The major cities along Australia's east coast -- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane -- now account for more than 70 per cent of the country's population growth.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Sydney remains the country's largest city with a record 5.1 million residents last year, up by 2 per cent.
But Melbourne, at 4.9 million, is the fastest-growing city in the country after an increase of 2.7 per cent in the past 12 months.
And Brisbane, the other fastest-growing, is also at 2 per cent in the last year.
The Bureau of Statistics' director of health statistics, Louise Gates, points to migration as the biggest factor for the fastest-growing ones.
But the Gratton Institute's Brendan Coates says a larger population is not always better.
