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AustraliaCommunity profile

Western Australia

Language used at home

In Western Australia, 18.4% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Western 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.

Western 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
Western Australia - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Language summaryNumber%Northern Territory %Number%Northern Territory %2016 to 2021
Speaks English only2,002,77175.357.31,861,03675.258.0+141,735
Non-English total489,05118.432.4433,98217.529.4+55,069
Not stated168,2046.310.3179,3987.312.6-11,194
Total Population2,660,026100.0100.02,474,416100.0100.0+185,610
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
Western Australia - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Northern Territory %Number%Northern Territory %2016 to 2021
Mandarin51,7511.91.147,8401.90.9+3,911
Filipino/Tagalog29,8161.12.225,5831.02.2+4,233
Italian25,4321.00.329,4011.20.3-3,969
Vietnamese22,7630.90.720,2470.80.5+2,516
Punjabi20,6130.80.712,2230.50.3+8,390
Cantonese19,6830.70.319,3390.80.3+344
Arabic16,0000.60.214,1320.60.2+1,868
Afrikaans14,7290.60.114,2080.60.1+521
Spanish12,9580.50.310,4150.40.2+2,543
Indonesian12,4440.50.610,9340.40.5+1,510
Show all (104 entries)

Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Western Australia in 2021 compared to Northern Territory 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, 75.3% of the population used English only, and 18.4% used a non-English language, compared with 57.3% and 32.4% respectively for Northern Territory.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Western Australia was Mandarin, with 1.9% of the population, or 51,751 people using this language at home.

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

  • A smaller percentage using Australian Indigenous Languages at home (0.4% compared to 15.5%)
  • A smaller percentage using Greek at home (0.2% compared to 1.4%)
  • A smaller percentage using Nepali at home (0.2% compared to 1.3%)
  • A smaller percentage using Filipino/Tagalog at home (1.1% compared to 2.2%)

Emerging groups

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 55,069 or 12.7%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 141,735 or 7.6%.

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

  • Punjabi (+8,390 persons)
  • Filipino/Tagalog (+4,233 persons)
  • Italian (-3,969 persons)
  • Mandarin (+3,911 persons)

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