The 10 most populous islands in the world

On most of the once inaccessible and little-explored islands with rich flora and fauna, there are now multi-storey boxes of buildings and numerous cars scurrying around. But compared to mainland communities, island resources are severely limited. This is the reason for the large population density.

The title of the most populous island is unofficially the island of Santa Cruz, located near the Caribbean coast of Colombia. 700 residents live here permanently. During the holidays and holidays, the island's population increases to 1200 people. This is due to the fact that local children and teenagers who study at secondary school on the mainland come home to their relatives. Here you will not see the usual resorts, hotel complexes and pools with blue water. Due to the small size of the island, there is not even a sports stadium and a cemetery. All sports competitions and funeral procedures take place on the neighboring island of Mukura. Almost all the inhabitants of the island work at sea. Every three weeks, warships deliver drinking water here. Due to the lack of fresh water, residents are forced to swim and wash their clothes right in the sea. By European standards, the islanders are very poor. But here you will never see closed doors with heavy barn locks. And after dark, locals gather together with their neighbors in front of TV screens to watch popular soap operas.

According to 2008 data, the population of Hong Kong Island was more than 1.2 million people. And this is despite the relatively small size of the territory itself. Only 80.4 square kilometers. In 1842, only about three thousand people lived here. Today Hong Kong is one of the most popular tourist routes. Travelers are attracted here not only by historical monuments and modern shopping malls with enticing advertising signs, but also by the opportunity to walk through the picturesque mountain hills of the island.

One of the oldest and most densely populated parts of New York is considered to be the island district of Manhattan. 1.58 million people live here. Based on the number of inhabitants per square kilometer, 26,924 people come out. There is no such population density in any other American city. Manhattan is often called the financial heart of the world, as the largest commercial and financial structures of the world are located here. It is also home to the largest radio and telecommunications companies, the UN headquarters and many interesting historical attractions.

Salsett Island is located in the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India. About 15.1 million inhabitants live on 619 square kilometers of land. The settlement of the island began in the Stone Age by a tribe of fishermen. In the third century BC, the island fell under the rule of the Morya Empire and transformed into a major cultural and religious center of Buddhists and Hindus. Local dynasties eventually replaced one another, and the island flourished and gained fame as a major shopping center. In the 18th century, the British captured Salsett and created numerous railways and highways connecting this skeleton with the mainland and the island of Bombay. This led to a sharp increase in the number of residents. Even the wealthiest people chose this island to build their luxury villas.

Romantic Venice is located on 118 small islands separated from each other by many channels. Local beauties attract travelers from all corners of the globe here. Approximately 270 thousand people live here permanently, but at the expense of tourists, the population of the island increases at least twice.

Joal Fadiout is an unusual Senegalese village southeast of Dakar. One part of it, Joal, is located on the mainland, and the second, Fadiut, is on an island formed by mollusk shells. A bridge connects both parts of the village. Shells are also used by artisans to decorate their wares and homes. Most of the locals are busy growing rice and fishing. A sign at the entrance to the village on the island warns that it is forbidden to use any kind of vehicles here. According to 2007 data, 39 thousand people lived here.

In the southern part of the Northern Male Atoll is the capital city of the Maldives of the same name. In comparison with the data of 1987, in 2006 the number of inhabitants on the island increased fivefold and reached one hundred thousand. In addition to the local population, a large number of foreign workers live here. The recent operation on the dumping of soil allowed to slightly expand the island boundaries.

Ebeye is the most densely populated atoll of Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands. This is a permanent residence of 15 thousand people. Most of them are refugees or descendants of refugees who moved here in March 1954 from Bikini Atoll after conducting destructive nuclear tests there. At the moment, almost fifty percent of the local population has not yet reached the age of eighteen.

One of the main historical attractions of St. Petersburg is the beautiful and majestic Vasilievsky Island. Most of the museums and cathedrals of the city are located here. The population of the island in 2002 exceeded two hundred thousand and continues to grow every year.

The island city of Lubeck is the second largest city in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany and one of the largest German ports. It is an incredibly beautiful city with rich architecture in the Gothic style. Lubeck is even classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2005, the population of the port city reached 214 thousand people.