Dublin's 2,721 licensed taxis now serve a population of more than a million.
But that also means these communities serve a population with unusually broad ranges of health and function.
The 709 public libraries that now exist serve a population of 42 million people, who speak 64 languages and hundreds of dialects.
"We might see all kinds of applications concocted to serve a population that is much more diverse than a dozen years ago in wireline access," he said.
Malawi, for example, has lost more than half of its nursing staff to emigration over recent years, leaving just 336 nurses to serve a population of 12 million.
That is why it has three opera houses, for example, to serve a population less than half the size of London's.
This is a huge and ambitious project, combining 10 different authorities as well as 15 NHS trusts and foundation trusts that serve a population of 2.6 million people.
In the worst shape are some businesses nearest the trade center, conceived in some cases to serve a population of 50,000 that is no longer there.
The company will serve a population of more than 2 million people and will manage an overall annual budget of more than £2bn.
The apartments on the upper floors will serve a population that is difficult to house, often because of mental health or addiction problems.
That was the top thing I had always wondered about the politics of North Dakota, whose two U.S. senators serve a population of around 680,000.
