But the true measure of a nation’s crowdedness is its population density: the number of people it houses per square kilometre. In this regard, the smaller Asian territories stand head and shoulders above the Chinese and Indian giants.

Lebanon
404 pax/square kilometre

This homeland of the ancient Phoenicians is today a bustling hub of religious and cultural
diversity. Occupied by 16 different countries over a tumultuous history, Lebanon is now home to the largest population of Christians in the Arab world. The only country in the Middle East that does not have a desert, its ancient city of Byblos (a UNES CO World Heritage Site) is thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

South Korea
487 pax/square kilometre

South Korea has one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous populations in the world, with a language related to Japanese and Mongolian. Korea has had one of the highest emigration rates in the world, with many of its people leaving the “Land of the Morning Calm” for China, Japan, the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Taiwan
636 pax/square kilometre

“Ilha Formosa” or “beautiful island”, as Taiwan was referred to by the Portuguese, comprises ethnic Taiwanese, Chinese immigrants and local aborigines. Once called “The Kingdom of Corals”, Taiwan’s bustling cities belie the fact that it is also a rice producer and home to one of the most advanced armed forces in Asia.

Palestinian Territories
667 pax/square kilometre

The population figures for the West Bank and East Jerusalem were based on a covert census by volunteers, who travelled discreetly from house to house. The Palestinians have one of the highest birth rates in the world. This population of largely Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Circassians and Armenians continue to jostle for space with their Israeli neighbours.

Maldives
981 pax/square kilometre

Widely regarded as the island paradise of the world, the Maldives is heavily packed for such a tiny island nation. Its citizens are concentrated mainly on its larger islands, with 87 of its 1,190 islands converted into exclusive island resorts. The Maldivians are mainly of Sinhalese, South India and Arab ethnicity, and most of them are Muslims.

Bangladesh
1,063 pax/square kilometre

Eighty percent of this mainly Muslim population depend on agriculture for a living. There are about 20 million households in Bangladesh, most of whom are at the mercy of climatic forces – this country on the fertile Ganges Delta is also frequently battered by floods and cyclones.

Bahrain
1,454 pax/square kilometre

This archipelago of 33 islands in the Arabian Gulf is the smallest Gulf Arab economy. It has a population of 1.2 million, with Bahrainis making up 62 percent of that figure. A booming economy propelled a population surge between 2006 and 2007, as a growing number of expatriates became nationalised into ‘locals’.

Hong Kong
6,326 pax/square kilometre

Yet another Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong (whose name means “fragrant harbour”) was a British colony and is now a leading international financial centre. This bustling metropolis also boasts the largest number of Rolls Royces per capita, with around a thousand vehicles as at 2006.

Singapore
6,814 pax/square kilometre

This small island at the tip of Peninsular Malaysia was originally inhabited by Orang
Laut, or sea gypsies. After the arrival of the British, immigrants from all over Asia settled here in a process that continues to this day, creating a melting pot of cultures from all over.

Macau
18,705 pax/square kilometre

This Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China started out as a Chinese trading post managed by a Portuguese settlement. Its largely Portuguese and Portuguese-Chinese populations live on the tip of the Guangdong Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane, an area known for its casinos and colonial architecture.