Sydney, a global city ?

Sydney

Key question :

• Is Sydney a global city ?

I - A “Human” capital ?

                A - Sydney, not a “megacity” yet

Although Sydney is the biggest city in Australia, it cannot be considered has a “megacity” or a megalopolis because (only 5,3 millions inhabitants in 2019) with a population density of about 430 people per square kilometer, with a growth rate of about +5% in 2020.

                B - An attractive city

Australia is one of the most attractive countries for foreign students, and Sydney is one of the most popular cities for international students. Its universities have over 50 000 international students. It is also the 42nd most visited city in the world with 3 million international visitors each year. The city is considered to be one of the best cities in the world for quality of life.

                C - A multicultural city

Sydney is also one of the most multicultural cities in the world. In fact, one third of its total population speaks another language at home. The largest foreign community in Sydney is the United Kingdom with over 155,000 inhabitants, followed by china with around 145,000 inhabitants and finally, in third position, india with about 85,000 of indian people.

        II - Economic and political clout

                A - Economic clout

Of the 47 international banks that operate in Australia, 45 are based in Sydney. It is by far the biggest city of Australia in economic terms. It has a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of 307 billions of Australian dollars. Out of all the biggest Australian international companies, 65% have their headquarters based in Sydney. And out of all the regional firms that operate in the Asia-Pacific region, 60% of them are located in Sydney too. It is the economic capital of Australia.

B - Political clout

Sydney has less power and impact on the political side. It is in part because Camberra is the official capital of Australia, and Sydney is just the biggest city of the country. Thus Sydney does not have any kind of political infrastructure and cannot therefore exercise any political power over the country.

        III - A not so global city

                A - A slow growth

Despite being the biggest city in Australia, Sydney does not have a tremendous economic growth, more than 150 cities in the world are growing at a faster rate. Indeed, the rate of economic growth in Sydney is very low, about 2% in 2019. Unfortunately, this is not the only problem Sydney is facing.

B - Lack of public transport

Sydney is also a very poor city in terms of public transport. Due to the fact that public transport does not cover the entire city, 70% of the population rely on their own cars. And this has obviously a big environmental impact because 70% of the popupaltion represent a tremendous amount of cars.

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