Empowering the Arts: Sydney’s Commitment to Preserving Creative Space

Australia’s second largest city, one of the most important ports in the South Pacific and the home of many iconic cultural institutions

Sydney City Data

Indicator Figure Source and Notes
Admissions: Cinema (Per year) 24,065,444 City of Sydney / Screen Australia — City of Sydney / Screen Australia
Admissions: Main film festival (Per year) 183,000 Sydney Film Festival 2017 Accquittal report
Admissions: Theatre (Per year) 6,132,827 Live Performance Australia — NSW figure
Art Galleries 170 Art Guide Australia
Attendance (Estimated): Carnival/festival 2,330,000 Destination NSW — Vivid Sydney - Attendance figure estimate
Attendance (Estimated): Carnival/festival (Percentage of city population) 48.30% Destination NSW
Attendance to museums & galleries (Percentage of working age population) 23.00% Australian Bureau of Statistics — Data concerns New South Wales region
Bars 802 Office of Liquor and Gaming
Bars (Per 100,000 population) 17 Office of Liquor and Gaming
Book loans by public libraries (Per year) (Million) 17.7 State Library of NSW
Book titles published (Per year) 19,971 Books and Publishing
Bookshops 258 Yellow Pages — Data concerns Greater Sydney region
Bookshops (Per 100,000 population) 5.3 Yellow Pages
Cinema screens 377 City of Sydney / Sydney Arts Guide 2015
Cinema screens (Per 100,000 population) 8 City of Sydney / Sydney Arts Guide 2015
Cinemas 56 City of Sydney / Sydney Arts Guide 2015
Creative industries employment (Percentage) 4.60% Compiled by City of Sydney research team.
Education: Degree level & higher (Percentage) 37.60% Australian Bureau of Statistics — 2016 Census
Film festivals 91 Film Festivals Australia / City of Sydney
Films given theatrical release (Per year, per country) 113 Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia
Foreign born population (Percentage) 42.90% Australian Bureau of Statistics — 2016 Census
Foreign films given theatrical release (Per year, per country) 113 Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia
Geographical area (Square kilometre) 12,368 City of Sydney
Heritage & historical sites 1,030 Herritage Division NSW Office of Environment and Herritage / Australian Government Department of Energy and Environment
Households 1,855,734 Australian Bureau of Statistics — 2016 Census
International students 63,748 Australian Government Department of Education and Training
International tourists (Per year as percentage of population) 78.80% Destination NSW
International tourists (Per year) 3,800,000 Destination NSW
Libraries (Per 100,000 Population) 2.3 State Library of NSW
Live music venues 432 APRA AMSCO
Major concert halls 4 City of Sydney — Sydney Opera House - Concert Hall / The Concourse / Verbruggen Hall / City Recital Hall
Markets 118 The Market Guide
Museums 79 Museums and Galleries NSW
Music performances (Per year) 20,598 themusic.com.au — Exclude classical music performances or community music events
National museums 1 Museums and Galleries NSW — Australian National Maritime Museum
Nightclubs, discos & dance halls 169 APRA AMSCO
Non professional dance schools 730 Yellow Pages — Data concerns Greater Sydney region
Other museums 78 Museums and Galleries NSW
Percentage of national population living in the city 19.40% City of Sydney
Percentage of public green space: Parks & gardens 46.00% New South Wales Department of Planning
Population 4,823,991 City of Sydney — Based on 2016 ABS Census of Population and Housing
Public libraries 111 State Library of NSW
Restaurants 19,384 NSW Food Authority — Includes restaurants and cafes
Restaurants (Per 100,000 population) 400.4 NSW Food Authority — Includes restaurants and cafes
Specialist Higher Education Institutes: Private 6 City of Sydney
Specialist Higher Education Institutes: Public 6 City of Sydney
Students Enrolled at art & design institutions 2,204 City of Sydney — Estimate
Students enrolled in art & design at general institutions 22,463 Department of Education and Training — Students enrolled in degrees under Creative Arts category
Theatres 77 City of Sydney
Theatrical performances in theatres (Per year) 8,826 City of Sydney — Sample based estimate
UNESCO World Heritage Sites 3 UNESCO
Video game arcades 17 City of Sydney
Visits to top five most visited museums & galleries 4,241,512 City of Sydney
Working Age Popluation 3,103,962 Australian Bureau of Statistics — 216 Census

City Data

  • 4,823,991 Population
  • 12,368 Area SQKM
  • 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites
  • 4.60% Creative jobs
  • 3,800,000 Tourists P.A.
  • 79 Museums
  • 111 Libraries
  • 432 Music venues
  • 24,065,444 Cinema admissions
  • 46.00% Green space %

Key Facts

  • Sydney today is in a phase of unprecedented expansion, with its population forecast to increase by 20% by 2031. Greater Sydney continues to be the heartland of the nation’s cultural sector, almost 30% of the nation’s cultural workers live in Greater Sydney.
  • Since 2014, the City of Sydney has pursued a particular focus on live music, performance venues and the night time economy following the introduction of the controversial state government ‘lock-out’ laws.
  • The impact of development controls and local environment plans are increasingly being recognised in discussions around cultural participation and creative industries employment. This is leading to efforts to create more effective links between cultural and planning policy.

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