We are Bourke

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Bourke residents speak a language other than English at home. 68 people, in 19 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
2,392
Speak another language
68
Languages at home
19
Growth since last census
+41.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 68 of us do not, across 19 languages, most often Nepali, Hindi and Greek. 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

#86

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #372 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Nepali

12 speakers

Nepali is spoken by 12 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Bourke.

Hindi

7 speakers

Hindi is spoken by 7 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Bourke.

Greek

6 speakers

Greek is spoken by 6 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Bourke.

The languages of Bourke

19 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 12 most spoken languages in Bourke, covering 61 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
    Nepali
    12-20.0%
  2. 02
    Hindi
    7
  3. 03
    Greek
    6
  4. 04
    Malayalam
    5
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    5
  6. 06
    Telugu
    5
  7. 07
    Wiradjuri
    5
  8. 08
    Muruwari
    4
  9. 09
    Aboriginal English, so described
    3
  10. 10
    Afrikaans
    3

Why we publish this

2.8% 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. 68 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

3.0% of us were born overseas, across 12 countries.

  1. 01
    Nepal
    18+200%
  2. 02
    India
    17
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    8-11.1%
  4. 04
    England
    4-73.3%
  5. 05
    Malaysia
    4
  6. 06
    Pakistan
    4
  7. 07
    Philippines
    4
  8. 08
    Vanuatu
    4
  9. 09
    Indonesia
    3
  10. 10
    South Africa
    3

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    1,411-20.6%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    502+33.9%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    30+173%
  4. 04
    Islam
    11
  5. 05
    Buddhism
    40%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 5 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Bourke 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

Bourke
2.8%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

2.8% of Bourke 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. 2.8% is 68 residents as a share of all 2,392 of us. A further 405 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 19.8%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.4%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Bourke, 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 Bourke 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 Bourke.