Hong Kong's human battery hens: Claustrophobic images show how slum families squeeze their lives into the tiniest apartments

Bird's-eye images released by social group documenting plight of poorest in one of world's richest cities

Group's director: 'Lurking beneath this prosperity is great inequality and a forgotten group of poor people'

With a land mass of 1,104sq km and a population of 7 million, it is also one of the most densely populated


They are barely bigger than a toilet cubicle.

Yet these depressingly cramped spaces serve as a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, pantry and everything in between for their cooped-up inhabitants.

Those unfortunate enough to live in these urban slums range from the elderly and unemployed to low-income families and singletons.

Their location? Hong Kong. One of the richest cities in the world.

Like battery hens: A family of four tries to get on with everyday life despite living in a room where there is barely space to move in the urban slums of Hong Kong

No room to swing a cat: An elderly gentleman writes a letter completely surrounded by his life's possessions. It's not clear from the angle of this image where he sleeps or how he gets in and out These bird's-eye images have been taken by the Hong Kong-based Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) in a bid to document the plight of the city's most underprivileged people. With a land mass of 1,104sq km (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

As rent is so high - around HKD$90 (£8) per square foot a month - and the waiting list for public housing so long, many are forced to live in inconceivably small spaces to survive. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Chinese investors head up North to snap up new-build... English pupils two years behind Chinese in maths by the age... Share this article Share In one picture, a family-four have to share a double bed which barely leaves them room to move. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling in shelves piled high with food, clothes, toiletries and all manner of daily essentials. On the top bunk, two youngsters, one of them asleep from exhaustion, lie next to a rucksack, school paraphernalia and a desk fan. Two others below do their best to carry on with their daily routine even though they can just about turn around. Hemmed in: A man takes a nap on his bed which fills most of the tiny 4ft x 7ft room. These bird's-eye images have been taken by a social group documenting the plight of the Hong Kong's most underprivileged people