Our Concentrated Nation

Posted by Jack Guthrie

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. We are twice as large as India, 6 times bigger than South Africa and you could fit the United Kingdom into our country 31 times over. Yet our country isn’t even in the top 50 populations on Earth. We have an enormous country, a relatively small population, but some of the worlds biggest cities.

How?

The reality is, Australian’s are heavily concentrated throughout several economic hubs. Our big four (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) house and employ a large majority of our population. Compared to other major developed countries, our urban areas are bustling and densely compacted, while the rest of our country is unadorned with little commercial activity. We lack an even spread of population that can be seen across the European countries and the USA, leading to an effect that some population experts are calling ‘The Big City Squeeze’.

Figures reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics show that over 57% of our country lives in our four largest cities, while four out of five residents live in our biggest 25 urban centres. Seen below, these numbers compared on a world scale are exceptionally concentrated. The United States major capitals account for little over 5%, and the UK metro regions don’t even come close to that of Sydney.

United States of America Population: 326,766,748
Ranking #	City	Population	% of Population
1	New York (NY)	8,550,405	2.62%
2	Los Angeles (CA)	3,971,883	1.22%
3	Chicago (ILL)	2,740,546	0.84%
4	Houston (TX)	2,296,224	0.70%
	*Total Population of top four cities*	*17,559,058*	*5.37%*

Source: USCB

United Kingdom Population: 66,573,504
Ranking #	City	Population	% of Population
1	London (ENG)	7,556,900	11.35%
2	Birmingham (ENG)	984,333	1.48%
3	Liverpool (ENG)	864,122	1.30%
4	Nottingham (ENG)	729,977	1.10%
	*Total Population of top four cities*	*10,135,332*	*15.22%*

Source: ONS

*Australia Population: 24,940,000*
Ranking	City	Population	% of Population
1	Sydney (NSW)	5,131,326	20.57%
2	Melbourne (VIC)	4,850,740	19.45%
3	Brisbane (QLD)	2,408,223	9.66%
4	Perth (WA)	2,043,138	8.19%
	*Total Population of top four cities*	*14,433,427*	*57.87%*

Source: ABS. Cat. 3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics

Surprisingly, Australia’s capital cities are larger than many of those in America and the United Kingdom. Melbourne is larger than Birmingham and Liverpool combined, Brisbane is almost as big as the windy city – but our total population does not even compare.

So, the question beckons – What does this mean for our property markets?

Property markets are reactive to supply and demand factors. Supply indicated by the amount of dwellings available, and demand from the level of population growth in a region. A large amount of our nations employment growth, education facilities and infrastructure spending are invested into these four markets. As a result, the ABS has forecast 75% of future population growth to come from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. All though no one has a means of predicting the future of property markets, population growth factors may by used as a good gauge too understand where future demand will lie.

As it stands, Melbourne’s population is growing at a rate faster than anywhere in Australia, and Brisbane is experiencing some of the most significant levels of infrastructural investments its economy has seen. Our research indicates that these two macro markets show the strongest long-term prospects.

At Blue Wealth, we aim to identify the best properties for our clients through clear cut research, giving you the opportunity to create wealth through property.