Western Sydney (LGA)
Language used at home
In the Western Sydney (LGA), 45.727 of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
The Western Sydney (LGA)'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.
The Western Sydney (LGA)'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.
Derived from the Census question:
'Does the person use a language other than English at home?'
Total population
| Language used at home - Summary | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Sydney (LGA) - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Ku-ring-gai Council area % | Number | % | Ku-ring-gai Council area % | 2011 to 2021 | |
| Speaks English only | 1,258,128 | 48.3 | 64.0 | 36500 | 1,136,141 | 54.6 | 75.6 | +121,987 |
| Non-English total | 1,191,895 | 45.7 | 33.4 | 36501 | 841,232 | 40.4 | 21.0 | +350,663 |
| Not stated | 156,521 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 36502 | 103,373 | 5.0 | 3.4 | +53,147 |
| Total Population | 2,606,544 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,080,747 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +525,796 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
| Language used at home - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Sydney (LGA) - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Language (excludes English) | Number | % | Ku-ring-gai Council area % | Number | % | Ku-ring-gai Council area % | 2011 to 2021 | |
| Arabic | 185,377 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 36004 | 146,020 | 7.0 | 0.3 | +39,357 |
| Mandarin | 102,641 | 3.9 | 13.1 | 36007 | 51,076 | 2.5 | 3.8 | +51,564 |
| Vietnamese | 95,219 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 36037 | 73,138 | 3.5 | 0.2 | +22,080 |
| Cantonese | 63,159 | 2.4 | 5.5 | 36006 | 58,926 | 2.8 | 4.9 | +4,232 |
| Hindi | 57,644 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 36016 | 38,655 | 1.9 | 0.6 | +18,988 |
| Filipino/Tagalog | 52,072 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 36011 | 39,817 | 1.9 | 0.2 | +12,254 |
| Punjabi | 39,202 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 36088 | 15,400 | 0.7 | 0.3 | +23,802 |
| Urdu | 38,338 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 36108 | 14,090 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +24,248 |
| Assyrian/Aramaic | 36,463 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 36048 | 19,769 | 1.0 | 0.0 | +16,694 |
| Nepali | 32,973 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 36081 | 5,682 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +27,291 |
| Korean | 31,301 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 36025 | 19,786 | 1.0 | 2.1 | +11,515 |
| Greek | 30,231 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 36015 | 33,560 | 1.6 | 0.4 | -3,330 |
| Bengali | 29,415 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 36050 | 13,590 | 0.7 | 0.1 | +15,825 |
| Tamil | 28,339 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 36035 | 14,714 | 0.7 | 0.2 | +13,625 |
| Spanish | 28,279 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 36034 | 27,506 | 1.3 | 0.5 | +772 |
| Italian | 22,069 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 36022 | 30,601 | 1.5 | 0.6 | -8,533 |
| Gujarati | 21,564 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 36064 | 9,584 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +11,980 |
| Turkish | 16,556 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 36036 | 15,782 | 0.8 | 0.1 | +773 |
| Samoan | 15,122 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 36031 | 12,940 | 0.6 | 0.0 | +2,182 |
| Persian | 14,579 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 36019 | 7,388 | 0.4 | 0.7 | +7,191 |
| Telugu | 14,353 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 36099 | 4,264 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +10,089 |
| Serbian | 13,477 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 36032 | 13,386 | 0.6 | 0.1 | +91 |
| Indonesian | 12,630 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 36018 | 9,209 | 0.4 | 0.3 | +3,421 |
| Malayalam | 11,609 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 36077 | 3,446 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +8,163 |
| Khmer | 11,246 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 36024 | 9,477 | 0.5 | 0.0 | +1,769 |
| Croatian | 11,203 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 36009 | 12,828 | 0.6 | 0.1 | -1,625 |
| Tongan | 8,637 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 36105 | 6,474 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +2,163 |
| Sinhalese | 8,507 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 36033 | 5,813 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +2,694 |
| Macedonian | 8,497 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 36026 | 8,690 | 0.4 | 0.0 | -193 |
| Dari | 8,158 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 36113 | 5,870 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +2,287 |
| Maltese | 7,632 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 36027 | 9,659 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -2,027 |
| Thai | 7,542 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 36102 | 4,028 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +3,514 |
| Marathi | 6,832 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 36080 | 2,966 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +3,866 |
| Hazaraghi | 6,485 | 0.2 | -- | 36114 | 2,245 | 0.1 | -- | +4,240 |
| Portuguese | 6,396 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 36029 | 4,769 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +1,627 |
| Polish | 5,435 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 36028 | 6,993 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -1,558 |
| Min Nan (incl.Hokkien) | 4,781 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 36068 | 4,290 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +491 |
| Lao | 4,600 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 36074 | 4,643 | 0.2 | 0.0 | -44 |
| Russian | 4,456 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 36030 | 3,933 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +523 |
| French | 4,143 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 36013 | 4,744 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -601 |
| Kannada | 4,012 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 36071 | 1,557 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +2,455 |
| Fijian | 3,514 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36061 | 2,322 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,192 |
| Burmese | 3,309 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36053 | 2,577 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +732 |
| Armenian | 3,132 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 36047 | 2,257 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +874 |
| German | 3,126 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 36014 | 4,816 | 0.2 | 0.7 | -1,690 |
| Bosnian | 2,831 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36051 | 2,776 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +55 |
| Pashto | 2,657 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36086 | 1,233 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,424 |
| Japanese | 2,552 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 36023 | 1,633 | 0.1 | 0.7 | +919 |
