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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Big Rivers, 39.7% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
Big Rivers'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.
Big Rivers'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rivers - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2006 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Central Australia % | Number | % | Central Australia % | 2006 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 8,846 | 46.7 | 54.5 | 10,638 | 61.5 | 62.2 | -1,792 |
| Non-English total | 7,518 | 39.7 | 36.6 | 4,477 | 25.9 | 27.7 | +3,041 |
| Not stated | 2,580 | 13.6 | 9.0 | 2,185 | 12.6 | 10.1 | +395 |
| Total Population | 18,944 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 17,300 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,644 |
| Language used at home - Ranked by size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rivers - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2006 | Change | ||||
| Language (excludes English) | Number | % | Central Australia % | Number | % | Central Australia % | 2006 to 2021 |
| Australian Indigenous Languages | 6,290 | 33.2 | 23.2 | 4,028 | 23.3 | 23.8 | +2,262 |
| Filipino/Tagalog | 186 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 102 | 0.6 | 0.5 | +84 |
| Nepali | 152 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0 | -- | 0.0 | +152 |
| Mandarin | 54 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 23 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +31 |
| Punjabi | 50 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 0 | -- | 0.0 | +50 |
| German | 44 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 32 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +12 |
| Sinhalese | 41 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +37 |
| French | 38 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.2 | +31 |
| Malayalam | 38 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0 | -- | 0.0 | +38 |
| Fijian | 36 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 | -- | 0.0 | +36 |
Show all (27 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Big Rivers in 2021 compared to Central Australia 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, 46.7% of the population used English only, and 39.7% used a non-English language, compared with 54.5% and 36.6% respectively for Central Australia.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Big Rivers was Australian Indigenous Languages, with 33.2% of the population, or 6,290 people using this language at home.
The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Big Rivers and Central Australia in 2021 were:
- A larger percentage using Australian Indigenous Languages at home (33.2% compared to 23.2%)
- A smaller percentage using Malayalam at home (0.2% compared to 1.2%)
Emerging groups
Between 2006 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 3,041 or 67.9%, and the number of people who used English only decreased by 1,792 or 16.8%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Big Rivers between 2006 and 2021 were for those using:
- Australian Indigenous Languages (+2,262 persons)
- Nepali (+152 persons)
- Filipino/Tagalog (+84 persons)
- Punjabi (+50 persons)
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