Victoria (state)

Victoria, often called Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, after Tasmania, but it has many people living there. Over 7 million people call Victoria home, making it the most crowded state in Australia.

Victoria shares borders with New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west. To the south is the Bass Strait, with the Southern Ocean to the southwest and the Tasman Sea to the southeast. The state has many different landscapes, from calm coastlines to the tall Victorian Alps in the northeast and drier lands in the northwest.

Most people in Victoria live near the city of Melbourne, the state’s capital and Australia’s second-largest city. Melbourne is a lively place with many museums, art galleries, and theaters. It became well-known during the Victorian gold rush in the 1800s, which brought many people to the area. Today, Victoria keeps growing as people from other countries and other parts of Australia choose to live there. The state has its own government, led by the Labor Party under premier Jacinta Allan.

History

Main article: History of Victoria

Victoria was home to many Aboriginal Australian nations for thousands of years before European settlement. They lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering food.

British settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Victoria was named after Queen Victoria in 1851 when it became its own colony. That same year, gold was discovered, and many people came to search for gold. This helped the colony grow quickly.

In 1901, Victoria became a state when Australia joined together as a country. Melbourne was Australia’s capital city while Canberra was being built.

Geography

Main articles: Geography of Victoria and Geology of Victoria

Victoria's northern border runs in a straight line from Cape Howe to the Murray River. It touches South Australia to the west and has a small border with Tasmania at Boundary Islet in the Bass Strait.

Victoria has many different landscapes. There are wet, mild areas in the southeast and snowy mountains that rise almost 2,000 metres, with Mount Bogong as the highest peak. There are also dry plains in the west and northwest, and many rivers, including the Murray River, Yarra River, and Kiewa River. The state's symbols include the pink heath flower, Leadbeater's possum animal, and the helmeted honeyeater bird.

The capital, Melbourne, holds about 70% of the state's population. It is important for the economy, media, and culture.

Regions

Main article: Regions of Victoria

Victoria is divided into regions for different purposes like economic development, land management, and statistics. The state government has five main regions for economic development: Barwon South West, Gippsland, Grampians, Hume, and Loddon Mallee.

Cities and towns

This is a list of places in the Australian state of Victoria by population. Urban centres are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. The below figures broadly represent the populations of the contiguous built-up areas of each city:

Climate

Victoria has many different climates. It ranges from warm with hot summers in the northwest to cool along the coast. The Great Dividing Range creates cooler mountain climates in the center. Winters near the coast, especially around Melbourne, are mild.

The coastal areas have the mildest climate, helped by air from the Southern Ocean. Melbourne and other big cities are in this temperate area.

The Mallee and upper Wimmera are Victoria's warmest areas, with hot winds from nearby deserts. Summers can be very hot there, with temperatures often above 32 °C (90 °F). The Victorian Alps are the coldest part, with winter temperatures often below 9 °C (48 °F) and sometimes below freezing.

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Australia

Victoria has about 7 million people as of June 30, 2025. By 2051, this number might grow to around 10.3 million.

Victoria started with people from England and Ireland. Over time, many people from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East moved there. Most people in Victoria are older than people in the rest of Australia.

About 72% of Victorians were born in Australia. In Melbourne, this number is a bit lower, around 66%, but in some rural areas, it is over 95%. Less than 1% of Victorians identify as Aboriginal Australians.

More than 75% of Victorians live in Melbourne, which is in the southern part of the state. The bigger Melbourne area has about 5.2 million people. Other towns and cities outside Melbourne include Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura, Warrnambool, Wodonga, and the Latrobe Valley.

Victoria is the most city-like state in Australia, with almost 90% of people living in towns and cities. Even though the government has tried to get people to live outside Melbourne since 2003, Melbourne keeps growing faster than other areas.

Ancestry and immigration

See also: Immigration to Australia

In 2016, the most common family backgrounds in Victoria were:

• English
• Australian
• Irish
• Scottish
• Chinese
• Italian
• Indian
• German
• Greek
• Vietnamese
• Dutch
• Maltese
• Filipino
• Polish

In 2016, about 65% of Victorians were born in Australia. Other common countries where people were born include England, India, mainland China, New Zealand, and Vietnam.

Language

As of the 2016 census, 72.2% of Victorians speak English at home. Other languages spoken at home include Mandarin, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, and Arabic.

Religion

In the 2016 Census, 47.9% of Victorians said they were Christian. Some followed other religions, and 32.1% said they had no religion or held other beliefs. Of those who answered, 31.7% had no religion, Roman Catholics made up 23.2%, 9% were Anglican, and 3.5% were Eastern Orthodox.

Age structure and fertility

The government expects that by 2021, almost a quarter of Victorians will be over 60 years old. Since 2001, the average age in Australia has gone up from 35 to 37. In 2017, Victoria had a rate of 1.724 for how many babies each family had on average.

Average demographic

The "average Victorian" can be described using these facts:

Crime

Main article: Crime in Victoria

In the year ending September 2020, the number of reported incidents changed because of new rules made to keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. There were many incidents, including some that broke important health rules set by the Chief Health Officer.

Government

Main article: Government of Victoria

Victoria has a government that works like the system used in the United Kingdom. It has a Parliament with a Governor, who stands for the monarch, and two groups: the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Legislative Assembly has 88 members who are chosen to work for four years.

The Premier of Victoria is the leader of the group with the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Premier and the cabinet help make the laws and plans for the state. The current Premier is Jacinta Allan.

