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Wollongong City CouncilCommunity profile

Wollongong City

Proficiency in English

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In 2021, 5,284 non-English speakers in Wollongong City Council reported difficulty speaking English.

Proficiency in English is an important indicator for the non-English speaking 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 migrants from places where English is widely spoken may have higher proficiency levels as well. English 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, Country of Birth and Age Structure.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'How well does the person speak English?'

Proficiency in English
Wollongong City - non-English20212016Change
English proficiencyNumber%Wollongong City - Total population %Number%Wollongong City - Total population %2016 to 2021
Speaks English well or very well28,29283.566.927,81481.163.9+478
Speaks English not well or not at all5,28415.612.56,03017.613.8-746
Not stated2880.920.64471.322.3-159
Total people33,864100.0100.034,291100.0100.0-427
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 a language other than English speaking population in Wollongong City in 2021 compared to the total population in Wollongong City Council shows that there was a higher proportion of people who spoke English not well or not at all.

Overall, 15.6% of non-English speakers reported poor English proficiency, compared with 12.5% in the total population in Wollongong City Council.

Emerging groups

The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the Non-English speakers speaking population in Wollongong City Council between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Speaks English not well or not at all (-746 persons)
  • Speaks English well or very well (+478 persons)

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