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Australian Capital Territory · State / Territory

Language in Australian Capital Territory

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

Nearly one in four people in the Australian Capital Territory use a language other than English at home. This mix of voices has grown significantly over the last decade, creating a diverse environment where 24.6% of the population speaks a second language.

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📍 Australian Capital Territory, State / Territory

Languages at home

English and the largest community languages.

While English is the main language for 71.3% of residents, Mandarin is the most common second language at 3.2%. Despite more people using other languages, the proportion who speak little or no English has stayed steady at 2.5%, which is about the same as the national figure.

People using another language at home

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24.6% ▲ +35.7%

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

People who speak little or no English

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2.5% ▼ -6.1%

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

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In Australian Capital Territory, English only is the majority at 88%; Mandarin is next at 4%.

English only 71.3% Mandarin 3.2% Vietnamese 1.1% Punjabi 1.1% Hindi 1.0% Cantonese 0.9% Arabic 0.9% Italian 0.6% Greek 0.6% Tagalog 0.5%

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 Australian Capital Territory [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ste/8/australian-capital-territory/topic/language