It’s hard for people living on a planet to comprehend how huge a planet is too, thus low-ball numbers for populations of ecumenopolises, just like for ships. The population given for Coruscant (1 trillion) on a planet the size of Earth would give over 500 m² per person, and that’s not accounting for multiple layers. So not as crowded as it looks. The population would be limited by resources or heat dissipation more than by area.
It’s hard for people living on a planet to comprehend how huge a planet is too, thus low-ball numbers for populations of ecumenopolises, just like for ships. The population given for Coruscant (1 trillion) on a planet the size of Earth would give over 500 m² per person, and that’s not accounting for multiple layers. So not as crowded as it looks. The population would be limited by resources or heat dissipation more than by area.