Adelaide · Council (LGA)

Language in Adelaide

The languages spoken in homes across the area, beyond English.

More than a third of people in Adelaide now speak a language other than English at home, a figure that has risen by 4.4 percentage points since 2011. This reflects a diverse community where 36% of residents use another language, far exceeding both the state and national figures.

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📍 Adelaide, Council (LGA)

Languages at home

English and the largest community languages.

Mandarin is the most common non-English language at 13.7%, followed by Cantonese at 3.3%. While 4% of residents speak little or no English, which is much higher than most areas, this figure fell from 5.1% in 2016.

36.0% ▲ +13.9%

Higher than 88% of council (lga) areas.

  • 2011: 31.6%
  • 2016: 36.3%
  • 2021: 36.0%

Share of people who use a language other than English at home.

4.0% ▼ -21.1%

Higher than 87% of council (lga) areas.

  • 2016: 5.1%
  • 2021: 4.0%

Share of people who use another language at home and speak English not well or not at all. No 2011 figure — that census only asked proficiency of overseas-born residents.

Sources

  • Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).

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Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Language in Adelaide [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA40070/adelaide/topic/language