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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Sydney

Language used at home

In Greater Sydney, 37.4% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Greater Sydney'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.

Greater Sydney'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
Greater Sydney - Total persons (Usual residence)20212006Change
Language summaryNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2006 to 2021
Speaks English only2,995,24057.367.22,636,33664.074.4+358,904
Non-English total1,957,40937.427.61,201,87829.220.4+755,531
Not stated278,4985.35.3280,1696.85.3-1,671
Total Population5,231,147100.0100.04,118,383100.0100.0+1,112,764
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 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
Greater Sydney - Total persons (Usual residence)20212006Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2006 to 2021
Mandarin259,4295.03.496,6332.31.3+162,796
Arabic219,4834.21.4161,1163.91.1+58,367
Cantonese144,5382.81.3125,1063.01.4+19,432
Vietnamese113,1542.21.872,5141.81.5+40,640
Hindi76,3081.51.036,8760.90.4+39,432
Greek73,1631.41.680,2061.92.4-7,043
Filipino/Tagalog72,4321.40.844,2431.10.4+28,189
Spanish63,3951.20.744,6181.10.5+18,777
Nepali61,6431.20.33,0940.10.0+58,549
Korean60,1161.10.335,8380.90.1+24,278
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 Greater Sydney in 2021 compared to Victoria 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 37.4% used a non-English language, compared with 67.2% and 27.6% respectively for Victoria.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Greater Sydney was Mandarin, with 5.0% of the population, or 259,429 people using this language at home.

The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Greater Sydney and Victoria in 2021 were:

  • A larger percentage using Arabic at home (4.2% compared to 1.4%)
  • A larger percentage using Mandarin at home (5.0% compared to 3.4%)
  • A larger percentage using Cantonese at home (2.8% compared to 1.3%)

Emerging groups

Between 2006 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 755,531 or 62.9%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 358,904 or 13.6%.

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

  • Mandarin (+162,796 persons)
  • Nepali (+58,549 persons)
  • Arabic (+58,367 persons)
  • Vietnamese (+40,640 persons)

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