We are East Arnhem

91 per cent.

Nearly 91 in every 100 East Arnhem residents speak a language other than English at home. It is among the highest shares of any council in Northern Territory.

Our population
6,882
Speak another language
6,230
Languages at home
56
Growth since last census
−3.5%

Our neighbourhoods run in Djambarrpuyngu, Dhuwaya and Gumatj as readily as they do in English. 6,230 of us speak a language other than English at home — a higher share than almost anywhere else in the country, and the ordinary condition of daily life here rather than an exception to it.

In Northern Territory

#1

for share of residents speaking a language other than English at home, of 18 Northern Territory councils — a ranking East Arnhem has held through successive censuses. #1 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Djambarrpuyngu

3,747 speakers

Djambarrpuyngu is spoken by 3,747 of our residents at home, 54.4% of East Arnhem.

Dhuwaya

150 speakers

Dhuwaya is spoken by 150 of our residents at home, 2.2% of East Arnhem.

Gumatj

83 speakers

Gumatj is spoken by 83 of our residents at home, 1.2% of East Arnhem.

The languages of East Arnhem

56 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 East Arnhem, covering 4,315 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
    Djambarrpuyngu
    3,747-9.8%
  2. 02
    Dhuwaya
    150-54.1%
  3. 03
    Gumatj
    83-1.2%
  4. 04
    Gupapuyngu
    80-39.4%
  5. 05
    Galpu
    55-6.8%
  6. 06
    Ganalbingu
    26-53.6%
  7. 07
    Djapu
    25-24.2%
  8. 08
    Burarra
    22+37.5%
  9. 09
    Wangurri
    20-66.7%
  10. 10
    Djinba
    15

Why we publish this

90.5% of us

We share this portrait because East Arnhem is, genuinely, not an “average” council — the share here is 2.8 times the Northern Territory figure. Services designed for the median Northern Territory 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

1.2% of us were born overseas, across 14 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    22-12.0%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    13-58.1%
  3. 03
    Fiji
    8+100%
  4. 04
    Tonga
    8
  5. 05
    Papua New Guinea
    7
  6. 06
    Zimbabwe
    60%
  7. 07
    Canada
    4
  8. 08
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    4
  9. 09
    Germany
    3-25.0%
  10. 10
    Indonesia
    3

What we believe

Reported affiliation in East Arnhem at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    Christianity
    3,900-34.0%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    1,054+246%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    11-35.3%
  4. 04
    Judaism
    3

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 7 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

East Arnhem 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

East Arnhem
90.5%
Northern Territory
32.1%
Australia
21.3%

90.5% of East Arnhem residents speak a language other than English at home, against 32.1% for Northern Territory 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. 90.5% is 6,230 residents as a share of all 6,882 of us. A further 251 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 94.2%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 94.0%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for East Arnhem, 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 East Arnhem 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 East Arnhem.