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Toowoomba Regional CouncilCommunity profile

Toowoomba

Proficiency in English

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In Toowoomba in 2021, 2,750 people who spoke a language other than English at home reported difficulty speaking English.

Proficiency in English measures the self-assessed proficiency in spoken English of people who speak a language other than English at home. The data, when viewed with other ethnic and cultural indicators, such as Ancestry, Country of Birth, Language Spoken at Home and Religion, reflects Toowoomba's ethnic composition and how long the overseas born have been in Australia. This helps service providers determine whether they need to communicate with the local population in languages other than English.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'How well does the person speak English?'

Proficiency in English
Toowoomba - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
English proficiencyNumber%Regional QLD %Number%Regional QLD %2016 to 2021
Speaks English only148,15385.583.7139,53786.884.3+8,616
Speaks English well or very well13,2947.78.19,1865.77.0+4,108
Speaks English not well or not at all2,7501.61.11,5561.01.1+1,194
Not stated9,0115.27.110,4936.57.6-1,482
Total population173,208100.0100.0160,772100.0100.0+12,436
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 proficiency in English data of the population in Toowoomba in 2021 compared to Regional QLD shows that there was a higher proportion of people who spoke English only, as well as a higher proportion of people who spoke another language and English not well or not at all.

Overall, 85.5% of people spoke English only, and 1.6% spoke another language and English not well or not at all, compared with 83.7% and 1.1% respectively for Regional QLD.

Emerging groups

The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were in those speaking:

  • Speaks English only (+8,616 persons)
  • Speaks English well or very well (+4,108 persons)
  • Speaks English not well or not at all (+1,194 persons)

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