We are Derwent Valley

1 per cent.

1 in every 100 Derwent Valley residents speak a language other than English at home. 152 people, in 27 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
10,534
Speak another language
152
Languages at home
27
Growth since last census
+32.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 152 of us do not, across 27 languages, most often French, Polish and Sinhalese. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Tasmania

#28

of 29 Tasmania councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #492 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

French

22 speakers

French is spoken by 22 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Derwent Valley.

Polish

18 speakers

Polish is spoken by 18 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Derwent Valley.

Sinhalese

15 speakers

Sinhalese is spoken by 15 of our residents at home, 0.1% of Derwent Valley.

The languages of Derwent Valley

27 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 Derwent Valley, covering 143 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. 0122+450%
  2. 0218-18.2%
  3. 0315
  4. 0414+75.0%
  5. 0510+150%
  6. 068-38.5%
  7. 078
  8. 087-22.2%
  9. 096+20.0%
  10. 106

Why we publish this

1.4% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Tasmania average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 152 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.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

6.2% of us were born overseas, across 25 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    327+5.5%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    103+32.1%
  3. 03
    Netherlands
    24-22.6%
  4. 04
    Ireland
    20+122%
  5. 05
    Germany
    20+25.0%
  6. 06
    United States of America
    18+500%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    18-28.0%
  8. 08
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    17+21.4%
  9. 09
    Poland
    15-6.3%
  10. 10
    Sri Lanka
    15

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Derwent Valley at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    5,217+53.3%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    4,387-16.5%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    41+28.1%
  4. 04
    Islam
    180%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    15
  6. 06
    Judaism
    9

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 12 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Derwent Valley 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

Derwent Valley
1.4%
Tasmania
7.8%
Australia
21.3%

1.4% of Derwent Valley residents speak a language other than English at home, against 7.8% for Tasmania 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. 1.4% is 152 residents as a share of all 10,534 of us. A further 703 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 8.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 1.5%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Derwent Valley, 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 Derwent Valley 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 Derwent Valley.