Spanish
6 speakers
About 1 per cent of all residents.
5th of 542 local government areas for language diversity
Malay and the other languages of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The 2021 Census found just over three in five residents in Cocos (Keeling) Islands speaking Malay at home, more than any other language after English. On its own, Malay is spoken by more than a quarter of residents. Only four councils rank higher for language diversity.
- Residents
- 589
- Speak another language
- 381
- Languages at home
- 2
- Change since 2016
- +3.5%
How large is Cocos (Keeling) Islands' Malay-speaking community?
Malay at home
62%
The Malay-speaking community numbers about 360 people. That's 95 per cent of those who speak a language other than English. It outnumbers Spanish put together. In five years, the Malay-speaking group has held steady since 2016.
How far above Australia as a whole is Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
Measured against Australia as a whole, Cocos (Keeling) Islands' share is more than three times as high. No council in Australia's other territories has a higher share.
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- 64.7%
- Australia
- 21.3%
- Australia's other territories
- 40.0%
Share of residents speaking a language other than English at home, by the same method for every area.
Which suburbs of Cocos (Keeling) Islands have the largest Malay-speaking share?
The suburb names link through to their own figures.
- Home IslandLed by Malay80%354
- West IslandLed by Malay6%9
- 2 suburbs in Cocos (Keeling) Islands, ordered by the share of residents who speak Malay at home. The figure beneath is how many people that is.
Which other communities are large in Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
The next tier is much smaller, but it's still sizeable.
What are the ten most spoken languages in Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
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.
How big is each language community in Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
Where were Cocos (Keeling) Islands' residents born, and what do they believe?
Among residents born overseas, Malaysia leads.
Country of birth
7.5% born overseas, across 6 countries.
- 01Malaysia25+19.0%
- 02Singapore7+133%
- 03England5+66.7%
- 04Argentina3
- 05New Zealand3-50.0%
- 06Indonesia0-100%
Religious affiliation
Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.
- 01Islam386-4.7%
- 02No religion or secular beliefs86+10.3%
- 03Christianity29-9.4%
Where does Cocos (Keeling) Islands 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.
Figures come from the ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 (language used at home), aggregated from Statistical Area Level 2 to Local Government Area, with 2016 for comparison.
The headline 64.7% counts only residents who named a language other than English. 97 people left the question blank; treat every blank as another language and the figure is 81.2%, while measuring only those who answered gives 77.4%.
Ranked lists skip broad categories such as "Chinese, nfd", which stay in the totals. National figures are summed from suburbs and sit a touch under the ABS release.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
Working on communication for Cocos (Keeling) Islands? Talk to us about translation.