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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn South Australia, 17.8% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
South 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.
South 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 1,382,951 | 77.6 | 72.0 | 1,239,875 | 84.6 | 80.0 | +143,076 |
| Non-English total | 317,290 | 17.8 | 22.3 | 171,050 | 11.7 | 15.1 | +146,240 |
| Not stated | 81,275 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 55,254 | 3.8 | 4.9 | +26,021 |
| Total Population | 1,781,516 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,466,179 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +315,337 |
| Language used at home - Ranked by size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Language (excludes English) | Number | % | Australia % | Number | % | Australia % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Mandarin | 32,133 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 3,924 | 0.3 | 0.7 | +28,209 |
| Italian | 23,828 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 40,267 | 2.7 | 1.9 | -16,439 |
| Greek | 21,882 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 27,406 | 1.9 | 1.4 | -5,524 |
| Vietnamese | 21,855 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 12,597 | 0.9 | 0.9 | +9,258 |
| Punjabi | 20,004 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 669 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +19,335 |
| Filipino/Tagalog | 11,205 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 3,068 | 0.2 | 0.4 | +8,137 |
| Arabic | 11,033 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 4,409 | 0.3 | 1.1 | +6,624 |
| Cantonese | 10,166 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 6,787 | 0.5 | 1.2 | +3,379 |
| Hindi | 9,884 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 941 | 0.1 | 0.3 | +8,943 |
| Nepali | 9,671 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 58 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +9,613 |
Show all (103 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of South Australia in 2021 compared to Australia 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, 77.6% of the population used English only, and 17.8% 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 South Australia was Mandarin, with 1.8% of the population, or 32,133 people using this language at home.
There were no major differences between South Australia and Australia in 2021.
Emerging groups
Between 2001 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 146,240 or 85.5%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 143,076 or 11.5%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in South Australia between 2001 and 2021 were for those using:
- Mandarin (+28,209 persons)
- Punjabi (+19,335 persons)
- Italian (-16,439 persons)
- Nepali (+9,613 persons)
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