We are Derby-West Kimberley

33 per cent.

Nearly 33 in every 100 Derby-West Kimberley residents speak a language other than English at home. It is among the highest shares of any council in Western Australia.

Our population
6,953
Speak another language
2,284
Languages at home
54
Growth since last census
−22.0%

One in 3 of us speaks a language other than English at home: 2,284 people, most often Kriol, Walmajarri and Bunuba. That is not a fringe of the community. It is a standing share of every audience anyone here is trying to reach.

In Western Australia

#6

of 137 Western Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #64 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Kriol

1,458 speakers

Kriol is spoken by 1,458 of our residents at home, 21.0% of Derby-West Kimberley.

Walmajarri

218 speakers

Walmajarri is spoken by 218 of our residents at home, 3.1% of Derby-West Kimberley.

Bunuba

123 speakers

Bunuba is spoken by 123 of our residents at home, 1.8% of Derby-West Kimberley.

The languages of Derby-West Kimberley

54 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 Derby-West Kimberley, covering 2,084 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
    Kriol
    1,458-25.7%
  2. 02
    Walmajarri
    218-3.1%
  3. 03
    Bunuba
    123+413%
  4. 04
    Gooniyandi
    64+36.2%
  5. 05
    Ngarinyin
    33+32.0%
  6. 06
    Malayalam
    32-5.9%
  7. 07
    Jaru
    21
  8. 08
    Swahili
    18
  9. 09
    Nyikina
    16-64.4%
  10. 10
    Tagalog
    16+45.5%

Why we publish this

32.8% of us

We share this portrait because Derby-West Kimberley is, genuinely, not an “average” council — the share here is 1.9 times the Western Australia figure. Services designed for the median Western Australia resident arrive here in the wrong language. This almanac exists so that nobody writing policy about us — federal, state, corporate or media — can say they did not know.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

6.3% of us were born overseas, across 37 countries.

  1. 01
    New Zealand
    117-17.6%
  2. 02
    England
    80-27.3%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    42+82.6%
  4. 04
    India
    39-35.0%
  5. 05
    Kenya
    15
  6. 06
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    14+250%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    14-12.5%
  8. 08
    Zimbabwe
    14+40.0%
  9. 09
    South Africa
    10-23.1%
  10. 10
    Papua New Guinea
    9+28.6%

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Derby-West Kimberley at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    Christianity
    2,567-41.1%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    1,964+11.5%
  3. 03
    Islam
    26+271%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    14-61.1%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    12+9.1%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 9 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Derby-West Kimberley 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

Derby-West Kimberley
32.8%
Western Australia
17.3%
Australia
21.3%

32.8% of Derby-West Kimberley residents speak a language other than English at home, against 17.3% for Western Australia 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. 32.8% is 2,284 residents as a share of all 6,953 of us. A further 1,540 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 55.0%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 42.2%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Derby-West Kimberley, 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 Derby-West Kimberley 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 Derby-West Kimberley.