Senglea is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, the population report on the 2011 census shows.

The tiny, fortified city had a population of 2,740 living in an area of just 0.2 square kilometres.

This gave it a population density of 17,146 people per square kilometre, making it easily the most congested locality in the country.

Had Senglea been considered by Forbes magazine in its 2007 rankings of the world’s most congested cities, its high population density would have been enough to edge out the Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen in fifth place.

Only Mumbai, Kolkata, Karachi and Lagos would have been ranked as more congested in the Forbes list

Only Mumbai, Kolkata, Karachi and Lagos would have been ranked as more congested than Senglea in the Forbes list.

The figures were revealed in the National Statistics Office’s first volume report on the 2011 census, entitled Population.

Crowded Malta ranks high

Overall, Malta had a population density of 1,325 people per square kilometre, making it one of the most congested countries in the world.

Only Monaco, Singapore and Bahrain have higher population densities.

There was a marked difference between Malta, with an overall population density of 1,566 people per square kilometre, and Gozo/Comino with 457 per square kilometre.

The region with the highest population density was the Northern Harbour, with 5,014 residents per square kilometre.

After Senglea, the most densely populated towns were Sliema (10,511 per square kilometre), Fgura (10,019) and Tarxien (9,555).

The least densely populated region of Malta was the Western region that includes the upmarket villages of Attard, Balzan and Mdina. It had a population density of 802 per square kilometre.

The least densely populated locality in Malta was Mġarr (216 residents per square kilometre), while in Gozo it was Għasri (86 per square kilometre).

Gozo’s most congested locality was the capital Victoria, with a population of 6,252 and a density of 2,157 per square kilometre.

In terms of population, the biggest localities were Birkirkara (21,749), Qormi (16,394), Żabbar (14,916) and Sliema (13,621).

On the other hand, the least populated villages were Mdina (239), Għasri (431), San Lawrenz (610) and Fontana (882).

The nation’s biggest towns based on the area they cover were Rabat, which is 26.6 square kilometres, Mellieħa (22.6 square kilometres) and Siġġiewi (19.9 square kilometres). At 0.2 square kilometres, Senglea was the smallest geographically , closely followed by Ta’ Xbiex (0.3 square kilometres) and Pietà/Fontana (both 0.5 square kilometres).