We are Balonne

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Balonne residents speak a language other than English at home. 148 people, in 24 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
4,319
Speak another language
148
Languages at home
24
Growth since last census
+43.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 148 of us do not, across 24 languages, most often Tagalog, Afrikaans and Tongan. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#48

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #326 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Tagalog

18 speakers

Tagalog is spoken by 18 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Balonne.

Afrikaans

16 speakers

Afrikaans is spoken by 16 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Balonne.

Tongan

13 speakers

Tongan is spoken by 13 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Balonne.

The languages of Balonne

24 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 Balonne, covering 139 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. 0118+500%
  2. 0216-46.7%
  3. 0313+18.2%
  4. 0410+233%
  5. 0510
  6. 0610+25.0%
  7. 079
  8. 088+167%
  9. 097
  10. 106+20.0%

Why we publish this

3.4% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Queensland average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 148 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

4.9% of us were born overseas, across 23 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    490%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    46+27.8%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    36+125%
  4. 04
    Canada
    10
  5. 05
    Tonga
    9+200%
  6. 06
    South Africa
    8-78.9%
  7. 07
    Fiji
    7
  8. 08
    Malaysia
    7
  9. 09
    Taiwan
    7
  10. 10
    India
    6-25.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    2,643-20.6%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    1,182+93.1%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    8-20.0%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    8
  5. 05
    Islam
    4-55.6%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 4 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Balonne 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

Balonne
3.4%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

3.4% of Balonne residents speak a language other than English at home, against 12.2% for Queensland 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. 3.4% is 148 residents as a share of all 4,319 of us. A further 432 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 13.4%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Balonne, 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 Balonne 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 Balonne.