Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most populated city

Daniel Lo Surdo

Melbourne is forecast to overtake Sydney as Australia's most populated city by 2032, with a projected population of six million.

The Federal Government’s 2022 population statement released today unveiled new data about population growth in Australia.

Here’s what else it is found.

Capital cities

For the first time on record, the combined population of Australia’s capital cities fell in 2020-21.

The rate of capital city population growth is expected to rise over the next 18 months, before slowing again over the next nine years.

Melbourne is forecast to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most populated city by 2032, with a projected population of six million.

For the first time since 1994, Australia’s regions grew at a faster rate than capital cities during the 2020-21 period.

Regional population growth is expected to remain relatively stable over the next 10 years.