We are Central Highlands (Qld)

5 per cent.

5 in every 100 Central Highlands (Qld) residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,378 people, in 66 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
27,571
Speak another language
1,378
Languages at home
66
Growth since last census
+27.6%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,378 of us do not, across 66 languages, most often Afrikaans, Tagalog and Mandarin. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#35

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #253 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Afrikaans

187 speakers

Afrikaans is spoken by 187 of our residents at home, 0.7% of Central Highlands (Qld).

Tagalog

153 speakers

Tagalog is spoken by 153 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Central Highlands (Qld).

Mandarin

115 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 115 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Central Highlands (Qld).

The languages of Central Highlands (Qld)

66 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 Central Highlands (Qld), covering 1,051 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
    Afrikaans
    187+14.0%
  2. 02
    Tagalog
    153+19.5%
  3. 03
    Mandarin
    115+85.5%
  4. 04
    Tongan
    108+192%
  5. 05
    Filipino
    103-9.6%
  6. 06
    Punjabi
    58+5.5%
  7. 07
    Hindi
    51+200%
  8. 08
    Spanish
    38+31.0%
  9. 09
    Thai
    36+2.9%
  10. 10
    Samoan
    32+300%

Fastest-growing among us

Afrikaans

+14.0% 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. 1,378 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 14.0% since the last census, to 187 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

10.1% of us were born overseas, across 57 countries.

  1. 01
    New Zealand
    942-7.8%
  2. 02
    Philippines
    347+23.5%
  3. 03
    England
    3460%
  4. 04
    South Africa
    254+13.4%
  5. 05
    India
    125+7.8%
  6. 06
    Tonga
    95+280%
  7. 07
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    57+46.2%
  8. 08
    Zimbabwe
    56-21.1%
  9. 09
    Thailand
    44+100%
  10. 10
    Malaysia
    34+1033%

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Central Highlands (Qld) at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    Christianity
    13,610-22.3%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    10,084+68.9%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    166-2.4%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    117+33.0%
  5. 05
    Islam
    52-10.3%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 21 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Central Highlands (Qld) 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

Central Highlands (Qld)
5.0%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

5.0% of Central Highlands (Qld) 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. 5.0% is 1,378 residents as a share of all 27,571 of us. A further 3,169 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 16.5%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 5.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Central Highlands (Qld), 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 Central Highlands (Qld) 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 Central Highlands (Qld).