Shenzhen is now the most crowded city in China, with more than 15 million people living in Shenzhen it has a population density higher than Guangzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong.
The 15 million people that live in Shenzhen’s 1,991 square kilometers create a population density of 7,500 people per square kilometer. The population density of Guangzhou is only 6,626 while Hong Kong is at 6,420. Last year Shenzhen’s population crossed the 15 million threshold placing it in fifth place in the world in terms of the city’s density following Bombay and Calcutta in India, Lagos in Nigeria and Karachi in Pakistan.
Statistics show that Shenzhen’s 1,991 square kilometers also includes 1,145 square kilometers of water. Even with its delta location, the city is starting to see serious environmental and resource problems associated with the city’s rapid development. One of the problems the city faces is a water shortage. Per capita quantity of fresh water in the city amounts to only 25 percent of the country’s average with 20 percent as the province average. Most of the water in Shenzhen is being supplied by other areas.
Shenzhen also has more than 2 million registered vehicles, with an estimated 300,000 vehicles using local roads every day.