Top 10 Densely Populated Nations

Most of us are fortunate enough to live in countries with a lot of wide open space and a few friendly neighbours. But there are some countries that are very densely populated. This is a list of the ten most densely populated nations in the world.
1. Monaco [Wikipedia]

Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation; with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.96 square kilometers (485 acres), Monaco is the world’s smallest French-speaking sovereignty.

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2. Singapore [Wikipedia]

Singapore is a highly populated island nation located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. A popular destination for both tourism and business, Singapore is also one of the richest countries in the world because of its highly developed economy. Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. The city-state also employs tens of thousands of foreign blue-collared workers from around the world. With a total population density of over 6300 people per square kilometer, it ranks 2nd in the world.
3. Vatican City [Wikipedia]

Landlocked within the Italian city of Rome with approximately 44 hectares (108.7 acres), Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world. As the center of the Catholic religion, the tiny city-state only holds about 821 citizens, but due to the small area, it is ranked 3rd in population density.
4. The Maldives [Wikipedia]

The Maldives is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives’ twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited by local communities. According to a 2006 census, there is a population of 298,842 living on a total area of only 298 square kilometers.
5. Bahrain [Wikipedia]

Bahrain is a borderless island country in the Persian Gulf and is the smallest Arab nation. In a region currently experiencing an unprecedented oil boom, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab region, which translates to a fast growing population due to immigration and guest workers from around the world. There are approximately 987 people per square kilometer on this tiny island.

6. Bangladesh [Wikipedia]

Bangladesh is small country located in South Asia almost surrounded by India. Bangladesh is among the most highly and densely populated countries in the world. With a land area of 144,000 square kilometers (55,600 sq mi), the population density is remarkable considering the fact that Russia’s entire population is slightly smaller than Bangladesh’s.
7. Nauru [Wikipedia]

Nauru is an island nation in the Micronesian South Pacific covering only 21 square kilometers, making it the world’s smallest island nation, the smallest independent republic, and the only republican state in the world without an official capital. There are about 13,048 residents living on this tiny island.
8. Taiwan [Wikipedia]

Taiwan is an island in East Asia off the coast of mainland China. After losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and about 1.3 million refugees fled mainland China to set up the Republic of China (ROC) in Taipei, Taiwan’s largest city. The political status of Taiwan is a controversial topic today, but thanks to an industrialized economy, it is one of the wealthiest and most densely populated countries in Asia.
9. Barbados [Wikipedia]

Situated east of the Caribbean Sea, Barbados is an independent island nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. The small country is a major tourist destination for vacationers from all over. Barbados’s total land area is about 430 square kilometers, and with one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates worldwide, has a relatively high population of about 279,000.

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10. Malta [Wikipedia]

Malta is a small and densely populated island nation comprising an archipelago of seven islands in the Mediterranean Sea. After joining the European Union in 2004, the country has seen an increase in investments and strength of the economy. The resident population of Malta, as of 2005 was estimated at 404,039 and Malta’s population density of 1,282 per square kilometer is by far the highest in the EU and one of the highest in the world.

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Top 10 Unfortunate Placenames

[WARNING: This list contains language that may offend some readers] Following on from our lists of unfortunately named products, we have our unfortunate placenames! Here are 10 rather awful placenames from around the world.
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10 More Artistic Uses of Ordinary Things

This is a sequel to Top 10 Amazing Mosaic Artworks, which I highly suggest you visit to get the gist of the list. I love modern art, and the lengths to which people will go to express themselves through it. Mosaic art is a particular favorite of mine, and it just fascinates me how people today can do so much with this ancient art form. Here are ten more unusual and fascinating mosaic artworks that will definitely catch your attention.

10

Toothpicks

Saimir Strati, an Albanian artist, holds the Guiness World Record for creating the largest toothpick mosaic. The 86.11-square feet creation is made of 1.5 million toothpicks, and took 40 days to complete. The mosaic, which depicted a galloping horse, was displayed at the Arbnori International Centre of Culture, Tirana, Albania on 4 September 2007.

9

Corks

Saimir Strati gets another spot on my list for his other record-breaking piece, a 988-square feet mosaic made of 229,675 bottle corks. Depicting the theme ‘Mediterranean’, the giant mosaic was unveiled on Sept. 4, 2008 along with 9 other mosaics, including two other record-breaking mosaics made out of nails and toothpicks (see previous entry). Surprisingly, the giant installation, which was displayed in the gardens of the Sheraton Tirana Hotel and Towers, took only 27 days to complete.

8

Pencils

Jaina Davis of San Francisco, California, owns a house with a difference. The house, whose interior was decorated by various artist friends of Davis, boasts an amazing staircase completely covered in pencils. The staircase, entitled ‘Pencil-vania,’ was made by Jason Mecier, and features a flower garden mosaic and a futuristic portrait of Jaina Davis, aged 88, all made from pencils. The installation, which took five years to build, contains 92,626 pencils, plus various erasers, sharpeners and other school supplies.

7

Buttons

Artist Ran Hwang specializes in creating stunningly beautiful images out of buttons. The buttons are pinned on the surface to create pictures such as birds, trees and Buddha figures. To see more of her whimsical art, go here.

6

Postcards

Scottish artist David Mach creates amazing artworks out of thousands of postcards. One particularly amazing work is his depiction of a racehorse made from 8,000 identical postcards of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, which measures 12 by 9 feet. To see more of Mach’s works, go here.

5

Larkspur

In celebration of Flag Day in June 14, 2002, the city of Lompoc, California, created a 740 x 390 foot US flag made out of 400,000 larkspur flowers. The flag covered 6.65 acres and the stars measured 24 feet in diameter.

4

Gatorade Bottles

To celebrate his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Gatorade teamed up with an American advertising agency to create an amazing mosaic of ‘His Airness’ Michael Jordan from 14,641 Gatorade bottles. The mosaic, illuminated by 200 light boxes, took 16 hours to complete and used limited edition Jordan Gatorade bottles in various flavors.

3

Sushi

On March 17, 2008, students of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Mumbai, India succeeded in breaking a very unusual record. 20 students gathered to create a 15.16-square meter mosaic made out of 5,814 sushi pieces, breaking the previous record set by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in Poland, which measured 14.84 square meters. Maki Sushi, Inari Sushi, Nigiri Sushi, Uramaki Sushi, and Chirashi Sushi comprised the mosaic.

2

Origami

On July 26, 2008 Hong Kong Youth Visual Art Association, Hong Kong Chinese Arts Festival, Lo Fung Art Gallery Ltd and Hong Kong Union of Visual Artists Limited, along with 2,000 participants, teamed together to create the largest origami mosaic in the world. The event took nine hours, and entails the creation and pasting of over 100,000 colorful origami stars. The finished mosaic measured 3,453 square feet, depicted five pandas joining hand in hand, symbolizing the Chinese people’s welcome to the coming of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

1

Cups of Coffee

In late 2009, a mosaic reproduction of the famous painting Mona Lisa made from 3,604 cups of coffee was created for the Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia. Measuring 20 x 13 feet, it was created by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. A team of eight people took three hours to arrange the cups of black coffee, which are ‘shaded’ into different sepia tones by 564 pints of milk.

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