Land boom and bust During this "land boom", Melbourne reputedly became the richest city in the world, and the second-largest (after London) in the British Empire. The decade began with the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, held in the large purpose-built Exhibition Building.
Sydney, Australia
The only Australian city to have made it into the top 10, Sydney has seen strong wealth growth over the past two decades, with a 35% increase of HNWIs in the last decade.
The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 led to the Victorian gold rush, and the city grew rapidly. By 1865, it had overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city. This economic boom peaked during the 1880s and Melbourne had become the richest city in the world.
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed economy. As of 2023, Australia was the 13th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (gross domestic product), the 19th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 20th-largest goods exporter and 24th-largest goods importer.
Sydney was the only Australian city listed in a top 10 dominated by American and Chinese cities. Melbourne was Australia's next city to make the list, coming in at 17th with 96,000 millionaires residing in the city. Perth (33,900) and Brisbane (31,900) were listed at 32 and 33 respectively.
Land boom and bust
The 1880s saw extraordinary growth: consumer confidence, easy access to credit, and steep increases in land prices led to an enormous amount of construction. During this "land boom", Melbourne reputedly became the richest city in the world, and the second-largest (after London) in the British Empire.
On a mean wealth basis, Australia was the fourth-richest country in 2021 behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The average Australian adult was worth $US550,110 at the end of last year, after enjoying a $US66,350 annual increase in wealth.
Australians are the richest people in the world, with a median wealth three times that of the average American, a new report has shown.
Australia's GDP per capita is currently nearly 80 per cent of that of the US, having risen from around 75 per cent in the mid-1980s. To provide a simple decomposition of the long-term evolution of GDP per capita, the Australian Treasury often uses the '3 Ps' framework.
Australia's average wealth is just 1.8 times our median wealth; by contrast the UK's is 2.2 times greater, while the US is second worst out of the top 50, at 6.7 times.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics rankings, released on Thursday, are based on the latest Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), compiled using data from the 2021 census. The list of the most advantaged suburbs is dominated by locations in Melbourne's inner east, such as Toorak, Brighton and Malvern.
With an approximate population of 4.5 million inhabitants, Sydney is the largest and the oldest city in Australia. The first settlers arrived in 1788. Situated on Sydney Harbour and next to Circular Quay, The Rocks is the starting point of European settlement in Australia.
Melbourne had many unofficial names in its first years, including Batmania, Barebrass, Bearport, Dutergalla, Bareheep and most popularly "the Settlement".
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources. For a long time, commodities have made up a sizeable share of our exports.
New South Wales: a diverse economy and high income
Among all the states and territories in Australia, New South Wales is considered the richest state. It has the largest economy, a diverse range of industries, and a higher-than-average income, which contribute to its status as the wealthiest state.
While Sydney topped the list of best cities to live, its position in other fields put it at fifth overall. See where other Australian cities ranked, and who took out the number one spot. Click through to see the top 20.
High population growth, high government spending, the introduction of television (1956) and the gradual relaxation of government controls over "hire purchase" helped Australia to develop into an affluent society in the 1950s and 1960s.
Australia and Canada have similar levels of GDP per capita (based on purchasing power parity, nominal GDP per capita was around US$ 7 000 for Australia and US$ 9 000 for Canada in 008). Since 1990, Australia's growth in real GDP per capita has been a little higher than Canada's.
Absolutely. Australia is a fantastic place to live, even for foreigners. There aren't only advantages to living in Australia, but they outweigh the disadvantages. I love the climate, work-life balance, safety and the wide range of outdoor activities that I can enjoy every weekend.
Australians wanting to be in the country's top 1% for wealth need to have an individual net worth of US$5.5 million ($8.3 million), Knight Frank's 2023 Wealth Report has found.
Switzerland and Australia have the next highest entry points to the 1%, requiring net worth of $6.6 million and $5.5 million, respectively, according to data released Wednesday as part of the property broker's 2023 Wealth Report. In the US, $5.1 million will get you over the threshold.
The data show the median household had a net worth of $579,200 in 2019-20. This figure captures the total value of assets such as real estate, shares and superannuation, and deducts a household's liabilities such as credit card debt and home loans.
Australia's cost of living is higher than that of Germany – but its purchasing power is higher. According to Numbeo, your cost of living will be higher in Australia. For example, consumer prices are 20.30% higher, rent is 36.27% higher, and groceries cost 47.16% more.
In 2016, the Australian Taxation Office listed Mungallala as having the lowest mean taxable income by postcode, making it the poorest town in Australia, which led the ABC to do a documentary on the town for their online "storyhunters" program.
The poorest country in the continent of Australia is Papua New Guinea.