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City of WhitehorseCommunity profile

City of Whitehorse

Proficiency in English

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In 2021, there were 12,113 people in the City of Whitehorse who were born overseas and reported difficulty speaking English.

Proficiency in English is an important indicator for the Overseas-born population. This may indicate the level to which translation services or communication in other languages is required for each culturally diverse community.

Typically, populations which migrated many years ago may have better English proficiency than recent migrants, and naturally migrants from English speaking countries (or countries where English is widely spoken as a second language) could be expected to have good English proficiency. Proficiency is a self-assessment by the respondent or their family, there is no objective review of this characteristic, so numbers should be treated as a guide only. To further build this story, English proficiency should be looked at in conjunction with Year of Arrival, Language Spoken at Home and Age Structure.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'How well does the person speak English?'

Proficiency in English
City of Whitehorse - People born overseas20212016Change
English proficiencyNumber%City of Whitehorse - Total population %Number%City of Whitehorse - Total population %2016 to 2021
Speaks English only15,80322.555.914,82923.859.4+974
Speaks English well or very well42,11359.932.336,93359.229.2+5,180
Speaks English not well or not at all12,11317.28.210,29816.57.5+1,815
Not stated2690.43.62910.53.9-22
Total people70,298100.0100.062,351100.0100.0+7,947
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 people born overseas in the City of Whitehorse in 2021 compared to the total population in the City of Whitehorse shows that there was a lower proportion of people who spoke English only, and a higher proportion of people who spoke another language and English not well or not at all.

Overall, 22.5% of people born overseas spoke English only, and 17.2% spoke another language and English not well or not at all, compared with 55.9% and 8.2% respectively for the total population in the City of Whitehorse.

Emerging groups

The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the people born overseas in the City of Whitehorse between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Speaks English well or very well (+5,180 persons)
  • Speaks English not well or not at all (+1,815 persons)
  • Speaks English only (+974 persons)

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