Remote Australia · Remoteness Area

Language in Remote Australia

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

English is the dominant language for daily life in Remote Australia, where only 6.1% of people use another language at home. This is far below the national figure of 22.3%, though the use of other languages has risen since 2011.

Open map →
📍 Remote Australia, Remoteness Area

Languages at home

English and the largest community languages.

Very few residents struggle with English, as only 0.3% speak little or no English. This is well below the 3.4% seen across Australia and has barely changed since 2016.

6.1% ▲ +145.1%

Lower than 68% of remoteness area areas.

  • 2011: 2.5%
  • 2016: 3.0%
  • 2021: 6.1%

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

0.3% ▼ -25.1%

Lower than 88% of remoteness area areas.

  • 2016: 0.4%
  • 2021: 0.3%

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.

Language used at home

View on map →

In Remote Australia, English only is the majority at 99%; Mandarin is next at 1%.

Sources

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

More for Remote Australia

Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Language in Remote Australia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ra/RA63/remote-australia/topic/language