Melbourne waves goodbye to greenery as population soars

Friday 12 April 2024

The latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Melbourne’s population soared by 1.7 million people (49%) between 2001 and 2023, driven by net overseas migration.

Official forecasts from the Victorian government project that Melbourne’s population will swell to 9.0 million people by 2056:

If this projection came to fruition, Melbourne’s population would have risen by 5.5 million in only 55 years from 3.5 million in 2001.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.