Photographs: Yuriko Nakao/Japan Rediff Business Desk
An ever-increasing population is the most vexing problem that plagues the modern world.
And cities all over the world are busy fighting urban congestion with a firefighter-like zeal, but mostly in vain.
MSN.com recently came up with a list of 15 most congested cities of the world.
Click Next to know about the most congested cities . . .
15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Wilson Neves de Miranda/Wikimedia Creative Commons
1. Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and is the world's seventh largest city by population.
The world's seventh largest city, Sau Paulo boasts of a record-smashing 265-kilometre-long traffic jam witnessed in 2008.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: David Gray/Reuters
2. Beijing
Beijing aka Peking is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world.
Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational centre.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR)/Wikimedia Commons
3. Brussels
Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union.
It is also the largest urban area in Belgium.
The city has a population of 1.1 million approximately and the metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, both making it the largest in Belgium.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Jethro+ from Nelson, Canada/Wikimedia Commons
4. Paris
Paris, capital of France, has a population of about 24 lakhs (2.4 million) approximately.
Its metropolitan area is one of the largest population centres in Europe, with more than 12 million inhabitants.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Krysiul/Wikimedia Commons
5. Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland.
Its population is estimated at 17 lakhs (1.7 million) approximately within a greater metropolitan area of 26 lakhs (2.6 million) residents, making Warsaw the 9th most populous city proper in the European Union.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Wikimedia Creative Commons
6. Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District, capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union.
Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Monkeytime/Wikimedia Commons
7. Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the most populous city in the US state of California and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City.
Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognised as the most diverse of the nation's largest cities.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Petar Milosevic/Wikimedia Creative Commons
8. Moscow
Moscow is the capital city and the most populous federal subject of Russia.
The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific centre in Russia and in Europe.
According to Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Reuters
9. London
London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest city, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom.
It is the world's leading financial centre along with New York City.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
10. New Delhi
New Delhi, capital of India, is known as the microcosm of the country.
The metropolis of Delhi is the 2nd most populous in India with a total population nearing 17 million residents.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Courtesy, Wikimedia Commons
11. New York
New York City, with a population of over 8.1 million, is the most populous city in the United States.
Alone, it makes up over 40 per cent of the population of New York state.
New York is the 27th-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 7th-most densely populated of the 50 United States.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Euroluftbild.de Euroluftbild.de/Reuters
12. Johannesburg
Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa, by population.
Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Courtesy, Wikipedia Commons
13. Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and the most populous city in the country.
The city has a population of over eight million, or 12.6 per cent of the country's total population.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Wendy Harman/Wikimedia Commons
14. Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States.
Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 632,323 in 2012, 25th most populous place in the United States.
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15 most congested cities of the world
Photographs: Piklus/Wikimedia Commons
15. Wroclaw
Wroclaw in Poland boasts of one of the highest percentages of congestion on its list (33.1 per cent).
Although it's built on an ancient crossroad of two major trading routes, things are at least looking up for the city with a 2.6 per cent drop in congestion from 2010.
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