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Northern Territory

Language used at home

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In Northern Territory, 32.388 of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Northern Territory'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.

Northern Territory'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.

Derived from the Census question:

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

Total population

Language used at home - Summary
Northern Territory - Total persons (Usual residence)20212006Change
Language summaryNumber%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2006 to 2021
Speaks English only133,26257.383.7125,74765.988.3+7,515
Non-English total75,33632.48.943,88323.05.3+31,453
Not stated24,00710.37.421,27211.16.4+2,735

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).

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Language used at home - Ranked by size
Northern Territory - Total persons (Usual residence)20212006Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2006 to 2021
Australian Indigenous Languages36,07715.50.729,16015.30.6+6,917
Filipino/Tagalog5,1472.20.61,4030.70.2+3,744
Greek3,2581.40.12,4841.30.1+774
Nepali3,0991.30.2290.00.0+3,070
Mandarin2,5261.10.75590.30.2+1,967
Malayalam1,6010.70.2460.00.0+1,555
Vietnamese1,5650.70.27560.40.1+809
Punjabi1,5630.70.3320.00.0+1,531
Indonesian1,2950.60.17680.40.1+527
Thai1,0340.40.24740.20.1+560
Sinhalese9890.40.1880.00.0+901
Hindi9690.40.21560.10.1+813
Urdu8790.40.1890.00.0+790
Cantonese8030.30.26950.40.2+108
Spanish7480.30.43010.20.2+447
Bengali7180.30.0840.00.0+634
German6990.30.36330.30.4+66
Italian6680.30.37370.40.6-69
French6220.30.23210.20.2+301
Portuguese6060.30.35080.30.1+98
Tamil5440.20.12010.10.0+343
Hakka5300.20.05800.30.0-50
Gujarati4740.20.1200.00.0+454
Swahili4400.20.0430.00.0+397
Arabic4270.20.22660.10.1+161
Shona4100.20.0800.00.0+330
Telugu3620.20.1200.00.0+342
Korean3510.20.3620.00.1+289
Afrikaans3330.10.31000.10.1+233
Fijian3030.10.0610.00.0+242
Tetum2650.10.01580.10.0+107
Japanese2300.10.41420.10.3+88
Khmer2230.10.01390.10.0+84
Māori (New Zealand)1960.10.1780.00.0+118
Tongan1660.10.0740.00.0+92
Dutch1590.10.11760.10.2-17
Samoan1530.10.1160.00.0+137
Russian1500.10.1410.00.1+109
Nuer1490.10.000.00.0+149
Burmese1410.10.0510.00.0+90
Malay1400.10.0930.00.0+47
Tok Pisin (Neomelanesian)1250.10.0--------
Auslan1230.10.1330.00.0+90
Persian1120.00.1190.00.0+93
Polish1090.00.1990.10.1+10
Yoruba1080.00.0--------
Marathi880.00.0180.00.0+70
Dinka860.00.0240.00.0+62
Min Nan (incl.Hokkien)680.00.0320.00.0+36
Hungarian680.00.1590.00.1+9
Karen630.00.00--0.0+63
Turkish610.00.0290.00.0+32
Swedish560.00.0360.00.0+20
Danish480.00.0700.00.0-22
Estonian420.00.030.00.0+39
Serbian420.00.1410.00.1+1
Czech400.00.0540.00.0-14
Sign languages, nfd390.00.0--------
Chinese, nfd370.00.0830.00.0-46
Finnish370.00.0280.00.0+9
Lao340.00.0410.00.0-7
Hebrew310.00.00--0.0+31
Akan310.00.0--------
Kirundi (Rundi)300.00.0--------
Bulgarian300.00.0160.00.0+14
Pashto290.00.030.00.0+26
Māori (Cook Island)280.00.0110.00.0+17
Kannada280.00.050.00.0+23
Croatian270.00.1380.00.1-11
Bosnian260.00.0220.00.0+4
Hazaraghi 240.00.0--------
Mongolian220.00.0--------
Norwegian210.00.060.00.0+15
Slovak210.00.0130.00.0+8
Fijian Hindustani210.00.0--------
Chin Haka210.00.0--------
Romanian200.00.070.00.0+13
Macedonian190.00.0200.00.0-1
Rohingya190.00.0--------
Ukrainian170.00.030.00.0+14
Konkani170.00.0--------
Somali170.00.0540.00.0-37
Latvian170.00.0170.00.00
Albanian160.00.0250.00.0-9
Dari160.00.030.00.0+13
Tswana110.00.00--0.0+11
Mauritian Creole110.00.0--------
Amharic110.00.040.00.0+7
Maltese100.00.0130.00.0-3
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Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Language used at home, 2021
Language used at home, 2021 Australian Indigenous Languages, Regional QLD: 0.7% Filipino/Tagalog, Regional QLD: 0.6% Greek, Regional QLD: 0.1% Nepali, Regional QLD: 0.2% Mandarin, Regional QLD: 0.7% Malayalam, Regional QLD: 0.2% Vietnamese, Regional QLD: 0.2% Punjabi, Regional QLD: 0.3% Indonesian, Regional QLD: 0.1% Thai, Regional QLD: 0.2% Australian Indigenous Languages, Northern Territory: 15.5% Filipino/Tagalog, Northern Territory: 2.2% Greek, Northern Territory: 1.4% Nepali, Northern Territory: 1.3% Mandarin, Northern Territory: 1.1% Malayalam, Northern Territory: 0.7% Vietnamese, Northern Territory: 0.7% Punjabi, Northern Territory: 0.7% Indonesian, Northern Territory: 0.6% Thai, Northern Territory: 0.4%
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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (Usual residence data)
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Change in language used at home, 2006 to 2021
Change in language used at home, 2006 to 2021 Australian Indigenous Languages, Northern Territory: +6,917 Filipino/Tagalog, Northern Territory: +3,744 Greek, Northern Territory: +774 Nepali, Northern Territory: +3,070 Mandarin, Northern Territory: +1,967 Malayalam, Northern Territory: +1,555 Vietnamese, Northern Territory: +809 Punjabi, Northern Territory: +1,531 Indonesian, Northern Territory: +527 Thai, Northern Territory: +560
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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2006 and 2021 (Usual residence data)
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).

Dominant groups

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

Overall, 57.3% of the population used English only, and 32.4 used a non-English language, compared with 83.7% and 8.9% respectively for Regional QLD.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Northern Territory was Australian Indigenous Languages, with 15.5% of the population, or 36,077 people using this language at home.

The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Northern Territory and Regional QLD in 2021 were:

  • A larger percentage using Australian Indigenous Languages at home (15.5% compared to 0.7%)
  • A larger percentage using Filipino/Tagalog at home (2.2% compared to 0.6%)
  • A larger percentage using Greek at home (1.4% compared to 0.1%)
  • A larger percentage using Nepali at home (1.3% compared to 0.2%)

Emerging groups

Between 2006 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 31,453 or 71.7%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 7,515 or 6.0%.

The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Northern Territory between 2006 and 2021 were for those using:

  • Australian Indigenous Languages (+6,917 persons)
  • Filipino/Tagalog (+3,744 persons)
  • Nepali (+3,070 persons)
  • Mandarin (+1,967 persons)

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