The Most Congested Cities in Asia

Manila was identified as the most congested city in Asia in a report by the Asian Development Bank, but India was the country most often featured in the top 10 of the Asian cities most stricken by traffic gridlock, with Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi and Pune making appearances.

For the study, researchers looked at satellite imagery to identify the busiest roads and subsequently at Google Maps data, comparing trip times at peak and off-peak hours for 278 cities in 28 countries and regional economies in Asia.

The paper found that for all cities the average travel time during peak-hours was 24 percent longer for identical trips. On the index of the most congested cities this average is represented by the value 1. Manila was rated at 1.5, while Kuala Lumpur has an index score of 1.4. The third most congested city in Asia was Yangon with a score of 1.38.