Melbourne overtakes Sydney as Australia’s biggest city
Melbourne has surpassed Sydney as Australia’s most populous city for the first time in more than a century due to a boundary change.
The new city limits now include the area of Melton, where populations have rapidly grown. According to the latest government figures from June 2021, Melbourne’s population is 4,875,400, which is 18,700 more than Sydney.
However, when taking into account the functional areas of the greater Sydney and Melbourne regions, Sydney remains larger.
The federal government predicts that Greater Melbourne will overtake Greater Sydney in 2031-32. Melbourne previously held the title of Australia’s largest city during the late 19th-century gold rush, when migrants flocked to the state of Victoria.