Demographics of Sydney

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Sydney is Australia's most populous city, and is also the most populous city in Oceania. In the 2006 census 4,119,190 persons declared themselves as residents of the Sydney Statistical Division - about one-fifth (19.38%) of Australia's total population. If contiguous urban areas are considered, Sydney's population was 3,641,421 persons. Sydney is also the most densely populated city in Australia, and has the greatest proportion (60.3%) of its population overseas born compared with all other major urban areas in Australia.

The median age of Sydney residents was 35 years, and households comprised an average of 2.7 members.

[edit] History

European settlement in Sydney began in 1788, and in 1800 Sydney had around 3,000 inhabitants. It took time for its population to grow - in 1851 its population was only 39,000, compared with 77,000 in Melbourne, however subsequent gold rushes in Victoria and, to a lesser extent, Bathurst, made the population of both cities dramatically rise.

Sydney overtook Melbourne as Australia's most populous city in the early twentieth century, and reached the million inhabitants milestone around 1925. The opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge helped pave the way (literally) for urban development north of Sydney Harbour. Post-war immigration and a baby boom helped the population reach two million by 1962.

[edit] Ethnic groups

At the 2006 census 39.4% of Sydney residents declared themselves to have been born overseas. The most common countries of birth outside Australia declared were the United Kingdom (4.3%), China (3.5%), New Zealand (2.0%), Vietnam (1.5%), India, The Philippines, Lebanon (about 1.3% each) and Italy (1.1%). Indigenous Australians were about 1% of all Sydney residents.

The most common languages spoken at home are English (64.0%), Chinese (5.3%), Arabic (3.9%), Greek (1.9%), Vietnamese (1.8%), Italian (1.7%) and Spanish (1.1%).

Some suburbs are associated with particular ethnic groups:

• Italians with Leichhardt
• Greeks with Earlwood
• Lebanese with Lakemba, Campsie, Merrylands and Bankstown. Sydney has around 75% of Australia's Lebanese population.
• Macedonians with Rockdale, Kogarah
• Filipino with Blacktown
• Koreans with Strathfield, Campsie, and Eastwood
• Jews with Bondi, Rose Bay and St Ives
• Indians with Westmead, Parramatta, Glenwood, Kellyville and Blacktown.
• Chinese with Haymarket, Cabramatta, Ashfield, Hurstville, Campsie, Chatswood, Eastwood.
• Vietnamese with Cabramatta and Bankstown
• Indigenous Australians with Redfern
• Assyrians with City of Fairfield.

The adjacent show concentrations of persons born in different regions of the world residing in particular parts of Sydney.

At the 2006 Census, the most common responses for religion were Catholic (29.1%), Anglican (17.9%), Eastern Orthodox (4.3%), Islam (3.9%), Buddhist (3.7%) and Uniting Church (3.4%). 14.1% declared no religious affliation. In total 64% of respondents declared themselves to be Christian ^[1]

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[edit] References