Mandarin
15 speakers
Between the last two censuses it has more than tripled.
Central Desert, Northern Territory
The languages of Central Desert
The 2021 Census counted about 2,500 people in Central Desert speaking a First Nations language at home, with Warlpiri the most common. Against Australia as a whole, Central Desert is more than three times as multilingual. The count of other-language speakers has eased since 2016.
- Residents
- 3,560
- Speak another language
- 2,720
- Languages at home
- 22
- Change since 2016
- −6.2%
How many people in Central Desert speak a First Nations language?
The census names Warlpiri, Central Anmatyerr and Eastern Arrernte as the most spoken First Nations languages. Among residents who speak another language at home, a First Nations language is the choice of 93 per cent of them. Another 167 people gave a language the ABS could only file under a broad category, so the named figures here are a floor.
- 011,627+6.5%
- 02481
- 03160-2.4%
- 0495+3067%
- 0577-28.7%
- 0643+65.4%
- 079+80.0%
- 086
- 096+100%
- 105
The ABS’s own post-enumeration survey found the census missed a much larger share of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than of the population overall, so counts here are best read as a floor.
How does Central Desert's language picture differ from the Northern Territory?
Central Desert has more than twice the rate of other-language speakers found across the Northern Territory. 3 councils in the Northern Territory have a lower share.
- Central Desert
- 76.4%
- Northern Territory
- 32.1%
- Australia
- 21.3%
Shares are calculated the same way for each area, so the bars compare directly.
What are all the languages spoken in Central Desert?
Ranked by speakers, with the movement since the previous census. Unnamed ABS categories ("Chinese, nfd" and the like) are left off the list but kept in the totals.
- 011,627+6.5%
- 02481
- 03160-2.4%
- 0495+3067%
- 0577-28.7%
- 0643+65.4%
- 0715+400%
- 089+80.0%
- 096+100%
- 106
What languages from overseas are spoken in Central Desert?
These lead among languages from overseas.
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.
Which localities in Central Desert have the most speakers of other languages?
Suburb pages list every language counted in that suburb.
- WiloraLed by Kaytetye100%56
- EngawalaLed by Eastern Anmatyerr95%144
- LajamanuLed by Warlpiri92%590
- YuelamuLed by Central Anmatyerr90%140
- NyirripiLed by Warlpiri87%219
- WillowraLed by Warlpiri87%194
- LarambaLed by Central Anmatyerr86%168
- YuendumuLed by Warlpiri82%597
- AnmatjereLed by Central Anmatyerr76%321
- AtitjereLed by Eastern Arrernte71%145
- Ti TreeLed by Warlpiri47%41
- Hart (NT)Led by Eastern Arrernte32%93
- Lake MackayLed by Warlpiri8%12
- The larger figure is each suburb's share speaking a language other than English; the smaller is people. 13 suburbs listed.
Where does Central Desert sit on the map of Australia's languages?
Shade reflects the share speaking a multicultural languageany language other than English at home; council boundaries are from the ABS ASGS 2021. Explore the full Language Map.
ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021: language used at home, by Statistical Area Level 2, rolled up to Local Government Area. Change is measured from 2016.
Blank answers matter here. 282 residents gave none, and they're left out of the 76.4%. Count them in and it's 84.3%; drop them from the base and it's 83.0%.
People with no usual address fall outside any suburb, which is why the national figure here is a fraction under the ABS one. The council figures aren't affected.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
Ask LEXIGO about translation into the languages of Central Desert.