We are Cassowary Coast

9 per cent.

9 in every 100 Cassowary Coast residents speak a language other than English at home. 2,644 people, in 70 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
28,597
Speak another language
2,644
Languages at home
70
Growth since last census
+8.9%

Most of us speak English at home. 2,644 of us do not, across 70 languages, most often Punjabi, Italian and Hmong. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#19

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #170 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Punjabi

846 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 846 of our residents at home, 3.0% of Cassowary Coast.

Italian

308 speakers

Italian is spoken by 308 of our residents at home, 1.1% of Cassowary Coast.

Hmong

217 speakers

Hmong is spoken by 217 of our residents at home, 0.8% of Cassowary Coast.

The languages of Cassowary Coast

70 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 Cassowary Coast, covering 2,207 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
    Punjabi
    846+36.7%
  2. 02
    Italian
    308-40.7%
  3. 03
    Hmong
    217+144%
  4. 04
    Bislama
    145
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    96+11.6%
  6. 06
    Maori (Cook Island)
    73+12.3%
  7. 07
    Filipino
    70+27.3%
  8. 08
    Mandarin
    61-4.7%
  9. 09
    Girramay
    52+33.3%
  10. 10
    Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole)
    48+500%

Fastest-growing among us

Punjabi

+36.7% 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. 2,644 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.

Punjabi grew 36.7% since the last census, to 846 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

12.6% of us were born overseas, across 69 countries.

  1. 01
    India
    675+15.8%
  2. 02
    England
    664+8.1%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    477-9.8%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    292+7.4%
  5. 05
    Italy
    198-30.5%
  6. 06
    Vanuatu
    171+3320%
  7. 07
    Germany
    89+20.3%
  8. 08
    Thailand
    84+61.5%
  9. 09
    Laos
    72+33.3%
  10. 10
    Papua New Guinea
    69+21.1%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    14,415-15.3%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    9,743+42.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    162-26.7%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    110+39.2%
  5. 05
    Islam
    25+47.1%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 57 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Cassowary Coast 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

Cassowary Coast
9.2%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

9.2% of Cassowary Coast 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. 9.2% is 2,644 residents as a share of all 28,597 of us. A further 2,871 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 19.3%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 10.3%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Cassowary Coast, 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 Cassowary Coast 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 Cassowary Coast.