We are Greater Bendigo

6 per cent.

6 in every 100 Greater Bendigo residents speak a language other than English at home. 6,991 people, in 105 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
120,821
Speak another language
6,991
Languages at home
105
Growth since last census
+70.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 6,991 of us do not, across 105 languages, most often Karen, Mandarin and Malayalam. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Victoria

#40

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #226 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Karen

1,638 speakers

Karen is spoken by 1,638 of our residents at home, 1.4% of Greater Bendigo.

Mandarin

553 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 553 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Greater Bendigo.

Malayalam

487 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 487 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Greater Bendigo.

The languages of Greater Bendigo

105 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 Greater Bendigo, covering 5,229 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
    Karen
    1,638+90.0%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    553+18.9%
  3. 03
    Malayalam
    487+156%
  4. 04
    Punjabi
    455+145%
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    239+112%
  6. 06
    Filipino
    221+110%
  7. 07
    Arabic
    202+49.6%
  8. 08
    Sinhalese
    196+102%
  9. 09
    Hindi
    195+46.6%
  10. 10
    Italian
    143-2.1%

Fastest-growing among us

Malayalam

+156.3% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the Victoria average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 6,991 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.

Malayalam grew 156.3% since the last census, to 487 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

8.1% of us were born overseas, across 94 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    2,102+9.2%
  2. 02
    India
    1,232+76.5%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    857+27.2%
  4. 04
    Myanmar
    802+99.5%
  5. 05
    Thailand
    729+96.0%
  6. 06
    Philippines
    658+70.5%
  7. 07
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    325+12.8%
  8. 08
    Sri Lanka
    261+45.0%
  9. 09
    Scotland
    242+1.3%
  10. 10
    Malaysia
    219+149%

What we believe

Reported affiliation in Greater Bendigo at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    57,350+42.5%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    51,770-9.3%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    1,402+40.3%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    798+63.5%
  5. 05
    Islam
    712+78.4%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    26+23.8%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 56 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Greater Bendigo 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

Greater Bendigo
5.8%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

5.8% of Greater Bendigo residents speak a language other than English at home, against 26.6% for Victoria 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. 5.8% is 6,991 residents as a share of all 120,821 of us. A further 6,954 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 11.5%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 6.1%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Greater Bendigo, 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 Greater Bendigo 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 Greater Bendigo.