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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Northern Melbourne Region, 35.7% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
Northern Melbourne Region'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.
Northern Melbourne Region'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Melbourne Region - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | City of Merri-bek % | Number | % | City of Merri-bek % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 614,639 | 59.6 | 61.0 | 549,991 | 59.3 | 56.0 | +64,648 |
| Non-English total | 368,807 | 35.7 | 34.5 | 326,105 | 35.1 | 38.1 | +42,702 |
| Not stated | 48,369 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 52,101 | 5.6 | 5.9 | -3,732 |
| Total Population | 1,031,815 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 928,197 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +103,618 |
Show all (103 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Northern Melbourne Region in 2021 compared to the City of Merri-bek shows that there was a smaller proportion of people who used English only, and a larger proportion of those using a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English).
Overall, 59.6% of the population used English only, and 35.7% used a non-English language, compared with 61.0% and 34.5% respectively for the City of Merri-bek.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Northern Melbourne Region was Arabic, with 4.6% of the population, or 47,676 people using this language at home.
The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Northern Melbourne Region and the City of Merri-bek in 2021 were:
- A larger percentage using Punjabi at home (2.5% compared to 0.3%)
- A larger percentage using Assyrian/Aramaic at home (1.8% compared to 0.4%)
- A larger percentage using Macedonian at home (1.4% compared to 0.2%)
- A smaller percentage using Italian at home (3.4% compared to 5.8%)
Emerging groups
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 42,702 or 13.1%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 64,648 or 11.8%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Northern Melbourne Region between 2016 and 2021 were for those using:
- Punjabi (+11,274 persons)
- Italian (-7,918 persons)
- Arabic (+7,632 persons)
- Nepali (+5,364 persons)
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