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Cairns, Queensland

Languages spoken in Cairns

At the 2021 Census, about 21,000 people in Cairns spoke a language other than English at home. Japanese was the most common, followed by Nepali. The rest are smaller communities, below one in 100 residents each. Cairns is roughly level with Queensland.

Residents
164,649
Speak another language
20,866
Languages at home
135
Change since 2016
+14.9%

Which languages lead in Cairns?

Include First Nations languagesShowing multicultural languagesLEXIGO works in multicultural communication. First Nations languages are optional to display and are not counted in the multicultural rankings.

Japanese

2,351 speakers

That's one in 70 residents.

Nepali

1,091 speakers

Its speaker count has grown by more than a quarter since 2016.

Mandarin

1,077 speakers

About 0.7 per cent of all residents.

Where does Cairns land against Brisbane?

Cairns is a little under Brisbane. In Queensland, Cairns is in 5th place.

Cairns
12.7%
Brisbane
22.8%
Queensland
12.2%

Share of residents speaking a language other than English at home, by the same method for every area.

Find Cairns on the diversity index.

What are the most spoken languages in Cairns?

Each row is a language and the number who speak it at home, beside its change on 2016. The headline total also includes broad ABS categories such as "Chinese, nfd", which aren't listed here.

  1. 01
    Japanese
    2,351+0.9%
  2. 02
    Nepali
    1,091+30.7%
  3. 03
    Mandarin
    1,0770%
  4. 04
    Punjabi
    1,044+21.8%
  5. 05
    Italian
    886-9.9%
  6. 06
    German
    866+0.7%
  7. 07
    Korean
    785-19.4%
  8. 08
    Tagalog
    7400%
  9. 09
    Hmong
    725+20.2%
  10. 10
    Spanish
    658+100%

How big is each language community in Cairns?

  • Grew 50%+
  • 25%+
  • 10%+
  • Held
  • Slipped
  • Declined 10%+
  • Not comparable
The 18 most spoken languages in Cairns, covering 13,788 speakers. Each block is sized by speakers and shaded by growth since 2016. Every figure is also in the table below.
  • Grew 50%+
  • 25%+
  • 10%+
  • Held
  • Slipped
  • Declined 10%+
  • Not comparable
The 18 most spoken languages in Cairns, covering 14,273 speakers. Each block is sized by speakers and shaded by growth since 2016. Every figure is also in the table below.

Which community in Cairns grew most since 2016?

Fastest-growing language

Malayalam

+147.9% since 2016

With about 540 speakers now, Malayalam has more than doubled since 2016.

How do Cairns' suburbs compare?

No suburb stands far apart; Parramatta Park is highest and Goldsborough lowest.

The suburb names link through to their own figures.

Where were Cairns' residents born?

England is the most common overseas birthplace.

Country of birth

20.1% born overseas, across 134 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    6,578+6.7%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    4,668-1.9%
  3. 03
    Papua New Guinea
    2,331+1.4%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    2,079+21.2%
  5. 05
    India
    1,814+36.7%
  6. 06
    Japan
    1,583+2.0%
  7. 07
    Germany
    1,047+7.9%
  8. 08
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    819+11.9%
  9. 09
    South Africa
    779+21.5%
  10. 10
    Thailand
    755+26.3%

Religious affiliation

Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    Christianity
    71,843-11.4%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    70,469+39.0%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    2,735+2.6%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    1,450+16.7%
  5. 05
    Islam
    727+33.6%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    82-21.9%

Where does Cairns sit on the map of Australia's languages?

Darker shading means more residents speaking a multicultural languageany language other than English at home. ABS ASGS 2021 boundaries. Open the national map.

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.

The headline 12.7% counts only residents who named a language other than English. 15,367 people left the question blank; treat every blank as another language and the figure is 22.0%, while measuring only those who answered gives 14.0%.

Language lists name languages only; residual ABS groups are in the totals. Summed-suburb national totals run a little low.

Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.

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