The metropolitan area of modern Sydney extends from the Hawkesbury River in the north to the southern tablelands in the south; and from the Blue Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It is thus effectively hemmed in and prevented from expanding further by geographical obstacles. The city and suburbs cover about 12,400 sq km (4,790 sq mi) and Sydney faces serious pollution problems resulting from the intensity of development, habitation, and traffic. The suburbs themselves, especially the great western expanse, are undistinguished, many of the inhabitants having been forced to the city's periphery by continually rising housing costs in the city and its immediate environs. Long fingers of bushland extend deep into Sydney's metropolitan heart and the consequent vulnerability to bushfires was tragically underlined in January 1994 when fires sweeping through New South Wales engulfed many suburban homes and came close to the city centre.
Like other major Australian cities but even more so, Sydney has been transformed by migration. While it remains true that most “Sydneysiders”, as they are called, are of British and Irish descent, Sydney is one of Australia's major multi-cultural cities: a decade ago, 22.75 per cent of Australia's Italian-born population, 72.66 per cent of its Lebanese (easily the highest concentration in the country), and 39.17 per cent of its Vietnamese (again the largest in the country) were living in Sydney. At the same time, the Aboriginal population of Sydney stood at 18,590 constituting 0.6 per cent of the city's total population. All these percentages have remained consistent or have increased since. In 1998 Sydney's estimated population was 3,986,700.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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