Melbourne crowned Australia’s largest city

Melbourne can now officially claim it’s bigger and better than Sydney after a technicality has resulted in the capital being crowned Australia’s largest city.

Melbourne has claimed the top spot for Australia’s largest city for the first time in more than a century.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics declared Victoria’s capital city as the country’s biggest after its borders were redrawn in 2021.

The district of Melton was recently included into Melbourne’s catchment adding nearly 19,000 more people to its population than Sydney.

The adjustment to city boundaries now uses the ABS Significant Urban Area classification to include the district of Melton.

The claim for bragging rights came as a surprise to many, after the ABS had forecast in January Sydney wouldn’t lose the coveted title within the decade, through a mix of migration and births.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed Melbourne is now Australia’s most populous city. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

The federal government predicted Melbourne’s population would overtake Sydney’s by 2031.

The change means the population of the Melbourne urban area has now been boosted to 4,875,390.

ABS demographer for the regional population unit, Andrew Howe, said Sydney had a higher population than Melbourne until the 2021 census definition was changed.

“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,” Mr Howe told the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday.

“The 2021 census told us that Melton and the rest of Greater Melbourne was now, statistically, one contiguous area,” he said.

ABS data revealed Melbourne had previously been on track to overtake Sydney’s population in 2026, but its population growth fell by 1.6 per cent as a result of constant lockdown periods during the pandemic, which had pushed it out the anticipated 2031-32 date.

More people are now living in Melbourne compared to Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Melbourne is now expected to reach 6.1 million people by 2032-2033, thanks to the inclusion of Melton.

Meanwhile, Sydney’s population will be just shy of Melbourne’s forecasted growth and is expected reach 6.06 million during the same time frame.

NSW will remain the most populous state with 9.1 million people by 2032-33, compared to Victoria’s 7.8 million.

Originally published as Melbourne crowned Australia’s largest city