We are Burdekin

5 per cent.

5 in every 100 Burdekin residents speak a language other than English at home. 855 people, in 46 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
16,413
Speak another language
855
Languages at home
46
Growth since last census
−9.8%

Most of us speak English at home. 855 of us do not, across 46 languages, most often Italian, Afrikaans and Solomon Islands Pijin. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#32

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #241 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

327 speakers

Italian is spoken by 327 of our residents at home, 2.0% of Burdekin.

Afrikaans

46 speakers

Afrikaans is spoken by 46 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Burdekin.

Solomon Islands Pijin

37 speakers

Solomon Islands Pijin is spoken by 37 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Burdekin.

The languages of Burdekin

46 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 Burdekin, covering 658 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
    Italian
    327-34.9%
  2. 02
    Afrikaans
    46+84.0%
  3. 03
    Solomon Islands Pijin
    37
  4. 04
    Vietnamese
    32+23.1%
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    29+93.3%
  6. 06
    Greek
    27-47.1%
  7. 07
    Telugu
    27+200%
  8. 08
    Korean
    15-61.5%
  9. 09
    Mandarin
    14-33.3%
  10. 10
    Tok Pisin (Neomelanesian)
    14

Why we publish this

5.2% of us

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. 855 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

6.9% of us were born overseas, across 44 countries.

  1. 01
    Italy
    251-25.5%
  2. 02
    England
    165-14.1%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    126+14.5%
  4. 04
    Solomon Islands
    106+3433%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    86+16.2%
  6. 06
    South Africa
    66+136%
  7. 07
    India
    47+104%
  8. 08
    Germany
    32+18.5%
  9. 09
    Scotland
    29+45.0%
  10. 10
    Spain
    26+4.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    10,903-15.0%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    3,821+50.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    550%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    45+246%
  5. 05
    Islam
    22+120%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 15 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Burdekin 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

Burdekin
5.2%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

5.2% of Burdekin 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. 5.2% is 855 residents as a share of all 16,413 of us. A further 1,462 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 14.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 5.7%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Burdekin, 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 Burdekin 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 Burdekin.