Hong Kong tops list of world’s most crowded cities in 2025

City populations will growing rapidly around the globe in the coming years, with Honk Kong at the top the list, followed by Salvador, Mexico City and Sao Paulo, according to a report on Thursday.

Honk Kong will remain as the city with the largest population per square mile in the world by 2025, Bloomberg data revealed.

The report puts the Asian city at No.1 in terms of population per square mile in 2015, followed by Salvador, Brazil and Mexico City.

The population of Hong Kong is projected to be around 8.1m following growth of 32.8% since 1995. The city’s population stood at 57,965 per square mile 20 years ago and is expected to reach 76,985 in 2025.

Salvador, Brazil, came second on Bloomberg’s list, with a whopping estimated 97.3% population growth in 30 years, accounting for a projection of 5.2 million people by 2025.

The city of Salvador was followed by Mexico City in terms of 2025 population per square mile, according to Bloomberg’s list. Mexico City’s population will have increased over 46% in one generation by the time 2025 rolls around. But, Mexico City was pipped to the number one spot for the largest total city population in 2025 by current reigning title holder, Tokyo.

London took 15th place in the list, with an estimated population of 10.2m by 2025, accounting for a 9.7% population increase over the course of one generation.

However, the rapid increases in city population in the coming 10 years raises concern from an infrastructural and environmental standpoint. Many of these cities will rely on manufacturing for the bulk of their economies, coupled with cheap and easily accessible transportation and affordable housing. Many of tomorrow’s mega cities aren’t planning ahead as they should be, risking future economic productivity. In the years to come, the poorly prepared cities may find themselves choking on their own growth.

On the other hand, some cities are keen to make the necessary changes to ensure future growth is not stifled by a rapid increase in population. Shanghai, for instance, has made major gains in transportation and housing expansion.

In recent years, London has also invested heavily in infrastructure to overcome such future challenges. The city is currently in the process of establishing the new cross rail, which will be Europe’s largest construction project to date. With a price tag of around £15.8bn, the cross rail is projected to bring an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of central London, transforming London rail transport.