Is Hong Kong the most densely populated city in the world?

This massive apartment block in Kornhill has over 800 units! Photo was taken from an elevated walkway.

I'm not in a position to say, but it feels like it might be. The moment I alight from my doorstoop, I must nimbly join the mob on the sidewalk, taking baby steps to ensure I don't step on the people in front of me. Hong Kong feels like the most crowded areas of Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya), Taipei (Ximending) and Istanbul (Gaziosmanpasa, Beyoglu). Seoul never seemed that crowded to me.

Central Station at rush hour. I don't mean to be an alarmist, but a bad actor could set off a panic.

On the sidewalks in Hong Kong, you cannot stop to check your phone or strike up a conversation without literally inconveniencing a hundred people behind you. When you do need to consult a map, you must hop into a locked doorway or stand between two parked vehicles. The brains of children who grow up here must develop differently.

Quarry Bay on eastern Hong Kong Island. Nearly half the city's 7.5 million residents live in public housing.

The potential for danger exists. I can see how a loud noise in Central Station at 6 p.m. could spark a stampede. If you are in the middle of the surging crowd, you cannot lift your arms over your head. There is no escape.

Everything's relative: Someone asked Daniel Boone why he was leaving Kentucky for Missouri. "Too many people! Too crowded!"

For the record, the website Demographia lists Hong Kong as the world's 7th-most crowded city, behind Dhaka, Mogadishu, Raqqa, the Indian cities of Surat and Mumbai, and neighboring Macau.