About the Greater Geelong municipality
With a population of over 252,217 (30 June 2018) the City of Greater Geelong is Victoria’s largest provincial city.
Where is Geelong
Located 75 kilometres south west of Melbourne, the municipality covers an area of 1,247 km2, comprising suburban, coastal, and country areas. Greater Geelong is bounded by the Moorabool Shire in the north, Wyndham City Council and the Borough of Queenscliffe in the east, Surf Coast Shire and Golden Plains Shire in the west, and Bass Strait to the south.
The region is characterised by the multi-award winning Waterfront overlooking Corio Bay, the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula, the Barwon River, You Yangs Regional Park, wetlands, beautiful parklands and wildlife sanctuaries.
Geelong is also the gateway to the world renowned coastline of south-west Victoria via the Great Ocean Road
Community profile
With more than 50 suburbs and townships, the population is forecast to grow to 393,216 by 2041.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2016 Census of Population and Housing, our largest age group, at 19 per cent, is parents and homebuilders (35 to 49 years of age), with older workers and pre-retirees (50 to 59 years of age) the next largest group at 12.8 per cent.
The tertiary education and independence group (18 to 24 years of age) follow closely at 12.7 per cent, with the next largest group being empty nesters and retirees (60 to 69 years old) making up 11.8 per cent of the population.
Approximately 77 per cent of the community are Australian born, with the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Italy and China the main birthplaces outside Australia. Other than English, the most common languages spoken at home continue to include Italian, Croatian, Mandarin, Persian/Dari and Macedonian.
Couples with children made up 27.7 per cent of households, with a further 25.3 per cent being made up of couples without children. Lone person households made up 26.3 per cent and one parent families making up 11.1 per cent.
Find out more about there community profile on the profile id website.
Where we learn
There is a wide choice of public or private schooling, and multiple tertiary education options – all with strong links to industry.
There are over 50 kindergartens, just over 70 primary schools and over 20 secondary schools all offering high level teaching. Deakin University which was established in 1974 is a world-class university with cutting-edge facilities and is internationally renowned for its research and teaching.
The Gordon opened in 1887 and has been offering technical and further education (TAFE) courses for over 125 years, helping people gain real skills for real jobs. Marcus Oldham College has been offering students a unique education experience in agriculture and equine management since 1962.
There are also over 35 community based or privately operated Registered Training Organisations offering a diverse range of short and long courses – something for everyone!
Statistics from the City of Greater Economic Development.
Work and investment
Geelong has a diverse economy with over 18,000 businesses and a labour force exceeding160,000 people.
Geelong’s economy has been diversifying over many years and now has a much broader industry base. Traditional manufacturing industries have been in decline and have resulted in the closure of Alcoa’s Point Henry Aluminium Smelter (August 2014) and the closure of Ford’s manufacturing plant in October 2016. Both these businesses have been a major part of the economic landscape in Geelong with Ford being established in Geelong in 1925 and Alcoa in 1963.
Despite this, key economic indicators show that Geelong has a strong local economy with an investment pipeline that will provide job opportunities into the future, particularly in emerging growth sectors. Geelong’s major industry strengths include:
- health
- education and research
- advanced manufacturing
- defence
- information and communications technology
- tourism and
- food and agriculture.
Major industry sectors include health care and social assistance (18 percent), retail trade (14%), education and training (11 percent), construction (10%) and manufacturing (8 percent).
Trade through the Geelong Port, Victoria’s premier bulk port, also continues to be strong, with $7 billion of trade, 10 million tonnes of product and 600 vessels passing through the port and supporting 1,800 regional jobs annually.
Avalon Airport delivers both domestic and international passenger and freight services as well as being home to the Australian International Airshow.
Investment in the region continues to grow with $4.3 billion in major construction and redevelopment underway or planned.
For more about business and investment view the business and investment page.