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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Australia in 2021, 381,522 males 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 Australia'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Total males (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| English proficiency | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 9,054,303 | 72.2 | 65.9 | 8,417,814 | 72.9 | 66.6 | +636,489 |
| Speaks English well or very well | 2,370,787 | 18.9 | 24.9 | 1,997,244 | 17.3 | 23.1 | +373,543 |
| Speaks English not well or not at all | 381,522 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 359,882 | 3.1 | 4.3 | +21,640 |
| Not stated | 738,537 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 771,735 | 6.7 | 6.0 | -33,198 |
| Total population | 12,545,149 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 11,546,675 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +998,474 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the proficiency in English data of the male population in Australia in 2021 compared to Greater Capital Cities shows that there was a higher proportion of males who spoke English only, and a lower proportion of males who spoke another language and English not well or not at all.
Overall, 72.2% of males spoke English only, and 3.0% spoke another language and English not well or not at all, compared with 65.9% and 4.1% respectively for Greater Capital Cities.
Emerging groups
The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the male population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were in those speaking:
- Speaks English only (+636,489 males)
- Speaks English well or very well (+373,543 males)
- Speaks English not well or not at all (+21,640 males)
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