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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn Western Australia in 2021, 34,327 females who spoke a language other than English at home reported difficulty speaking English.
Proficiency in English measures the self-assessed proficiency in spoken English of people who speak a language other than English at home. The data, when viewed with other ethnic and cultural indicators, such as Ancestry, Country of Birth, Language Spoken at Home and Religion, reflects Western Australia's ethnic composition and how long the overseas born have been in Australia. This helps service providers determine whether they need to communicate with the local population in languages other than English.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'How well does the person speak English?'
| Proficiency in English | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Australia - Total females (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| English proficiency | Number | % | Greater Perth % | Number | % | Greater Perth % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Speaks English only | 1,006,945 | 75.3 | 73.8 | 930,034 | 75.2 | 73.4 | +76,911 |
| Speaks English well or very well | 227,534 | 17.0 | 19.1 | 191,583 | 15.5 | 17.5 | +35,951 |
| Speaks English not well or not at all | 34,327 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 33,794 | 2.7 | 3.2 | +533 |
| Not stated | 68,362 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 80,593 | 6.5 | 5.9 | -12,231 |
| Total population | 1,337,168 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,236,004 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +101,164 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the proficiency in English data of the female population in Western Australia in 2021 compared to Greater Perth shows that there was a higher proportion of females who spoke English only, and a similar proportion of females who spoke another language and English not well or not at all.
Overall, 75.3% of females spoke English only, and 2.6% spoke another language and English not well or not at all, compared with 73.8% and 3.0% respectively for Greater Perth.
Emerging groups
The most significant changes in the proficiency in English of the female population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were in those speaking:
- Speaks English only (+76,911 females)
- Speaks English well or very well (+35,951 females)
- Speaks English not well or not at all (+533 females)
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