The Victorian capital is still on track to outpace Sydney as the biggest city in Australia but Covid lockdowns slowed that growth
New South Wales’s population was 8.1 million in June 2021 with 5.3 million people calling Sydney home.
Sydney will retain Australia’s most populated city crown for another decade, but come 2031-32, Melbourne is predicted to take the throne with 6.0 million, pipping Sydney by a couple of hundred thousand people. The lead may only last a year, with forecasts predicting both cities will have a population of 6.1 million in 2032-33.
Meanwhile, Queensland was less affected by the pandemic than other Australian states, because of continued interstate migration. The sunshine state saw relatively strong population growth while most of the rest of the country saw drastic declines, growing by 0.8% in 2020-21 to a peak of 5.2 million people. Interstate migration is expected to underpin Queensland’s population for years to come, with population growth forecast to recover to 1.7% in the next financial year, before slowing to 1.2% in 2032-33, by which point the state’s population is forecast to hit 6.1 million.
Queensland also remains the nation’s most decentralised state: in 2020-21 just 49% of the population lived in Brisbane.Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morningNewsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties.
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