Understanding Melbourne
- Table of contents
Introduction
People in the city - Health in the city
Transport in the city - Business in the city
- City retail, entertainment and dining
- Arts and culture
- Sport and events
City features
Key trends in the City of Melbourne – and predicted changes
Knowing the facts about Melbourne is important – but so is knowing what these facts mean for our future. How has Melbourne changed during the past ten years, and what further changes are expected in the future? We need to know, so we can plan ahead.
People in the city
Residents
Between 1996 and 2006, the City of Melbourne experienced an urban renaissance. Our population increased by 93 per cent, growing at a very high rate of 6.8 per cent each year. Population is expected to continue to grow at a high rate of 3.7 per cent each year. Today, approximately 77,000 City of Melbourne residents live in 42,100 dwellings. By 2016, Melbourne’s population is forecast to reach almost 100,000 people, living in more than 58,000 dwellings
Visitors
An estimated 710,600 people use the City of Melbourne on a typical weekday, 10 times as many people as live in it. The average number of weekday visitors increased three per cent during the past two years. Visitor numbers are forecast to reach one million weekday visitors in 2017.
Metropolitan visitors, attracted to the city by major events and activities, make up the largest growing group of visitors.
Diversity
Approximately 33 per cent (23,629) of our residents speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Mandarin (eight per cent), Cantonese (six per cent) and Indonesian (three per cent). The most common countries of birth of residents (other than Australia) are Malaysia, China, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. Approximately 52 per cent of residents speak English only.
According to the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, 27 per cent of Melbourne residents do not follow any religion. For the 73 per cent of residents who do follow a religion, these included: Catholic (19 per cent); Anglican Church (eight per cent) Buddhist (eight per cent), Islam (four per cent and Uniting Church (three per cent).
Students
Melbourne was home to approximately 23,133 students in 2005, including 11,800 international students. More than 81,000 people were studying in tertiary institutions within the City of Melbourne, including 21,000 international students.
Tourists
On an average day between 7am and 7pm, the city hosts:
• 553,900 metropolitan visitors (including students, workers and day trippers);
• 27,700 regional Victorian visitors;
• 26,900 interstate visitors; and
• almost 31,000 international visitors.
International visitors spend $4 billion a year in the City of Melbourne.
Health in the city
The World Health Organisation rates Melbourne as one of the healthiest cities of its size in the world.
Transport in the city
Melbourne is Victoria’s transport hub, with access to sea, rail, road and air facilities. Greater Melbourne is also Victoria’s major manufacturing, wholesale and retail centre. Melbourne’s transport network includes a curfew-free 24 hour international airport 22kms from the central business district.
Melbourne also has a network of trams, a major container port, an extensive rail network and system of roads, highways and freeways. In the next 15 years, road freight tonnage is forecast to increase by 80 per cent.
Business in the city
The municipality has a more than 12,500 businesses and more than 328,000 workers. Property and business services and finance and insurance are Melbourne’s largest industries. This sector has grown 13 per cent since 2000, currently boasting almost 60,000 personnel and 2,000 establishments.
Victoria is the manufacturing centre of Australia, producing 34 per cent of Australia’s manufacturing output (26 per cent of the nation’s GDP), while Melbourne is home to 46 per cent of the top 250 Australian-owned information and technology firms.
Other key industries in Melbourne include:
• film, television, new media and design;
• higher education;
• aerospace; and
• property.
City retail, entertainment and dining
Shopping
The city’s retail market continues to perform well. Recent developments include the new-look Bourke Street Mall, the opening of the QV and GPO shopping complexes, and the recently upgraded Melbourne Central and Galleria. Retail vacancies in Melbourne have remained low in recent years, despite this boom in retail development.
Melbourne’s arcades and laneways have evolved into highlights of the city’s retail offer, along with the allure of our many high-end boutiques.
Entertainment and dining
Melbourne is an exciting, attractive city that offers visitors and residents a wide variety of places to be entertained and enjoy leisure activities. Growth in the city’s cafes, restaurants, bars and taverns over recent years has changed the vibrancy of the city, particularly at night and on weekends.
Arts and culture
Melbourne offers a wide range of international art and culture festivals and galleries featuring international and Australian art, youth art, in city streets, laneways and other public places cultural events. Internationally acclaimed cultural events fill our annual calendar and include: the Melbourne International Arts Festival; Melbourne International Film Festival; Melbourne International Comedy Festival; and Motorola Melbourne Spring Fashion Week.
Sport and events
Melbourne’s key sporting events include: the Australian Open Tennis Championships; Melbourne Cup and Spring racing carnival, Melbourne Osaka Cup 2007; the Formula One Australian Grand Prix, cricket, Australian Rules football, sailing, basketball, cycling, athletics, gymnastics and netball. The city also hosts a variety of community events including Moomba Waterfest; the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival; and Summer Fun in the City.
City features
The city has many established precincts including: Lygon Street, Chinatown, the Greek precinct on Lonsdale Street, Southbank and, more recently, Docklands.
Melbourne’s Docklands area has been transformed and is evolving as the city’s new waterfront suburb.
The Royal Exhibition Building and surrounding Carlton Gardens were inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2004. The historic building and gardens are one of a few surviving 19th-century exhibition precincts in the world.
Other city features include: the Arts Centre, the Regent theatre, Queen Victoria Market, Federation Square, Museum, Crown Entertainment Complex, Aquarium, the Exhibition Centre, MCG, Melbourne Park Sports and Entertainment Precinct, and the recent edition of Birrarung Marr to the city’s parks and gardens and the Yarra River itself together with the redevelopment of Sandridge bridge and the Northbank.
Key trends in the City of Melbourne – and predicted changes.
This table highlights some of the most notable data trends in the City of Melbourne, and includes predictions of future directions.
| Indicator |
1996 to 2006 |
2006 to 2016 |
| Population | Very high growth |
High growth |
| Student population |
Very high growth | Stabilising population |
| Visitor population | Very high growth | Moderate growth |
| City economy |
Strong growth |
Moderate growth |
| City employment |
Strong growth |
Moderate growth |
| City development |
Strong growth | Moderate growth |
| City revitalisation |
Significant revitalisation | Significant revitalisation |
| Homelessness |
Increasing concern |
Increasing concern |
| Safety | Increasing concern | Increasing concern |
| Social cohesion | Emerging concern | Increasing concern |
