idc-logo
svg rectangle color
AustraliaCommunity profile

Australia

Language used at home

In Australia, 22.3% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Australia's language statistics show the proportion of the population who use a language at home other than English. They indicate how culturally diverse a population is and the degree to which different ethnic groups and nationalities are retaining their language.

Australia's language statistics should be analysed in conjunction with Country of Birth and Proficiency in English to assist in identifying specific cultural and ethnic groups in the area and the services required by the multicultural community.

Please note: Due to ABS rules regarding perturbation of data to protect the confidentiality of individuals, counts of individual language groups and totals derived from them may differ slightly from those published by the ABS.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'Does the person use a language other than English at home?'

Language used at home - Summary
Australia - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Language summaryNumber%Greater Capital Cities %Number%Greater Capital Cities %2016 to 2021
Speaks English only18,303,66172.065.517,020,41872.766.3+1,283,243
Non-English total5,663,71922.329.54,858,80420.827.8+804,915
Not stated1,455,4175.75.01,522,6846.55.9-67,267
Total Population25,422,797100.0100.023,401,906100.0100.0+2,020,891
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Language used at home - Ranked by size
Australia - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Greater Capital Cities %Number%Greater Capital Cities %2016 to 2021
Mandarin685,2682.73.8596,7032.53.6+88,565
Arabic367,1541.42.1321,7201.42.0+45,434
Vietnamese320,7601.31.8277,3911.21.7+43,369
Cantonese295,2921.21.7280,9431.21.7+14,349
Punjabi239,0410.91.2132,5000.60.8+106,541
Greek229,6430.91.3237,5831.01.5-7,940
Italian228,0460.91.2271,6021.21.5-43,556
Filipino/Tagalog222,0440.91.1182,4980.81.0+39,546
Hindi197,1320.81.1159,6370.71.0+37,495
Spanish171,3780.70.9140,8130.60.8+30,565
Show all (105 entries)

Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Australia in 2021 compared to Greater Capital Cities shows that there was a larger proportion of people who used English only, and a smaller proportion of those using a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English).

Overall, 72.0% of the population used English only, and 22.3% used a non-English language, compared with 65.5% and 29.5% respectively for Greater Capital Cities.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Australia was Mandarin, with 2.7% of the population, or 685,268 people using this language at home.

The major difference between the languages used at home for the population of Australia and Greater Capital Cities in 2021 was:

  • A smaller percentage using Mandarin at home (2.7% compared to 3.8%)

Emerging groups

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 804,915 or 16.6%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 1,283,243 or 7.5%.

The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Australia between 2016 and 2021 were for those using:

  • Punjabi (+106,541 persons)
  • Mandarin (+88,565 persons)
  • Nepali (+71,073 persons)
  • Arabic (+45,434 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.