We are Bundaberg

4 per cent.

4 in every 100 Bundaberg residents speak a language other than English at home. 4,059 people, in 81 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
98,088
Speak another language
4,059
Languages at home
81
Growth since last census
+31.1%

Most of us speak English at home. 4,059 of us do not, across 81 languages, most often Mandarin, Vietnamese and Malayalam. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#43

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #291 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Mandarin

390 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 390 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Bundaberg.

Vietnamese

222 speakers

Vietnamese is spoken by 222 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Bundaberg.

Malayalam

214 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 214 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Bundaberg.

The languages of Bundaberg

81 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 Bundaberg, covering 2,846 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
    Mandarin
    390+5.7%
  2. 02
    Vietnamese
    222+77.6%
  3. 03
    Malayalam
    214+96.3%
  4. 04
    Afrikaans
    201+25.6%
  5. 05
    Italian
    201-31.6%
  6. 06
    German
    187-9.2%
  7. 07
    Filipino
    186+107%
  8. 08
    Thai
    174+228%
  9. 09
    Korean
    173+30.1%
  10. 10
    Tagalog
    136-1.4%

Fastest-growing among us

Afrikaans

+25.6% since last census

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. 4,059 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.

Afrikaans grew 25.6% since the last census, to 201 speakers. A community growing at that rate is one whose translation needs are ahead of the last set of figures anyone commissioned.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

11.2% of us were born overseas, across 91 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    3,235+6.7%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    2,040+13.5%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    727+37.2%
  4. 04
    India
    386+35.0%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    383+13.0%
  6. 06
    Germany
    3500%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    345+4.2%
  8. 08
    Netherlands
    296-12.2%
  9. 09
    Malaysia
    222+217%
  10. 10
    Thailand
    219+184%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    48,847-15.1%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    39,746+62.7%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    860+16.8%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    400+92.3%
  5. 05
    Islam
    368+36.3%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    21+23.5%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 70 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Bundaberg 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

Bundaberg
4.1%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

4.1% of Bundaberg 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. 4.1% is 4,059 residents as a share of all 98,088 of us. A further 6,338 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 10.6%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 4.4%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Bundaberg, 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 Bundaberg 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 Bundaberg.