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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn 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) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2011 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 18,303,661 | 72.0 | 72.0 | 16,509,302 | 76.8 | 76.8 | +1,794,359 |
| Non-English total | 5,663,719 | 22.3 | 22.3 | 3,904,326 | 18.2 | 18.2 | +1,759,393 |
| Not stated | 1,455,417 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 1,094,096 | 5.1 | 5.1 | +361,321 |
| Total Population | 25,422,797 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 21,507,724 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +3,915,073 |
| Language used at home - Ranked by size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | ||||
| Language (excludes English) | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2011 to 2021 |
| Mandarin | 685,268 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 336,178 | 1.6 | 1.6 | +349,090 |
| Arabic | 367,154 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 287,171 | 1.3 | 1.3 | +79,983 |
| Vietnamese | 320,760 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 233,388 | 1.1 | 1.1 | +87,372 |
| Cantonese | 295,292 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 263,538 | 1.2 | 1.2 | +31,754 |
| Punjabi | 239,041 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 71,231 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +167,810 |
| Greek | 229,643 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 252,211 | 1.2 | 1.2 | -22,568 |
| Italian | 228,046 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 299,829 | 1.4 | 1.4 | -71,783 |
| Filipino/Tagalog | 222,044 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 136,846 | 0.6 | 0.6 | +85,198 |
| Hindi | 197,132 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 111,349 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +85,783 |
| Spanish | 171,378 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 117,493 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +53,885 |
Show all (105 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Australia in 2021 compared to Australia shows that there was a similar proportion of people who used English only, as well as a similar 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 72.0% and 22.3% respectively for Australia.
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.
There were no major differences between Australia and Australia in 2021.
Emerging groups
Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 1,759,393 or 45.1%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 1,794,359 or 10.9%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Australia between 2011 and 2021 were for those using:
- Mandarin (+349,090 persons)
- Punjabi (+167,810 persons)
- Nepali (+105,922 persons)
- Vietnamese (+87,372 persons)
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