AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION IS BOOMING

Australia's population is booming, driven largely by an increased birthrate and an increase in overseas migration. The strongest growth over the last year has been in Victoria, with Melbourne the fastest-growing city in Australia. But analysts warn the country must make sure it has the infrastructure to match the population surge. 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. Canberra has grown 1.7 per cent, with Darwin, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth all around 1 per cent or less. The Bureau of Statistics' director of health statistics, Louise Gates, points to migration as the biggest factor for the fastest-growing ones...

5 million and counting: 65 percent of Melbourne's population growth is the result of overseas migration Source: Flickr