Perth to absorb 2 million more

Perth will sprawl further than New York City, be clogged with cars and people will live in each other's pockets as the city groans under the weight of an extra two million residents over the next 40 years.

An analysis of how Perth is growing and will grow as more people call the city home also warns that more desalination plants, thousands of kilometres of roads and hundreds of schools will have to be built to cope with the surge in residents.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is forecasting Perth's population to hit 3.8 million from its current 1.7 million by 2050.

For the first time the bureau has looked at what that will mean to Perth residents - and the picture is dominated by sprawling suburbs and long journeys to work.
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