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AustraliaCommunity profile

Victoria

Proficiency in English

In Victoria in 2021, 162,056 females who spoke a language other than English at home reported difficulty speaking English.

Proficiency in English measures the self-assessed proficiency in spoken English of people who speak a language other than English at home. The data, when viewed with other ethnic and cultural indicators, such as Ancestry, Country of Birth, Language Spoken at Home and Religion, reflects Victoria's ethnic composition and how long the overseas born have been in Australia. This helps service providers determine whether they need to communicate with the local population in languages other than English.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'How well does the person speak English?'

Proficiency in English
Victoria - Total females (Usual residence)20212016Change
English proficiencyNumber%Greater Darwin %Number%Greater Darwin %2016 to 2021
Speaks English only2,211,86667.066.32,045,46367.868.1+166,403
Speaks English well or very well771,43123.422.7644,00721.318.7+127,424
Speaks English not well or not at all162,0564.92.8150,8525.03.0+11,204
Not stated157,1754.88.2178,2235.910.2-21,048
Total population3,302,528100.0100.03,018,545100.0100.0+283,983
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

Dominant groups

Analysis of the proficiency in English data of the female population in Victoria in 2021 compared to Greater Darwin shows that there was a higher proportion of females who spoke English only, as well as a higher proportion of females who spoke another language and English not well or not at all.

Overall, 67.0% of females spoke English only, and 4.9% spoke another language and English not well or not at all, compared with 66.3% and 2.8% respectively for Greater Darwin.

Emerging groups

The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the female population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were in those speaking:

  • Speaks English only (+166,403 females)
  • Speaks English well or very well (+127,424 females)
  • Speaks English not well or not at all (+11,204 females)

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