| Kurdish | 2,466 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36073 | 1,999 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +467 |
| Afrikaans | 2,323 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 36044 | 1,590 | 0.1 | 0.4 | +733 |
| Fijian Hindustani | 2,140 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36002 | 573 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +1,567 |
| Akan | 1,848 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36118 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Hungarian | 1,781 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 36017 | 2,497 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -716 |
| Shona | 1,666 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36091 | 1,007 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +659 |
| Malay | 1,523 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36076 | 708 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +815 |
| Dinka | 1,422 | 0.1 | -- | 36059 | 1,761 | 0.1 | -- | -339 |
| Chinese, nfd | 1,313 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 36055 | 2,977 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -1,664 |
| Auslan | 1,305 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 36049 | 901 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +404 |
| Māori (New Zealand) | 1,299 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36079 | 1,085 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +214 |
| Somali | 1,285 | 0.0 | -- | 36094 | 925 | 0.0 | -- | +360 |
| Māori (Cook Island) | 1,281 | 0.0 | -- | 36078 | 1,096 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +185 |
| Swahili | 1,259 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36096 | 501 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +758 |
| Hakka | 1,136 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36065 | 1,141 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -6 |
| Romanian | 1,102 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 36089 | 1,136 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -35 |
| Dutch | 1,097 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 36010 | 1,847 | 0.1 | 0.3 | -750 |
| Krio | 1,014 | 0.0 | -- | 36121 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Wu | 923 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 36110 | 472 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +451 |
| Mongolian | 866 | 0.0 | -- | 36127 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Australian Indigenous Languages | 856 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36005 | 172 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +684 |
| Rohingya | 840 | 0.0 | -- | 36117 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Konkani | 820 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36116 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Ukrainian | 757 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36107 | 1,071 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -314 |
| Czech | 715 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36056 | 813 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -98 |
| Amharic | 678 | 0.0 | -- | 36046 | 499 | 0.0 | -- | +179 |
| Yoruba | 628 | 0.0 | -- | 36120 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Serbo-Croatian Yugoslavian, so described | 583 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36090 | 1,011 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -428 |
| Slovak | 487 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36092 | 523 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -36 |
| Karen | 486 | 0.0 | -- | 36072 | 502 | 0.0 | -- | -16 |
| Slovene | 467 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36093 | 614 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -147 |
| Albanian | 465 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36045 | 365 | 0.0 | -- | +100 |
| Tokelauan | 357 | 0.0 | -- | 36104 | 357 | 0.0 | -- | 0 |
| Uygur | 353 | 0.0 | -- | 36109 | 168 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +185 |
| Swedish | 328 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 36097 | 278 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +50 |
| Tigrinya | 314 | 0.0 | -- | 36112 | 182 | 0.0 | -- | +132 |
| Finnish | 269 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36063 | 437 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -168 |
| Mauritian Creole | 265 | 0.0 | -- | 36119 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Tetum | 261 | 0.0 | -- | 36101 | 230 | 0.0 | -- | +31 |
| Danish | 231 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 36057 | 280 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -49 |
| Bulgarian | 230 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36052 | 188 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +42 |
| Tibetan | 199 | 0.0 | -- | 36103 | 12 | 0.0 | -- | +187 |
| Indo-Aryan, nfd | 181 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36070 | 108 | 0.0 | -- | +73 |
| Hebrew | 167 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 36066 | 100 | 0.0 | 0.2 | +67 |
| Sign languages, nfd | 165 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36124 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Lithuanian | 164 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36115 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Tok Pisin (Neomelanesian) | 140 | 0.0 | -- | 36123 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Latvian | 132 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36075 | 319 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -187 |
| Estonian | 113 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36060 | 206 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -93 |
| Hmong | 107 | 0.0 | -- | 36067 | 144 | 0.0 | -- | -37 |
| Oromo | 95 | 0.0 | -- | 36085 | 73 | 0.0 | -- | +22 |
| Norwegian | 92 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36083 | 111 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -19 |
| Kirundi (Rundi) | 92 | 0.0 | -- | 36122 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Tswana | 34 | 0.0 | -- | 36106 | 15 | 0.0 | -- | +19 |
| Chin Haka | 25 | 0.0 | -- | 36003 | 3 | 0.0 | -- | +22 |
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Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of the Western Sydney (LGA) in 2021 compared to Ku-ring-gai Council area 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, 48.3% of the population used English only, and 45.7 used a non-English language, compared with 64.0% and 33.4% respectively for Ku-ring-gai Council area.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in the Western Sydney (LGA) was Arabic, with 7.1% of the population, or 185,377 people using this language at home.
The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of the Western Sydney (LGA) and Ku-ring-gai Council area in 2021 were:
- A larger percentage using Arabic at home (7.1% compared to 0.3%)
- A larger percentage using Vietnamese at home (3.7% compared to 0.3%)
- A smaller percentage using Mandarin at home (3.9% compared to 13.1%)
- A smaller percentage using Cantonese at home (2.4% compared to 5.5%)
Emerging groups
Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 350,663 or 41.7%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 121,987 or 10.7%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in the Western Sydney (LGA) between 2011 and 2021 were for those using:
- Mandarin (+51,564 persons)
- Arabic (+39,357 persons)
- Nepali (+27,291 persons)
- Urdu (+24,248 persons)