Australia is one of the world's most urbanised nations, with 87 percent living within 50 kilometres of the coast. As at the 2016 Census, more than two-thirds of Australians lived in a capital city, with 40 percent of the population being in the two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

Greater capital city areas by population density

Rank Greater Capital City Statistical Area State/territory Population (2023) Landarea(km2) Density(/km2) 1 Canberra 466,566 814.2 573 2 Melbourne 5,207,145 9,993 521.08 3 Adelaide 1,446,380 3,259.8 443.7 4 Sydney 5,450,496 12,367.7 440.7 5 Perth 2,309,338 6,417.9 359.8 6 Brisbane 2,706,966 15,842 170.9 7 Hobart 253,654 1,758.8 144.2 8 Darwin 150,736 3,163.8 47.6

50 most densely populated Australian suburbs Rank Suburb Metropolitan Area PopulationAustralian Bureau of Statistics 2016, General Community Profile 'Table G01: Selected Person Characteristics by Sex and State Suburb' data cube: Excel spreadsheet, cat no. 2001.0, viewed 15 December 2017, https://datapacks.censusdata.abs.gov.au/datapacks/ -Area(km²) Inhabitantsper km2 Inhabitantsper mi2 1 Elizabeth Bay Sydney 5,215 0.2509 20,785 53,833 2 Chippendale Sydney 8,617 0.4642 18,563 48,078 3 Rushcutters Bay Sydney 2,547 0.1574 16,182 41,910 4 Ultimo Sydney 8,845 0.5588 15,829 40,996 5 Potts Point Sydney 9,423 0.6204 15,189 39,338 6 Haymarket Sydney 7,353 0.518 14,195 36,765 7 Pyrmont Sydney 12,813 0.9325 13,740 35,588 8 Darlinghurst Sydney 11,320 0.8569 13,210 34,215 9 Waterloo Sydney 14,616 1.1338 12,891 33,388 10 Zetland Sydney 10,078 0.8048 12,522 32,433 11 Surry Hills Sydney 16,412 1.3164 12,467 32,290 12 Wentworth Point Sydney 6,994 0.5739 12,186 31,564 13 Southbank Melbourne 18,709 1.5639 11,963 30,984 14 Rhodes Sydney 11,906 1.0061 11,834 30,649 15 Bondi Sydney 10,045 0.8648 11,615 30,084 16 Redfern Sydney 13,213 1.1717 11,277 29,207 17 Milsons Point Sydney 2,158 0.1982 10,888 28,200 18 Woolloomooloo Sydney 4,011 0.3722 10,776 27,911 19 Carlton Melbourne 18,535 1.7488 10,599 27,451 20 Forest Lodge Sydney 4,583 0.4446 10,308 26,698 21 Hillsdale Sydney 5,501 0.5462 10,071 26,085 22 Erskineville Sydney 8,014 0.8077 9,922 25,698 23 Allawah Sydney 5,706 0.5837 9,776 25,319 24 Liberty Grove Sydney 2,254 0.2327 9,686 25,087 25 Wolli Creek Sydney 6,394 0.6614 9,667 25,038 26 Bondi Beach Sydney 11,656 1.2193 9,560 24,759 27 Newtown Sydney 15,029 1.5783 9,522 24,633 28 Harris Park Sydney 5,799 0.6389 9,077 23,508 29 Enmore Sydney 3,880 0.4422 8,774 22,725 30 Bondi Junction Sydney 9,445 1.0792 8,752 22,667 31 Kirribilli Sydney 3,820 0.4376 8,729 22,609 32 Teneriffe Brisbane 5,335 0.6438 8,287 21,463 33 Neutral Bay Sydney 10,488 1.2796 8,196 21,228 34 Darlington Sydney 3,097 0.3808 8,133 21,064 35 Edgecliff Sydney 2,580 0.3194 8,078 20,921 36 Breakfast Point Sydney 4,188 0.5242 7,989 20,692 37 Queenscliff Sydney 3,376 0.4228 7,985 20,681 38 Paddington Sydney 12,911 1.6266 7,937 20,558 39 Coogee Sydney 15,212 1.9175 7,933 20,547 40 Waitara Sydney 5,941 0.7617 7,800 20,201 41 Kingsford Sydney 15,482 1.9873 7,790 20,177 42 Lakemba Sydney 17,023 2.1866 7,785 20,163 43 Dolls Point Sydney 1,661 0.2203 7,540 19,528 44 Wiley Park Sydney 10,126 1.3622 7,434 19,253 45 Fitzroy Melbourne 10,445 1.4196 7,358 19,056 46 Campsie Sydney 24,541 3.3734 7,275 18,842 47 Melbourne CBD Melbourne 47,285 6.5045 7,270 18,828 48 North Bondi Sydney 9,165 1.2637 7,253 18,784 49 Waverley Sydney 4,346 0.6007 7,235 18,738 50 South Yarra Melbourne 25,147 3.5476 7,088 18,359

Central business district populations Below is a table of the post populated central business districts in Australia. Melbourne has the highest population living in its city centre, mainly due to the large proximity of high rise apartment buildings, while the Adelaide CBD is the second most populated city centre in Australia despite being the fifth-most populous in urban area. Inner-city living is becoming increasingly popular throughout Australia, due to a greater access to employment opportunities, services, and transport.

Rank Capital City Central Business District State/territory CBD Population (2021) Area(km2) Density(/km2) 1 Melbourne 54,941 6.5 8452.5 2 Adelaide 18,202 4.33The Adelaide city centre (the built-up area enclosed by the terraces) covers 4.33 km² 4203.6 3 Sydney 16,667 2.94 5669.04 4 Perth 13,670 4.6 2971.7 5 Brisbane 12,587 2.5 5034.8 6 Darwin 7,149 1.9 3762.6 7 Canberra 4,835 1.5 3453.6 8 Hobart 3,390 1.9 1784.2

See also Demographics of Australia Urbanization in Africa Urbanization in China Urbanization in India Urbanization in the United States Urbanization Urban planning in Australia Urbanization by country

References