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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn the Metropolitan District, 21.7% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
The Metropolitan District'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.
The Metropolitan District'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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan District - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Forrestfield % | Number | % | Forrestfield % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 1,471,650 | 73.3 | 76.1 | 1,344,419 | 72.8 | 77.0 | +127,231 |
| Non-English total | 435,440 | 21.7 | 18.9 | 383,981 | 20.8 | 17.3 | +51,459 |
| Not stated | 101,841 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 118,717 | 6.4 | 5.8 | -16,876 |
| Total Population | 2,008,931 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,847,117 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +161,814 |
Show all (104 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of the Metropolitan District in 2021 compared to Forrestfield 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, 73.3% of the population used English only, and 21.7% used a non-English language, compared with 76.1% and 18.9% respectively for Forrestfield.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in the Metropolitan District was Mandarin, with 2.5% of the population, or 49,318 people using this language at home.
There were no major differences between Metropolitan District and Forrestfield in 2021.
Emerging groups
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 51,459 or 13.4%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 127,231 or 9.5%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in the Metropolitan District between 2016 and 2021 were for those using:
- Punjabi (+8,113 persons)
- Filipino/Tagalog (+3,999 persons)
- Mandarin (+3,962 persons)
- Italian (-3,520 persons)
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