Melbourne, Australia Population 2024

Melbourne's 2024 population is now estimated at 5,315,600In 1950, the population of Melbourne was 1,331,970Melbourne has grown by 80,190 in the last year, which represents a 1.53% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Melbourne, which typically includes Melbourne's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

The results of the latest Australian census reported that the population of Melbourne in 2011 was 3,999,982; only just short of 4 million. This makes Melbourne the second largest city in Australia, behind Sydney. Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria, and is by far the largest city in the state; in fact, around 75% of the population of Victoria lives in Melbourne.

The estimated total population of the Greater Melbourne Area in 2017 was standing at 4,850,740, as of the end of the month of June that year.

City Size and Population Density

The total area the Melbourne occupies covers a total of 9,992.5 km² (3,858.1 sq mi). The population density in the city comes to about 500 residents living per square kilometer.

Demographics of Melbourne

Melbourne is one of Australia's most diverse cities - 33.2% of its residents in 2006 were born outside of Australia. The city has attracted waves of immigrants over the years (more about this in our population history section below) and, as well as a large (around 150,000) British community, there are more than 50,000 people in Melbourne who were born in each of the following countries: China, Greece, India, Italy, New Zealand and Vietnam.

Looking further back to ancestry, 43.3% of Melbourne's population reported that they had British or Irish ancestry, 28.2% reported Australian ancestry, and 18.2% reported that they had Asian ancestry (including 6.5% who reported Chinese ancestry).

When it comes to religion Christianity is, like in most Australian cities, the most widely followed religion; 55.8% of respondents in the  2011 census reported that they were Christians (broken down as 27.2% Catholic, 22.7% Protestant and 5.8% Orthodox). Other major religious groups are Buddhist 4.0%, Muslim 3.2%, Hindu 2.0% and Jewish 1.1%. Another 23.5% of Melbourne residents reported that they had no religion.

History of Melbourne and Population Growth

Founded in 1835 by two separate groups of settlers, Melbourne formally became a town in August 1842 and was declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. And not a moment too soon, because in the 20 years between its founding in 1835 and 1854, midway through Victoria's gold rush, Melbourne's population had grown from zero to 123,000.

The wealth that came from the gold rush led to the construction of many more brick buildings, from banks to universities, many of which still exist today and give the town its distinctive Victorian architecture. The obvious prosperity of Melbourne attracted even more immigrants and fuelled Melbourne's development, turning it into a boom town. By 1880 the city had increased in size to 280,000 and ten years later in 1890 its population had almost doubled again to 490,000.

The inevitable crash that followed led the city's population to alternately stagnate and grow slowly, and it wasn't until the eve of the second World War (WWII) that the population edged over 1 million. Since then, growth has been steady, and Melbourne has cemented its position as one of Australia's two largest cities.

As well as being populous, Melbourne is a rapidly growing city. In between the 2006 and 2011 census, its recorded population growth was an impressive 9.7%, taking the city from 3,647,021 in 2006 to 3,999,982 in 2011. If Melbourne continues to grow at this kind of rate, it is likely that it will surpass Sydney to become Australia's largest city within 25 years or so.

Country
Australia
Growth Rate
1.53%

86 Rows

Year
Population
20356,055,590
20345,992,300
20335,928,840
20325,865,110
20315,800,960
20305,736,200
20295,670,550
20285,603,710
20275,535,320
20265,464,920
20255,391,890
20245,315,600
20235,235,410
20225,150,770
20215,061,440
20204,967,730
20194,870,390
20184,770,890
20174,654,420
20164,540,790
20154,429,930
20144,321,930
20134,216,560
20124,113,890
20114,013,460
20103,932,260
20093,852,740
20083,774,950
20073,698,510
20063,623,720
20053,572,500
20043,522,140
20033,472,340
20023,423,320
20013,374,990
20003,360,800
19993,346,730
19983,332,740
19973,318,810
19963,304,950
19953,282,620
19943,260,450
19933,238,420
19923,216,580
19913,194,830
19903,154,310
19893,114,210
19883,074,680
19873,035,530
19862,996,940
19852,968,590
19842,940,600
19832,912,800
19822,885,300
19812,858,060
19802,839,020
19792,820,100
19782,801,330
19772,782,690
19762,764,200
19752,732,060
19742,700,260
19732,668,830
19722,637,810
19712,607,070
19702,499,110
19692,395,220
19682,295,780
19672,200,210
19662,108,740
19652,067,740
19642,027,700
19631,988,340
19621,949,800
19611,912,000
19601,851,220
19591,792,150
19581,735,040
19571,679,760
19561,626,310
19551,574,410
19541,524,250
19531,473,330
19521,424,180
19511,376,530
19501,331,970

