We are Adelaide Hills

5 per cent.

5 in every 100 Adelaide Hills residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,878 people, in 69 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
41,121
Speak another language
1,878
Languages at home
69
Growth since last census
+10.3%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,878 of us do not, across 69 languages, most often German, Mandarin and Italian. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#33

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #271 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

German

257 speakers

German is spoken by 257 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Adelaide Hills.

Mandarin

211 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 211 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Adelaide Hills.

Italian

189 speakers

Italian is spoken by 189 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Adelaide Hills.

The languages of Adelaide Hills

69 languages carry the conversation at home. Every one of them is spoken here.

Each block below is scaled to the number of people who speak that language at home, and tinted by how fast that community has grown since the last census.

  • Grew 50%+
  • 25%+
  • 10%+
  • Held
  • Slipped
  • Declined 10%+
  • Not comparable
The 18 most spoken languages in Adelaide Hills, covering 1,478 speakers. Area is speakers at the 2021 Census; tint is the change since 2016. Every figure is also in the table below.

Every language, in order

Speakers at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016. Broader ABS categories such as “Chinese, nfd” are counted in our totals but left out of this list, so the percentages can exceed the sum of the languages shown.

  1. 01
    German
    257-8.2%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    211+127%
  3. 03
    Italian
    189-33.7%
  4. 04
    Polish
    100+6.4%
  5. 05
    Afrikaans
    80+8.1%
  6. 06
    Russian
    80+12.7%
  7. 07
    Spanish
    76+1.3%
  8. 08
    Greek
    70+9.4%
  9. 09
    French
    69-9.2%
  10. 10
    Cantonese
    62+67.6%

Why we publish this

4.6% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the South Australia average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 1,878 of us do not, at home, and a service that reaches everyone except them has not reached everyone. This almanac exists so that the number is on the record before the decision is made.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

14.3% of us were born overseas, across 78 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    2,942-4.7%
  2. 02
    Germany
    348+1.2%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    329+11.1%
  4. 04
    South Africa
    230+13.9%
  5. 05
    United States of America
    174+5.5%
  6. 06
    Scotland
    165-24.0%
  7. 07
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    155+46.2%
  8. 08
    Netherlands
    150-21.9%
  9. 09
    Italy
    129-14.6%
  10. 10
    India
    98+206%

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Adelaide Hills at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    22,582+33.7%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    15,448-15.1%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    330-20.9%
  4. 04
    Islam
    76+300%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    71+137%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    41+51.9%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 43 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Adelaide Hills shaded by the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. Boundaries are ABS ASGS 2021. See every council on one map.

In context

Adelaide Hills
4.6%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

4.6% of Adelaide Hills residents speak a language other than English at home, against 16.9% for South Australia and 21.3% nationally. Drawn from the 2021 Census.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2021, language used at home by Statistical Area Level 2, aggregated to Local Government Area. Growth compares 2021 against the 2016 Census.

How the headline share is counted. 4.6% is 1,878 residents as a share of all 41,121 of us. A further 1,678 did not state a language at all, and we do not count them as speaking one — counting every non-response as a non-English speaker would put this figure at 8.6%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 4.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Adelaide Hills, it is almost certainly one of those two.

Two further caveats we would rather state than bury. Summing suburbs omits residents not allocated to one — no usual address, migratory and unincorporated areas — so national totals sit a little under the ABS published figures; the Adelaide Hills figures on this page are unaffected. And ranked language lists exclude ABS residual categories such as “Chinese, nfd”, which are not languages anyone can order a translation in; they remain inside the headline total.

Need this community reached in its own languages? Talk to us about translation in Adelaide Hills.