SYDNEY: Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as Australia’s most populated city for the first time since the 19th century gold rush following the boundary change. Sydney held the title for more than hundreds of years.
According to the BBC, with populations rapidly growing on Melbourne’s fringes, the city limits have been expanded to include Melton in it. The government figures from June 2021 put Melbourne’s population at 4,875,400—18,700 more than Sydney.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a city’s “important urban area” by including all connecting suburbs with more than 10,000 people.
“Until the 2021 census definition, the Sydney important area had a higher population than Melbourne. With the amalgamation of Melton into Melbourne in the latest… classification, the city, Melbourne has more citizens than Sydney – and has had since 2018, ” the Australian Bureau of Statistics Andrew Howe told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper – which explained the redrawn boundary as “a technicality”.
Sydney remained bigger in June 2021
Sydneysiders would point to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ conclusion that when looking at the more incredible Sydney and Melbourne regions, Sydney remained bigger in June 2021.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says that more significant regions of a city take into account its “functional area” and include populations who regularly socialise, shop and work within the city but may live in small towns and rural places surrounding it. The government predicts Greater Melbourne will overtake Greater Sydney in 2031-32.
It isn’t the first time Melbourne has held the title of Australia’s biggest city. As a result of the gold rush in the 19th century, which saw migrants flock to Victoria, Melbourne grew fast and outnumbered Sydney until 1905.
