The population of Australia's capital cities grew by almost 325,000 people in the 2024-25 financial year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Phil Browning, ABS head of demography said: 'Australia's capital cities grew by 1.8 per cent last financial year, adding 324,700 people. This was almost 100,000 people less than in 2023-24, when the capital cities grew by 2.3 per cent.
'Net overseas migration remained the main driver of capital city growth despite falling by 109,400 people compared with the previous year.'
Perth had the highest growth rate of all capitals (2.4 per cent), followed by Brisbane (2.1 per cent) and Melbourne (2.0 per cent). Darwin was the only capital that grew faster (1.7 per cent) than the previous year (1.5 per cent).
| Capital city | Population change 2024-25 | Population 30 June 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | Per cent | ||
| Sydney | 75,200 | 1.4 | 5,638,800 |
| Melbourne | 105,000 | 2.0 | 5,435,600 |
| Brisbane | 58,200 | 2.1 | 2,833,500 |
| Adelaide | 18,600 | 1.3 | 1,491,000 |
| Perth | 58,100 | 2.4 | 2,452,800 |
| Hobart | 540 | 0.2 | 255,300 |
| Darwin | 2,700 | 1.7 | 159,300 |
| Canberra | 6,200 | 1.3 | 484,600 |
| All capitals | 324,700 | 1.8 | 18,750,900 |
| Regional Australia | 94,700 | 1.1 | 8,862,800 |
'The largest growth areas were mostly in outer-suburban parts of the capital cities, where population growth was driven by people moving in from other parts of Australia,' Mr Browning said.
| Capital city | Largest growing area | Population change 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | Box Hill - Nelson | 3,900 |
| Melbourne | Rockbank - Mount Cottrell | 4,600 |
| Brisbane | Ripley | 3,100 |
| Adelaide | Munno Para West - Angle Vale | 2,400 |
| Perth | Alkimos - Eglinton | 2,500 |
| Hobart | Rokeby | 240 |
| Darwin | Berrimah | 530 |
| Canberra | Taylor | 700 |
Outside the capitals, Caloundra West - Baringa (+2,000) grew the most in Queensland, Barwon Heads - Armstrong Creek (+1,400) grew the most in Victoria and Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin (+1,000) grew the most in New South Wales.