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
19501,331,9700%0
19511,376,5303.35%44,560
19521,424,1803.46%47,650
19531,473,3303.45%49,150
19541,524,2503.46%50,920
19551,574,4103.29%50,160
19561,626,3103.3%51,900
19571,679,7603.29%53,450
19581,735,0403.29%55,280
19591,792,1503.29%57,110
19601,851,2203.3%59,070
19611,912,0003.28%60,780
19621,949,8001.98%37,800
19631,988,3401.98%38,540
19642,027,7001.98%39,360
19652,067,7401.97%40,040
19662,108,7401.98%41,000
19672,200,2104.34%91,470
19682,295,7804.34%95,570
19692,395,2204.33%99,440
19702,499,1104.34%103,890
19712,607,0704.32%107,960
19722,637,8101.18%30,740
19732,668,8301.18%31,020
19742,700,2601.18%31,430
19752,732,0601.18%31,800
19762,764,2001.18%32,140
19772,782,6900.67%18,490
19782,801,3300.67%18,640
19792,820,1000.67%18,770
19802,839,0200.67%18,920
19812,858,0600.67%19,040
19822,885,3000.95%27,240
19832,912,8000.95%27,500
19842,940,6000.95%27,800
19852,968,5900.95%27,990
19862,996,9400.95%28,350
19873,035,5301.29%38,590
19883,074,6801.29%39,150
19893,114,2101.29%39,530
19903,154,3101.29%40,100
19913,194,8301.28%40,520
19923,216,5800.68%21,750
19933,238,4200.68%21,840
19943,260,4500.68%22,030
19953,282,6200.68%22,170
19963,304,9500.68%22,330
19973,318,8100.42%13,860
19983,332,7400.42%13,930
19993,346,7300.42%13,990
20003,360,8000.42%14,070
20013,374,9900.42%14,190
20023,423,3201.43%48,330
20033,472,3401.43%49,020
20043,522,1401.43%49,800
20053,572,5001.43%50,360
20063,623,7201.43%51,220
20073,698,5102.06%74,790
20083,774,9502.07%76,440
20093,852,7402.06%77,790
20103,932,2602.06%79,520
20114,013,4602.06%81,200
20124,113,8902.5%100,430
20134,216,5602.5%102,670
20144,321,9302.5%105,370
20154,429,9302.5%108,000
20164,540,7902.5%110,860
20174,654,4202.5%113,630
20184,770,8902.5%116,470
20194,870,3902.09%99,500
20204,967,7302%97,340
20215,061,4401.89%93,710
20225,150,7701.76%89,330
20235,235,4101.64%84,640
20245,315,6001.53%80,190
20255,391,8901.44%76,290
20265,464,9201.35%73,030
20275,535,3201.29%70,400
20285,603,7101.24%68,390
20295,670,5501.19%66,840
20305,736,2001.16%65,650
20315,800,9601.13%64,760
20325,865,1101.11%64,150
20335,928,8401.09%63,730
20345,992,3001.07%63,460
20356,055,5901.06%63,290

Melbourne Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Melbourne5,315,6001.53%
Sydney5,184,9001.25%
Brisbane2,536,4501.28%
Perth2,143,4901.2%
Adelaide1,379,2800.91%
Gold Coast742,6001.4%
Canberra477,5671.11%
Newcastle465,1450.93%
Sunshine Coast370,8281.52%
Central Coast344,2000.84%
Wollongong315,3790.93%

Other Cities in Australia

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics - Data and statistics for the Greater Melbourne Area
  2. City of Melbourne - City of Melbourne's demographics, population, and other research

Sources