These Are The 20 Most Densely Populated Countries And Territories In The World

From compact city-states to island nations, many of the world’s most densely populated jurisdictions share one thing in common: limited land area.

While population growth plays a role, land mass area is often the stronger driver of population density.

In fact, 13 of the 20 most densely populated nations and territories are islands.

This infographic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, visualizes the jurisdictions with the highest population density in 2025, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Macau Has the Highest Population Density Worldwide

Below, we show jurisdictions by population density in 2025, measured in people per square kilometer.

Macau tops the global list with a staggering 23,167 people per square kilometer.

This semi-autonomous region of China is densely packed due to its popularity as a gambling hub and its limited land mass. Over the past 25 years, the population has increased by 185,000 residents across an area stretching just 33 km².

Monaco follows with 16,024/km², reflecting its luxury economy, tax benefits, and constrained geography. As a result, Monaco is home to one of the most expensive real estate markets globally.

Meanwhile, Singapore and Hong Kong also rank highly, demonstrating how city-states or city-like regions dominate this metric.

As we can see, many of the most densely populated places are island nations or small territories. Notably, Sint Maarten, Malta, and Bermuda each have over 1,300 people per square kilometer.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out this map on population density in North America on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.