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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn 2021, 60.1% of the population born overseas in the City of Sydney, spoke a language other than English at home.
The City of Sydney'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 City of Sydney'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Sydney - born overseas | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Language | Number | % | City of Sydney - Total population | Number | % | City of Sydney - Total population | 2016 to 2021 |
| Mandarin | 16,500 | 16.1 | 8.6 | 19,430 | 19.5 | 9.9 | -2,930 |
| Thai | 5,596 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 6,304 | 6.3 | 3.2 | -708 |
| Cantonese | 4,702 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 5,044 | 5.1 | 2.9 | -342 |
| Spanish | 4,335 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 3,062 | 3.1 | 1.7 | +1,273 |
| Indonesian | 4,011 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4,250 | 4.3 | 2.2 | -239 |
| Portuguese | 1,986 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1,590 | 1.6 | 0.8 | +396 |
| Korean | 1,873 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 3,022 | 3.0 | 1.6 | -1,149 |
| Vietnamese | 1,866 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1,698 | 1.7 | 1.1 | +168 |
| French | 1,613 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2,080 | 2.1 | 1.2 | -467 |
| Russian | 1,600 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1,640 | 1.6 | 0.9 | -40 |
Show all (99 entries)
| Language spoken at home - Summary | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Sydney - born overseas | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | City of Sydney - Total population | Number | % | City of Sydney - Total population | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 39,883 | 38.8 | 57.9 | 33,672 | 33.7 | 51.5 | +6,211 |
| Non-English total | 61,738 | 60.1 | 34.8 | 65,707 | 65.8 | 36.2 | -3,969 |
| Not stated | 1,150 | 1.1 | 7.2 | 446 | 0.4 | 12.4 | +704 |
| Total people | 102,771 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 99,825 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +2,946 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language spoken at home by the population born overseas in the City of Sydney in 2021 compared to the total population in the City of Sydney 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, 38.8% of the population born overseas spoke English only, and 60.1%% spoke a non-English language, compared with 57.9% and 34.8% respectively for the total population in the City of Sydney.
The dominant language spoken at home by the population born overseas, other than English, in the City of Sydney was Mandarin, with 16.1% of the population, or 16,500 people speaking this language at home.
The major differences between the languages spoken at home for the population born overseas in the City of Sydney and the total population in the City of Sydney were:
- A larger percentage speaking Mandarin at home (16.1% compared to 8.6%)
- A larger percentage speaking Thai at home (5.4% compared to 2.8%)
- A larger percentage speaking Indonesian at home (3.9% compared to 2.1%)
- A larger percentage speaking Spanish at home (4.2% compared to 2.4%)
Emerging groups
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of the population born overseas who spoke a language other than English at home decreased by 3,969 or 6.0%, and the number of people who spoke English only increased by 6,211 or 18.4%.
The largest changes in the spoken languages of the population in the City of Sydney between 2016 and 2021 were for those speaking:
- Mandarin (-2,930 persons)
- Spanish (+1,273 persons)
- Korean (-1,149 persons)
- Chinese, nfd (-880 persons)
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