Vietnamese
424 speakers
Between the last two censuses it has grown by about three quarters.
35th of 542 local government areas for language diversity
Languages spoken in Adelaide
Chinese leads the languages of Adelaide, spoken at home by about 4,300 people at the 2021 Census. It has more speakers than the next four languages put together. The share speaking another language at home is 1.6 times the national share.
- Residents
- 24,358
- Speak another language
- 8,368
- Languages at home
- 81
- Change since 2016
- +11.2%
How big is the Chinese-speaking community in Adelaide?
Chinese at home
18%
Counted together, Chinese speakers make up about 4,300 people. Among everyone who speaks another language at home, it accounts for just over one in two speakers. Most speak Mandarin; Cantonese is the second variety. Against the previous census, Chinese has held steady since 2016.
How does Adelaide compare with South Australia?
Adelaide's share outstrips the share for South Australia, at more than twice the rate. Only two councils in South Australia rank higher.
- Adelaide
- 34.4%
- South Australia
- 16.9%
- Australia
- 21.3%
Residents speaking a language other than English at home, as a share of all residents.
Where in Adelaide is Chinese spoken most?
No suburb has a larger Chinese-speaking share than Adelaide.
Pick a suburb to see its languages in full.
- AdelaideLed by Mandarin23%4,039
- North AdelaideLed by Mandarin4%251
- Ordered by Chinese speakers as a share of each suburb, with the head count underneath. 2 suburbs in all.
Which languages come after Chinese in Adelaide?
These three come next, in order of speakers.
How does the rest of Adelaide's language list look?
Speakers at home, with the change since 2016. Broad ABS categories such as "Chinese, nfd" count towards the totals but aren't listed, so the shares can add up to more than the languages shown.
- 013,440+6.0%
- 02818+6.2%
- 03424+79.7%
- 04317+82.2%
- 05293-3.3%
- 06236+6.8%
- 072260%
- 08211-36.4%
- 09200-10.3%
- 10145+29.5%
How do Adelaide's languages compare in size?
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
What do birthplace and religion add to the picture in Adelaide?
China is the most common birthplace after Australia.
Country of birth
43.5% born overseas, across 106 countries.
- 01China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)3,002+4.6%
- 02England1,003+15.6%
- 03India835+81.1%
- 04Malaysia717-1.8%
- 05Hong Kong (SAR of China)525+15.9%
- 06Vietnam391+122%
- 07Philippines320+116%
- 08Korea, Republic of (South)280-10.3%
- 09Singapore2720%
- 10New Zealand217+3.8%
Religious affiliation
Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.
- 01No religion or secular beliefs12,903+30.4%
- 02Christianity6,925+1.4%
- 03Buddhism1,046+15.7%
- 04Hinduism726+58.9%
- 05Islam645+6.3%
- 06Judaism26+333%
Where does Adelaide sit on the map of Australia's languages?
Shade reflects the share speaking a multicultural languageany language other than English at home; council boundaries are from the ABS ASGS 2021. Explore the full Language Map.
ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021: language used at home, by Statistical Area Level 2, rolled up to Local Government Area. Change is measured from 2016.
A note on method: 2,032 residents didn't state a language, and this page doesn't count them as speaking one. That's why 34.4% sits below the 42.7% you'd get by counting every blank, and below 37.5% measured across respondents only.
People with no usual address fall outside any suburb, which is why the national figure here is a fraction under the ABS one. The council figures aren't affected.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
Ask LEXIGO about translation into the languages of Adelaide.