London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Melbourne Overtakes Sydney As Australia's Most Populous City, Thanks To A Technicality

Melbourne Overtakes Sydney As Australia's Most Populous City, Thanks To A Technicality

The borders of the city have been redrawn to include the district of Melton, allowing Melbourne to surpass Sydney.
Melbourne has become Australia's most populous city, surpassing Sydney, which had held the title for over a century, BBC reported. According to official statistics, there are now 4,875,400 people in Melbourne - 18,700 more than in Sydney. The change in rank has been attributed to a technicality.

This comes after Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) added a new district, expanding the city limits, in order to accommodate the rising population. The “significant urban area” measure defines a city's boundary by contiguous urban population above 10,000.

As per CNN affiliate 9News, the borders of the city have been redrawn to include the district of Melton, allowing Melbourne to surpass Sydney. More so, Melbourne's population has been rapidly growing, due to international and internal migration patterns that favoured the southern city.

“The 2021 census told us that Melton and the rest of Greater Melbourne was now, statistically, one contiguous area. Until the 2021 census definition, the Sydney significant area had a higher population than Melbourne. However, with the amalgamation of Melton into Melbourne in the latest significant urban area classification, Melbourne has more people than Sydney – and has had since 2018,” ABS regional population unit demographer Andrew Howe told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Melbourne was also ranked as Australia's most liveable city and 10th in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index for 2022.

''It's because more people have been moving out of Sydney, going to other parts of Australia, than have been moving in the opposite direction. Whereas in the case of Melbourne, in some years more people have moved to Melbourne than have moved out,” Nick Parr, a professor of demography at Macquarie University, explained to Sydney radio station 2GB.

Another demographer at the Australian National University noted that Melbourne's cheaper cost of living, particularly for housing, makes the city stand out from Sydney. She also said that overseas migration from India to Melbourne has established the city as a preferred destination for migrants from the subcontinent.

Notably, Melbourne used to be Australia's most populous city, thanks to the late 19th-century gold rush that sparked an influx of migrants. However, in 1905, Sydney took over the continent's most populous city and held this title until 2023.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×