Mackay is a city and its centre suburb in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about 970 km north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's sugar. At June 2018 Mackay had a population of 80,148, having decreased slightly at an average annual rate of -0.32% year-on-year over the preceding five years.