to be a promenade for royals dating back to the 17th century. Today it is one of the most crowded marketplaces with wall-to-wall vendors selling everything from spices to wedding attire.
The Chinese New Year celebration in Beijing is a spectacle, but the crowds are so large the holiday is also referred to as the world's "largest human migration."
The metro stations in Mexico City are some of the most crowded transportation systems globally, ranking as the eighth busiest metro in the world and the second-largest rapid transit system in North America.
It is estimated that 7.5 million people use commuter trains daily in Mumbai. The overcrowding on the rail system has caused nearly 38,000 deaths since 2007, CNN reported. That's an average of nine deaths per day.
Dhaka is the largest city and most densely populated in Bangladesh. More than 19.5 million people reside in a total area of 300 kilometers — about 186 miles.
The Hagia Sophia, a former Greek Orthodox Church turned museum, is the most popular tourist destination in Istanbul attracting nearly 3.5 million people annually.
Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with more than 181 million people. Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria and is home to 13.4 million residents.
The oldest part of the city, Lagos Island, is connected by bridges to the mainland and home to the Jankara market and Balogun street market where stalls sell anything from linens to lipstick. In the past two decades, vendors have pushed out international banks, airline companies, and real-estate firms in the area, viewed as a "reverse-gentrification" push.
While Brazil prepared for the Rio games, 825 families were forced to relocate to neighboring cities built by the government. The city saw up to 2,000 families relocate in preparation for the Olympic games since 2009.
Fans of the "Hangover" movies can even do a tour of every site filmed in the second movie, including the bustling Soi Cowboy street lined with go-go bars.
There are over 124,000 new cars registered in South Korea monthly, according to Trading Economics. The Gangnam district in Seoul is known for having limited parking space due to the amount of cars on the road.
With 10 million more visitors than residents, the popular tourist destinations like Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly or Oxford Circus, and Buckingham Palace will have the biggest crowds.
Downtown Toronto is a tourist's dream. There is the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, the CN Tower, Steam Whistle Brewing, and the Rogers Center where the Blue Jays play all on the same block — game day crowds are no joke.
Traveling to Madrid during Easter is both remarkable and overly crowded. The Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is a weeklong religious observance with parades and prayer.
Bull fights are famous in Madrid, though tourist attendance isn't as high as local attendance. Today, the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas arena fits 20,000 spectators.
There are also six weeks out of the year where bull fights happen daily during the San Isidro festival where locals take to the streets and dress up in traditional Madrid costumes.
Safari experiences are a major tourist attraction in Johannesburg, but several safari vehicles can be over crowded and with limited window seats — some tourists get stuck cruising in the middle.
