Ballarat ( bal-ə-RAT) (Wathawurrung: balla arat) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. Ballarat has a population of 119,096 as of March 2024 making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria.

Ballarat is the 4th largest inland city in Australia, and the 3rd largest Victorian city behind Melbourne and Geelong. According to the 2021 census, there were 111,973 people in Ballarat, a moderate increase from 105,471 in June 2018. This follows annual growth of 1.78% since June 2013 (slightly faster than the national rate of 1.56% during the same period).