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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Central Australia, 36.6% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
Central Australia'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.
Central Australia'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Australia - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | RDA Northern Territory % | Number | % | RDA Northern Territory % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 19,665 | 54.5 | 57.3 | 23,136 | 63.9 | 66.8 | -3,471 |
| Non-English total | 13,197 | 36.6 | 32.4 | 9,787 | 27.0 | 24.2 | +3,410 |
| Not stated | 3,242 | 9.0 | 10.3 | 3,265 | 9.0 | 8.9 | -23 |
| Total Population | 36,104 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 36,188 | 100.0 | 100.0 | -84 |
| Language used at home - Ranked by size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Australia - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | ||||
| Language (excludes English) | Number | % | RDA Northern Territory % | Number | % | RDA Northern Territory % | 2001 to 2021 |
| Australian Indigenous Languages | 8,372 | 23.2 | 15.5 | 8,580 | 23.7 | 16.7 | -208 |
| Filipino/Tagalog | 492 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 101 | 0.3 | 0.6 | +391 |
| Malayalam | 439 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +435 |
| Punjabi | 415 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +406 |
| Mandarin | 287 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 36 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +251 |
| Nepali | 245 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +242 |
| Hindi | 194 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 29 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +165 |
| Spanish | 157 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 27 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +130 |
| Nuer | 118 | 0.3 | 0.1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Arabic | 111 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 26 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +85 |
Show all (47 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Central Australia in 2021 compared to the RDA Northern Territory 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, 54.5% of the population used English only, and 36.6% used a non-English language, compared with 57.3% and 32.4% respectively for the RDA Northern Territory.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Central Australia was Australian Indigenous Languages, with 23.2% of the population, or 8,372 people using this language at home.
The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Central Australia and the RDA Northern Territory in 2021 were:
- A larger percentage using Australian Indigenous Languages at home (23.2% compared to 15.5%)
- A smaller percentage using Greek at home (0.1% compared to 1.4%)
Emerging groups
Between 2001 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 3,410 or 34.8%, and the number of people who used English only decreased by 3,471 or 15.0%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Central Australia between 2001 and 2021 were for those using:
- Malayalam (+435 persons)
- Punjabi (+406 persons)
- Filipino/Tagalog (+391 persons)
- Mandarin (+251 persons)
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