Sydney, Australia Population

Population in Urban Area, now

5,084,852
  • World: 88th
  • Oceania: 2nd
  • Australia: 2nd

Population in City Area, 2022-03-06

4,627,345
  • World: 53rd
  • Oceania: 1st
  • Australia: 1st

Sydney Urban Area Population Graph

Sydney Population Review

Located on Australia's east coast lies the city of Sydney. Home to 4.6 million people in the city and 4.9 million people in the urban area, Sydney is home to almost 65% of the state's population. Sydney is made up of over 650 suburbs that are spread across 33 local government areas. There is also considered to be 15 informal regions to the city.

When it comes to area, Sydney is an exceptionally large city. It spreads across 12,367 square miles and also surrounds the areas of Port Jackson, Hawkesbury, Royal National Park, and Macarthur. Because of its large size, Sidney’s population density remains manageable, with an average of 423 people per square kilometre.

One of the most expensive and most liveable cities

It isn’t cheap to live in Sydney! In fact, Sydney is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. Living in Sydney is more expensive than living in London or in New York City. The city is becoming pricey enough when it comes to the cost of food, clothing, rent, transportation, utility bills, and more that it’s almost pricing itself out of a manageable place for many people to live.

However, even with the high price tag for living in Sydney, the city continues to rank as one of the most liveable cities in the world—beating out many other large cities to score third in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s global liveability index.

A city filled with corporate citizens

As a city, Sydney appeals heavily to businesses. There were 451,000 businesses based in Sydney as of 2011, and that number has only continued to grow. Sydney is also home to 48% of the top 500 companies in Australia, and two-thirds of the regional headquarters of multinational corporations in the country. These global companies are attracted to Sydney in part because of the city’s time zone, which spans across the closing of business in North America and the opening hours of businesses in Europe. There are 283 multinational companies that have regional offices in Sydney.

Home ownership vs. renting

Before World War II, it was less common for residents of Sydney to own a home. Since then, this trend has reversed, and many more people own than rent. This has contributed to an increase in the price of real estate, with prices increasing by an average of 8.6% annually, every year since 1970. The scarcity of land has pushed median house prices up so much that the median cost of a home in Sydney as of 2014 was $630,000. Out of all the dwellings in Sydney, 31% are rented, 30% are owned outright, and 34% are owned with a mortgage.

Tourism in the city of Sydney

For many international visitors, Sydney is the gateway to Australia. In 2013, the city hosted over 2.8 million international visitors—nearly half of all international visits to Australia that year. Many of these tourists originated from China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The city also saw 8.3 million domestic overnight visitors.

Tourism directly employs some 26,000 people in Sydney, and, on average, the tourism industry contributes $36 million to the city’s economy every day.

Demographic breakdown

For each decade since 1961, the population of Sydney has increased by more than 250,000 people. The population is estimated to grow by another 1 million people by 2035. Despite this increase in population and the predicted increases to come, Melbourne is still predicted to surpass Sydney as Australia’s most populous city by 2026. However, the four most densely populated suburbs in the country are located in Sydney, with each having more than 13,000 residents per square kilometre.

Review Updated: November 28, 2020

Sydney Urban Area Population History

1950 1,690,000
1951 1,736,000
1952 1,777,000
1953 1,820,000
1954 1,863,000
1955 1,906,000
1956 1,950,000
1957 1,994,000
1958 2,040,000
1959 2,087,000
1960 2,135,000
1961 2,184,000
1962 2,233,000
1963 2,285,000
1964 2,337,000
1965 2,390,000
1966 2,445,000
1967 2,550,000
1968 2,660,000
1969 2,773,000
1970 2,892,000
1971 3,016,000
1972 3,041,000
1973 3,067,000
1974 3,092,000
1975 3,118,000
1976 3,144,000
1977 3,171,000
1978 3,198,000
1979 3,225,000
1980 3,252,000
1981 3,280,000
1982 3,317,000
1983 3,355,000
1984 3,394,000
1985 3,432,000
1986 3,472,000
1987 3,511,000
1988 3,551,000
1989 3,591,000
1990 3,632,000
1991 3,673,000
1992 3,709,000
1993 3,745,000
1994 3,782,000
1995 3,819,000
1996 3,857,000
1997 3,837,000
1998 3,818,000
1999 3,799,000
2000 3,780,000
2001 3,761,000
2002 3,789,000
2003 3,817,000
2004 3,846,000
2005 3,875,000
2006 3,904,000
2007 3,968,000
2008 4,033,000
2009 4,099,000
2010 4,166,000
2011 4,234,000
2012 4,310,000
2013 4,386,000
2014 4,465,000
2015 4,544,000
2016 4,625,000
2017 4,708,000
2018 4,792,000
2019 4,859,000
2020 4,926,000
2021 4,992,000
2022 5,057,000
2023 5,121,000
2024 5,185,000

Sydney Urban Area Population Projections

2025 5,249,000
2026 5,313,000
2027 5,376,000
2028 5,440,000
2029 5,503,000
2030 5,566,000
2031 5,629,000
2032 5,691,000
2033 5,752,000
2034 5,814,000
2035 5,875,000

Map of Sydney, Australia

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