Victoria’s Parliament works with the Governor, who helps run the government based on what the Premier and cabinet decide. The state has a written constitution that tells how the government should work.

Victoria is known for supporting many changes in the country. The main political parties are the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the National Party, and the Australian Greens. These parties are strong in different parts of the state.

People in Victoria also pick representatives for the country’s Parliament, and different parties often win these seats.

Parliament

Main articles: Parliament of Victoria, Victorian Legislative Assembly, and Victorian Legislative Council

Premier and cabinet

Governor

Main article: Governor of Victoria

Constitution

Main article: Constitution of Victoria

Politics

Main articles: Politics of Victoria and Electoral regions of Victoria

Federal government

Local government

Main article: Local government areas of Victoria

Education

Main article: Education in Victoria

Victoria's schools started in 1872 when the government made school free and required for all children. Public secondary schools began in 1905. Today, children go to school for seven years in primary school and six years in secondary school. After secondary school, students can earn a Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or a vocational certificate. Public schools are paid for by the government, while private schools charge fees but also get some government money. Victoria also has special schools for students who do very well on tests.

Victoria has nine universities, with the University of Melbourne being the oldest and Monash University the largest. Many students from around the world study in Victoria. There are also many technical colleges and libraries, including the big State Library Victoria, which keeps important books and records.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Victoria (state)

Victoria has the second largest economy in Australia, after New South Wales. It makes up about a quarter of the country's total money made.

Agriculture

Victoria is a big place for farming, making up about 25% of all the food Australia grows. Farms there grow nearly 90% of Australia’s pears and a third of its apples. They also grow vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Victoria is also important for dairy farming, with most of Australia’s dairy cows living there. The state produces nearly two-thirds of the country’s milk. There are also many sheep and cattle farms, and Victoria catches seafood like abalone and rock lobster for export.

Manufacturing

Victoria has many factories and is a key place for making things in Australia. Melbourne is especially important for industry. Today, Victoria makes about 26.4% of Australia’s manufactured goods.

Important factories include places that make aluminium, oil, and chemicals. Victoria also makes medicines.

Land

Victoria uses a special way to record land ownership called the Torrens system. This system helps make sure land records are clear and easy to understand.

Mining

Mining in Victoria adds money to the state’s economy. Most mining is for energy, like brown coal, oil, and gas. Brown coal is mainly mined in the Latrobe Valley for making electricity. Victoria also has some gold, gypsum, and kaolin mines.

Tourism

Tourism is very important to Victoria. Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, welcomes many visitors each year. People come to see places like Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Museum, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Victoria also has beautiful coastlines, historic towns, and natural wonders.

Other popular spots include the Goldfields region, the Dandenong Ranges, and the Great Ocean Road. People also enjoy activities like skiing, visiting wineries, and going to festivals.

Transport

See also: Transport in Melbourne and Rail transport in Victoria

Victoria has many people living close together in towns and cities. Smoking tobacco and using e-cigarettes are not allowed in sheltered areas of train stations, tram stops, and bus stops.

The Victorian road network connects these places, with big roads going out from Melbourne and other cities. Many of these roads are wide and well-built.

Rail transport in Victoria is run by different companies on tracks owned by the government. Metro Trains Melbourne manages many trains in Melbourne, while V/Line serves towns outside the city and also runs long-distance trains. Other companies handle freight trains or special tourist trains.

Melbourne has the world's biggest network of trams, run by Yarra Trams. These trams are popular with both locals and visitors. There are also special tram tours in areas like Ballarat and Bendigo, and tram museums in places such as Bylands, Haddon and Hawthorn.

Melbourne Airport is the main airport for travel in and out of the state. Avalon Airport is the second busiest, with smaller airports like Essendon, Moorabbin Airports, Hamilton Airport, Mildura Airport, Mount Hotham and Portland Airport also serving parts of the state. The Port of Melbourne is Australia's biggest port for cargo, located on the Yarra River. There are also smaller ports at Westernport, Geelong, and Portland.

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A High Capacity Metro Train on the Melbourne metropolitan train network operated by Metro Trains Melbourne. The trains have been introduced as part of the Metro Tunnel project.

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A VLocity train at Hawksburn station. V/Line is a government-owned train and coach service provider in Victoria, providing inter-city services to a number of regional cities in the state.

Utilities

Victoria has important energy and water systems that help the state run smoothly. The state uses power stations that burn brown coal, with many located in the Latrobe Valley. The government is working to lower greenhouse gas emissions by a certain amount by 2025.

Victoria has many dams and reservoirs, mostly in the central part of the state. This water is very clean and tastes like rainwater. In some areas, especially in the west, the water needs more cleaning. New pipelines are being built across Victoria to move water where it is needed most. Big projects like the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline and the Goldfields Superpipe have already been finished.

Main article: Water management in Victoria

Sport

Main article: Sport in Victoria

Victoria loves sports, especially Australian rules football. Ten of the best teams in this sport are here, and the big final game happens each year at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The state has teams in many other sports, like cricket, rugby, basketball, and soccer. Melbourne has hosted big international events such as the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The city also has major tennis and car racing events, and famous horse racing days that attract large crowds.

Sister states

Victoria has four sister states around the world. These include Jiangsu in China since 1979, Aichi Prefecture in Japan since 1980, Busan in South Korea since 1994, and Sichuan in China since 2016. These partnerships help promote cultural and economic exchanges between the regions.