We are Berri Barmera

9 per cent.

9 in every 100 Berri Barmera residents speak a language other than English at home. 945 people, in 42 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
10,463
Speak another language
945
Languages at home
42
Growth since last census
+8.1%

Most of us speak English at home. 945 of us do not, across 42 languages, most often Greek, Punjabi and Filipino. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#22

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #176 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Greek

338 speakers

Greek is spoken by 338 of our residents at home, 3.2% of Berri Barmera.

Punjabi

211 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 211 of our residents at home, 2.0% of Berri Barmera.

Filipino

43 speakers

Filipino is spoken by 43 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Berri Barmera.

The languages of Berri Barmera

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 Berri Barmera, covering 849 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. 01338-15.5%
  2. 02211+49.6%
  3. 0343+65.4%
  4. 0433-34.0%
  5. 0531
  6. 0627+170%
  7. 0725-16.7%
  8. 0818-28.0%
  9. 0918+12.5%
  10. 10160%

Why we publish this

9.0% 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. 945 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

11.1% of us were born overseas, across 38 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    3190%
  2. 02
    India
    201+107%
  3. 03
    Greece
    132-16.5%
  4. 04
    New Zealand
    73+25.9%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    71+36.5%
  6. 06
    Italy
    33-45.0%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    31-39.2%
  8. 08
    Tonga
    31
  9. 09
    Germany
    26-40.9%
  10. 10
    Netherlands
    24-44.2%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    5,068+35.5%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    4,339-22.1%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    43+153%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    36-14.3%
  5. 05
    Islam
    24-4.0%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 8 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Berri Barmera 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

Berri Barmera
9.0%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

9.0% of Berri Barmera 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. 9.0% is 945 residents as a share of all 10,463 of us. A further 565 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 14.4%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 9.5%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Berri Barmera, 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 Berri Barmera 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 Berri Barmera.