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Northern Beaches CouncilCommunity profile

Northern Beaches Council area

Language spoken at home

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In 2021, 36.7% of the population born overseas in the Northern Beaches Council, spoke a language other than English at home.

The Northern Beaches Council's language statistics show the proportion of the overseas-born population who speak a language at home other than English. They indicate how linguistically diverse a population is, and whether most migrants are from English speaking countries or non-English speaking countries. This topic also shows those languages spoken specifically by the first-generation migrants (those born overseas) so as to separate them from those born in Australia who speak another language.

Some countries, such as India, have a variety of languages spoken there, so the language spoken can indicate the region of the country of origin. Languages such as Arabic and Spanish are spoken in a range of different countries.

The Northern Beaches Council's language statistics should be analysed in conjunction with Proficiency in English to assist in identifying specific cultural and ethnic groups in the area and the services required by the multicultural community.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'Does the person use a language other than English at home?'

Language spoken at home - Ranked by size
Northern Beaches Council - born overseas20212016Change
LanguageNumber%Northern Beaches Council area - Total populationNumber%Northern Beaches Council area - Total population2016 to 2021
Mandarin2,7623.51.32,6523.61.3+110
Portuguese2,7313.41.32,1242.91.0+607
Spanish2,3022.91.21,6862.30.9+616
Italian1,8642.31.21,9452.71.3-81
French1,5962.01.01,4892.00.9+107
German1,5501.90.91,6382.20.9-88
Cantonese1,3641.70.71,3701.90.7-6
Nepali9151.10.45580.80.2+357
Serbian7581.00.57441.00.5+14
Armenian7190.90.57061.00.5+13
Show all (88 entries)
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

Excludes languages with fewer than 10 people speaking them at home.

Language spoken at home - Summary
Northern Beaches Council - born overseas20212016Change
Language summaryNumber%Northern Beaches Council area - Total populationNumber%Northern Beaches Council area - Total population2016 to 2021
Speaks English only49,49862.280.944,94661.579.8+4,552
Non-English total29,24736.715.627,65937.815.1+1,588
Not stated8451.13.54870.75.1+358
Total people79,590100.0100.073,092100.0100.0+6,498
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 language spoken at home by the population born overseas in the Northern Beaches Council in 2021 compared to the total population in the Northern Beaches Council shows that there was a smaller proportion of people who spoke English only, and a larger proportion of those speaking a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English).

Overall, 62.2% of the population born overseas spoke English only, and 36.7%% spoke a non-English language, compared with 80.9% and 15.6% respectively for the total population in the Northern Beaches Council.

The dominant language spoken at home by the population born overseas, other than English, in the Northern Beaches Council was Mandarin, with 3.5% of the population, or 2,762 people speaking this language at home.

The major differences between the languages spoken at home for the population born overseas in Northern Beaches Council area and the total population in the Northern Beaches Council were:

  • A larger percentage speaking Mandarin at home (3.5% compared to 1.3%)
  • A larger percentage speaking Portuguese at home (3.4% compared to 1.3%)
  • A larger percentage speaking Spanish at home (2.9% compared to 1.2%)
  • A larger percentage speaking Italian at home (2.3% compared to 1.2%)

Emerging groups

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of the population born overseas who spoke a language other than English at home increased by 1,588 or 5.7%, and the number of people who spoke English only increased by 4,552 or 10.1%.

The largest changes in the spoken languages of the population in Northern Beaches Council area between 2016 and 2021 were for those speaking:

  • Spanish (+616 persons)
  • Portuguese (+607 persons)
  • Nepali (+357 persons)
  • Tibetan (+119 persons)

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