Hong Kong's 40-Square-Foot Apartments Will Make You Squirm

We thought 325 square feet was cramped -- but this is something else entirely. According to the Society for Community Organization, 100,000 people in Hong Kong currently live in tiny 40-square-foot apartments. The photo above shows just one example.

The miniscule "cubicle" apartments are created by subdividing already-tiny apartments into smaller -- and then even smaller -- ones. They're so small that they could only be shot from above with cameras mounted to their ceilings. The images, taken in the districts of Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong and Kowloon City, are particularly jarring considering that Hong Kong is deemed one of the world's richest cities. Rents there average 35 percent higher than in New York City.

SoCO said that the number of underprivileged residents in Hong Kong is steadily increasing, even as the city's wealth continues to grow. See more of the tiny apartments in the gallery below. (Warning: These pictures might make you feel claustrophobic.)

%Gallery-179830%
See also: 'Transformer' Apartment Puts 6 Rooms in 1
A House That's Only 1-Square Meter
5 Tiny Model Homes Hint at Future of Urban Housing

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find homes for rent in your area.
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
See celebrity real estate.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook.