THE ISLAND OF Santa Cruz del Isote is 200 metres long and 60 metres wide, yet is home to 1,200 people.
Located off the coast of Colombia, it is around 0.12 square kilometres, making it the most densely populated island on the planet. The story goes that men from a nearby fishing town settled there as it had no mosquitos.
Accessed only by a ferry from the port of Tolu, residents have to use neighbouring islands in the San Bernardo archipelago for recreation and even burial.
While the children attend secondary school on the mainland, many work in the nearby Punta Faro hotels.
People live and work in almost perfect harmony, a 2013 story from the Toronto Star says.
Life here is calm and delightful,” says Juvenal Julio, a descendant of Islote’s founders. “We don’t have violence, we don’t need police, we all know each other and we enjoy our days.
The only state-provided service is a school that is home to around 80 children at once.
Locals sail to the adjacent island of Mucura to work in the hotels or sell excursions to tourists and Julio says living there is “a glorious life”.
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