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Inner West CouncilCommunity profile

Inner West Council area

Language used at home

In Inner West Council area, 25.8% of people used a language other than English at home in 2021.

Inner West Council area'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.

Inner West Council area'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
Inner West Council area - Total persons (Usual residence)20212001Change
Language summaryNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2001 to 2021
Speaks English only127,51869.857.397,10760.766.7+30,411
Non-English total47,23825.837.451,86332.427.4-4,625
Not stated8,0624.45.311,0396.95.9-2,977
Total Population182,818100.0100.0160,009100.0100.0+22,809
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Language used at home - Ranked by size
Inner West Council area - Total persons (Usual residence)20212001Change
Language (excludes English)Number%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2001 to 2021
Mandarin5,9603.35.03,9652.51.6+1,995
Greek4,9142.71.47,0904.42.1-2,176
Italian4,1132.21.07,0514.42.0-2,938
Vietnamese3,6052.02.24,1252.61.7-520
Cantonese3,4711.92.83,9072.42.9-436
Spanish2,7371.51.22,1741.41.1+563
Arabic2,2701.24.23,8152.43.6-1,545
Nepali1,9591.11.23900.20.0+1,569
Portuguese1,9311.10.52,7161.70.3-785
Filipino/Tagalog1,3750.81.41,4800.91.0-105
Show all (86 entries)

Excludes languages spoken at home by fewer than 10 people.

Dominant groups

Analysis of the language used at home by the population of Inner West Council area in 2021 compared to Greater Sydney 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, 69.8% of the population used English only, and 25.8% used a non-English language, compared with 57.3% and 37.4% respectively for Greater Sydney.

The dominant language used at home, other than English, in Inner West Council area was Mandarin, with 3.3% of the population, or 5,960 people using this language at home.

The major differences between the languages used at home for the population of Inner West Council area and Greater Sydney in 2021 were:

  • A larger percentage using Greek at home (2.7% compared to 1.4%)
  • A larger percentage using Italian at home (2.2% compared to 1.0%)
  • A smaller percentage using Arabic at home (1.2% compared to 4.2%)
  • A smaller percentage using Mandarin at home (3.3% compared to 5.0%)

Emerging groups

Between 2001 and 2021, the number of people who used a language other than English at home decreased by 4,625 or 8.9%, and the number of people who used English only increased by 30,411 or 31.3%.

The largest changes in the languages used by the population in Inner West Council area between 2001 and 2021 were for those using:

  • Italian (-2,938 persons)
  • Greek (-2,176 persons)
  • Mandarin (+1,995 persons)
  • Nepali (+1,569 persons)

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