Population Density‡: Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. The land population density as at mid-2014 stood at 6690 persons per square kilometre, and Kwun Tong, with 57250 persons per square kilometre, was the most densely populated district among the District Council districts. ‡ Hong Kong Fact Sheets - Population - GovHK
Sydney has 114 sq km with a density over 5,000 persons per sq km. In contrast, Melbourne only has 34 sq km and Brisbane has a mere 3 sq km. None of the other capitals have any. (3)
Sydney’s status as an outlier is reinforced when even denser areas are considered. There are 21 sq km in Sydney with a population higher than 8,000 persons; the densest square kilometre, which includes Potts Point and Woolloomooloo, has 15,000 residents.
Notwithstanding charges that Melbourne is turning into Hong Kong, there’s only one square kilometre of Melbourne that has a population higher than 8,000 (it’s in Carlton and has 10,500 residents). No other capital has a single one that exceeds this threshold.
The highest density grid cells in Melbourne are close to the city centre; however those in Sydney show much greater dispersal with some close to the boundary of the built-up area (see second exhibit).
Compared to London though, Sydney is definitely not an outlier. Almost 330 sq km of London has a population density in excess of 8,000; the densest one kilometre square cell has a population of 20,447. (4)
The reason Sydney is so much denser than Australia’s other major cities isn’t clear. It’s likely related to factors like its constrained geography and topology, the impact of infrastructure charging policies, the composition of its economy, its size, planning policy, and a range of specific historical factors
