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AustraliaCommunity profile

Canberra

Language used at home

In Canberra, 24.6% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Canberra'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.

Canberra'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
Canberra - Total persons (Usual residence)20212011Change
Language summaryNumber%Australia %Number%Australia %2011 to 2021
Speaks English only323,45471.372.0277,56477.876.8+45,890
Non-English total111,58224.622.364,39718.118.2+47,185
Not stated18,8544.25.714,6244.15.1+4,230
Total Population453,890100.0100.0356,585100.0100.0+97,305
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2011 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
Canberra - Total persons (Usual residence)20212011Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Australia %Number%Australia %2011 to 2021
Mandarin14,3913.22.76,6381.91.6+7,753
Nepali5,8521.30.53300.10.1+5,522
Vietnamese5,0291.11.33,7811.11.1+1,248
Punjabi5,0141.10.99820.30.3+4,032
Hindi4,7651.00.82,3050.60.5+2,460
Cantonese4,2250.91.23,4681.01.2+757
Spanish4,1160.90.72,9260.80.5+1,190
Filipino/Tagalog3,9590.90.91,8910.50.6+2,068
Arabic3,8650.91.42,4010.71.3+1,464
Urdu3,6380.80.41,3250.40.2+2,313
Show all (100 entries)

Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Canberra in 2021 compared to Australia 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, 71.3% of the population used English only, and 24.6% 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 Canberra was Mandarin, with 3.2% of the population, or 14,391 people using this language at home.

There were no major differences between Canberra 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 47,185 or 73.3%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 45,890 or 16.5%.

The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Canberra between 2011 and 2021 were for those using:

  • Mandarin (+7,753 persons)
  • Nepali (+5,522 persons)
  • Punjabi (+4,032 persons)
  • Hindi (+2,460 persons)

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