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Sunshine Coast CouncilCommunity profile

Sunshine Coast

Language used at home

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In Sunshine Coast, 6.1% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Sunshine Coast'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.

Sunshine Coast'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
Sunshine Coast - Total persons (Usual residence)20212011Change
Language summaryNumber%South East Queensland %Number%South East Queensland %2011 to 2021
Speaks English only304,08188.879.2236,93891.983.4+67,143
Non-English total20,9706.115.610,2994.011.6+10,670
Not stated17,4905.15.210,6804.15.0+6,809
Total Population342,541100.0100.0257,918100.0100.0+84,622
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2011 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Language used at home - Ranked by size
Sunshine Coast - Total persons (Usual residence)20212011Change
Language (excludes English)Number%South East Queensland %Number%South East Queensland %2011 to 2021
German1,5370.40.31,4070.50.4+130
Spanish1,1730.30.74590.20.5+714
Mandarin1,1070.32.22910.11.2+816
Afrikaans1,0970.30.34880.20.2+609
Portuguese1,0570.30.41250.00.1+932
Filipino/Tagalog9290.30.74750.20.5+454
French9220.30.36940.30.3+228
Punjabi8970.30.7460.00.2+851
Italian8620.30.47830.30.5+79
Nepali8470.20.3340.00.1+813
Show all (75 entries)

Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Sunshine Coast in 2021 compared to South East Queensland shows that there was a larger proportion of people who used English only, and a smaller proportion of those using a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English).

Overall, 88.8% of the population used English only, and 6.1% used a non-English language, compared with 79.2% and 15.6% respectively for South East Queensland.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Sunshine Coast was German, with 0.4% of the population, or 1,537 people using this language at home.

The major difference between the languages used at home for the population of Sunshine Coast and South East Queensland in 2021 was:

  • A smaller percentage using Mandarin at home (0.3% compared to 2.2%)

Emerging groups

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 10,671 or 103.6%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 67,143 or 28.3%.

The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Sunshine Coast between 2011 and 2021 were for those using:

  • Portuguese (+932 persons)
  • Punjabi (+851 persons)
  • Mandarin (+816 persons)
  • Nepali (+813 persons)

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