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Melbourne is the capital of Victoria-Australia’s smallest mainland state. It has a population of over 3 million, which is nearly 70% of the population of Victoria. A person from Melbourne is called a Melbournian. Settlement started in Melbourne in 1835. Records state that the Melbourne population in 1836 was only 177 but the History of Melbourne has it that a population explosion took place in1850’s during the gold rush. Since then the Melbourne population has constantly grown. From 29,000 in 1851 it reached 140,000 in 1860. In 1865, Melbourne became the most populous city in Australia. Currently it is the second most populous city in Australia. The largest growth occurred in Wyndham, Casey and Melton on the suburban fringe. The projected population of Melbourne by 2030 is 4,500,000. In Australia, population in Melbourne shows a refreshing trend towards multi-ethnicity. It is a multicultural city with people from 223 countries, speaking over 180 languages and dialects, and following 116 religious beliefs. The repercussion of the Second World War witnessed the arrival of a large number of immigrants especially from Europe. Today 43.5% of the total Melbourne population were either born abroad or are of foreign origin. Melbourne population shows a high concentration of Greeks and Italians. Recently people from other countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, and Malaysia have also settled down in this city. Lately there has been an influx from African countries as well, especially from Sudan. Melbourne also has the highest concentration of Jewish community in Oceania. It also has a large Muslim population. Melbourne is currently witnessing a steady decline in the proportion of younger persons to the total population. In 2001, only 34% of the population is below 25 years compared to 38% in 1991. On the other hand there has been a rise in university qualification. In 1991 only 14.6% of the labor force had university qualification. In 2001 this number reached 24%. Today there are more people living alone in the city. The proportion went up from 6.9% in 1991 to 8.6% in 2001 and more than 36% of these people are 65 years or above.
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