We are Balranald

9 per cent.

9 in every 100 Balranald residents speak a language other than English at home. 195 people, in 21 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
2,256
Speak another language
195
Languages at home
21
Growth since last census
+45.5%

Most of us speak English at home. 195 of us do not, across 21 languages, most often Italian, Mandarin and Tongan. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In New South Wales

#40

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #183 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

52 speakers

Italian is spoken by 52 of our residents at home, 2.3% of Balranald.

Mandarin

33 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 33 of our residents at home, 1.5% of Balranald.

Tongan

21 speakers

Tongan is spoken by 21 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Balranald.

The languages of Balranald

21 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 16 most spoken languages in Balranald, covering 195 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. 0152-26.8%
  2. 0233+230%
  3. 0321+90.9%
  4. 0416+77.8%
  5. 0514
  6. 0610+66.7%
  7. 079
  8. 087
  9. 096+100%
  10. 106+50.0%

Why we publish this

8.6% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the New South Wales average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 195 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

6.8% of us were born overseas, across 21 countries.

  1. 01
    Malaysia
    34+278%
  2. 02
    Fiji
    25+317%
  3. 03
    England
    13-13.3%
  4. 04
    India
    13+333%
  5. 05
    New Zealand
    13+225%
  6. 06
    Italy
    11-62.1%
  7. 07
    Thailand
    10+66.7%
  8. 08
    Tonga
    60%
  9. 09
    Russian Federation
    5
  10. 10
    Philippines
    5+25.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    1,213-20.6%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    666+32.9%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    40+90.5%
  4. 04
    Islam
    17+240%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    16+33.3%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 2 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Balranald 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

Balranald
8.6%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

8.6% of Balranald residents speak a language other than English at home, against 25.7% for New South Wales 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. 8.6% is 195 residents as a share of all 2,256 of us. A further 313 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 22.5%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 10.0%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Balranald, 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 Balranald 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 Balranald.