We are Benalla

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Benalla residents speak a language other than English at home. 397 people, in 42 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
14,483
Speak another language
397
Languages at home
42
Growth since last census
+31.0%

Most of us speak English at home. 397 of us do not, across 42 languages, most often Punjabi, Mandarin and Malayalam. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Victoria

#62

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #381 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Punjabi

41 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 41 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Benalla.

Mandarin

39 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 39 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Benalla.

Malayalam

32 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 32 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Benalla.

The languages of Benalla

42 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 Benalla, covering 320 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. 0141+86.4%
  2. 0239+30.0%
  3. 0332+77.8%
  4. 0428-26.3%
  5. 0523+475%
  6. 0620-25.9%
  7. 0715
  8. 0815+400%
  9. 0914+250%
  10. 1012+9.1%

Why we publish this

2.7% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Victoria average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 397 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

7.6% of us were born overseas, across 47 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    367+18.4%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    124+90.8%
  3. 03
    India
    112+62.3%
  4. 04
    Germany
    90-24.4%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    42+133%
  6. 06
    Netherlands
    40-42.9%
  7. 07
    United States of America
    31+40.9%
  8. 08
    Scotland
    27-15.6%
  9. 09
    Italy
    23+4.5%
  10. 10
    Ireland
    22+144%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    6,579-15.5%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    6,267+42.5%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    71+86.8%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    53-37.6%
  5. 05
    Islam
    49+206%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    0-100%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 10 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Benalla 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

Benalla
2.7%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

2.7% of Benalla residents speak a language other than English at home, against 26.6% for Victoria 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. 2.7% is 397 residents as a share of all 14,483 of us. A further 1,212 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 11.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.0%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Benalla, 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 Benalla 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 Benalla.