Monday, December 29, 2008

Population Density Crab

Mark Matthews, of ABC, just solemnly announced that Israel may send troop into Gaza, "one of the most densely populated spots on earth". Ah, the clip continues onward.

OK, as compared to, say, the Gobi desert, this may well be true. I don't know how you define 'densely populated spot', or what category you need to reach to get on the list. However, per the CIA Factbook, for July of this year, Gaza has 1,500,202 people and 360 square kilometers.

That's 4,167 people per square kilometer. MSN says 4270, using a slightly higher population quote.

This is beaten by, to name just a few cities:


Mumbai, Kolkata, Karachi and Lagos, Shenzhen, Seoul and Taipei, Chennai, Bogota and Shanghai, Lima, Beijing, Delhi, Kinshasa, Manila, Tehran, Jakarta, Tianjin and Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City, Cairo and Baghdad.

also, Shenyang, Hyderabad, Sao Paolo, St. Petersburg, Mexico City, Santiago, Singapore and Lahore, Recife, Istanbul, Dalian and Khartoum.

and Rio, Monterey, Bankgkok, Osaka, Guadalajara, Athens, Ankara, Madrid and London.

also TEL AVIV.

Oh, and Sapporo, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Barcelona, Port Alegre, Tokyo, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza and Warsaw.

Now, God knows I would much rather live in London, despite the overcrowding, but JOURNALISTS SHOULD CHECK THEIR DANG FACTS.

Crank out.

1 comment:

Jameel @ The Muqata said...

BBJ: Unfortunately, Government Minister (and Kadima's #2), ex-IDF Chief of Staff, Shaul Mofaz said the same thing the other day :(

He was being interviewed on the radio, and was asked, "Now, 3 years in retrospect, with rocekts being shot at Israel left and right, do you think the Disengagement was a good thing?" His answer: "Absolutely! We managed to escape from responsibility for one of the most populated places on Earth..."

I was disgusted with his answer. Even according to the worldview that the Disengagement is a good thing, to prop it up with out right lies is simply pathetic.

Also -- is my blog only about terrible things going on in Israel? (like your byline for my blog? :-/