It's no secret that Melbourne has long been aiming to steal Sydney's crown as Australia's most populous city – we even reported on it back in 2023, when it was first revealed that Melbourne was on track to overtake the Harbour City by 2031.
And now it seems even more achievable, with updated data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealing that our ever-expanding city grew by 142,600 people from 2023-2024. That's an increase of 2.7 per cent – the largest jump in the whole country. It means Melbourne's population stands at 5,350,705 (and counting), while Sydney is home to 5,557,233 people – essentially, four in ten Australians call the two major capitals home.
The regions within Greater Melbourne where the largest growth was recorded include Fraser Rise - Plumpton (up by 4,300 people) and Rockbank - Mount Cottrell (up by 4,100 people). Both areas are located in Melbourne's outer west.
The growth is being driven by a few key factors: natural increase, internal migration and overseas migration. Overseas migration accounts for almost 90 per cent of the lift across the capital cities, with students in particular helping to swell the population in suburbs close to universities. For example, Carlton – located nearby the University of Melbourne – had the largest net overseas migration gain (up 2,900 people).
Collectively, Australia’s capitals grew by 427,800 people in 2023-2024, with Perth experiencing the highest proportional growth rate (3.1 per cent). Regional Australia has also experienced significant population growth in the past 12 months, with the population of regional Australia increasing by 113,800 (1.3 per cent).
Intrigued? You can learn more about Australia's 2023-2024 population data over here.
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