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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn South Metropolitan Region, 23.8% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.
South Metropolitan 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.
South Metropolitan 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 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Metropolitan Region - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Language summary | Number | % | Perth % | Number | % | Perth % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 506,219 | 71.1 | 65.3 | 461,838 | 71.1 | 60.8 | +44,381 |
| Non-English total | 169,387 | 23.8 | 27.2 | 146,271 | 22.5 | 27.7 | +23,116 |
| Not stated | 36,553 | 5.1 | 7.6 | 41,169 | 6.3 | 11.5 | -4,616 |
| Total Population | 712,159 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 649,278 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +62,881 |
Show all (101 entries)
Dominant groups
Analysis of the language used at home by the population of South Metropolitan Region in 2021 compared to Perth shows that there was a larger proportion of people who used English only, and a smaller proportion of those using a non-English language (either exclusively, or in addition to English).
Overall, 71.1% of the population used English only, and 23.8% used a non-English language, compared with 65.3% and 27.2% respectively for Perth.
The dominant language used at home, other than English, in South Metropolitan Region was Mandarin, with 3.8% of the population, or 27,176 people using this language at home.
The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of South Metropolitan Region and Perth in 2021 were:
- A larger percentage using Punjabi at home (1.3% compared to 0.2%)
- A smaller percentage using Spanish at home (0.6% compared to 1.7%)
- A smaller percentage using Italian at home (1.0% compared to 2.1%)
- A smaller percentage using Vietnamese at home (0.4% compared to 1.5%)
Emerging groups
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home increased by 23,116 or 15.8%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 44,381 or 9.6%.
The largest changes in the languages used by the population in South Metropolitan Region between 2016 and 2021 were for those using:
- Punjabi (+4,406 persons)
- Mandarin (+2,137 persons)
- Filipino/Tagalog (+1,618 persons)
- Urdu (+1,601 persons)
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