14.7% ▲ +158.6%
Higher than 86% of urban area areas.
- 2011: 5.7%
- 2016: 6.4%
- 2021: 14.7%
Share of people who use a language other than English at home.
Cairns · Urban Area
Language in Cairns
The languages spoken in homes across the area, beyond English.
A jump from 5.7% in 2011 to 14.7% in 2021 shows how Cairns has become much more linguistically diverse over the last decade. While this is much higher than in most similar areas, it remains well below the national figure. English is still the primary language for the vast majority of the population.
Languages at home
English and the largest community languages.
About 14.7% of people use a language other than English at home, which is a little above the Queensland figure. This diversity is reflected in the use of Mandarin, Punjabi, Italian and Tagalog, while 1.9% of residents speak little or no English.
1.9% ▲ +236.8%
Higher than 84% of urban area areas.
- 2016: 0.6%
- 2021: 1.9%
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).
More for Cairns
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Language in Cairns [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sua/3004/cairns/topic/language