Popular

NAATI certified translationTranslation servicesMulticultural communicationLanguagesLanguage MapContact

Greater Geelong, Victoria

Languages spoken in Greater Geelong

At the 2021 Census, about 28,000 people in Greater Geelong spoke a language other than English at home, most often Punjabi. Mandarin is close behind, within a fifth of the leader's total. Nationally, the share speaking another language is more than double.

Residents
265,456
Speak another language
28,139
Languages at home
129
Change since 2016
+29.1%

What are the three biggest languages after English in Greater Geelong?

None of these reaches one in 100 residents on its own.

Punjabi

2,025 speakers

It has more than doubled since 2016.

Mandarin

2,002 speakers

Used at home by fewer than one in 100 residents.

Italian

1,948 speakers

About 0.7 per cent of all residents.

Which five languages lead in Greater Geelong, and how have they changed?

Of these, Punjabi has more than doubled since 2016.

Five rows to start: the languages with the most speakers, and how each has changed since 2016.

  1. 01
    Punjabi
    2,025+164%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    2,002+16.9%
  3. 03
    Italian
    1,948-13.3%
  4. 04
    Croatian
    1,917-4.1%
  5. 05
    Greek
    1,040+18.7%

Where does Greater Geelong sit against the City of Melbourne?

In the City of Melbourne, a language other than English is at least twice as common. Within Victoria, Greater Geelong ranks 31st of 79.

Greater Geelong
10.6%
City of Melbourne
45.0%
Australia
21.3%

Every figure leaves unanswered questions out of the count, so the areas compare like for like.

Compare Greater Geelong with every council on the diversity index.

Which suburbs of Greater Geelong have the largest multilingual communities?

Bell Park is highest, at just over one in three residents; Barwon Heads is lowest.

The suburb names link through to their own figures.

Where were Greater Geelong's residents born?

England is the most common overseas birthplace.

Country of birth

15.4% born overseas, across 132 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    8,555+8.3%
  2. 02
    India
    4,998+124%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    2,659+20.3%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    1,820+60.9%
  5. 05
    Italy
    1,522-2.4%
  6. 06
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    1,503+3.1%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    1,258+1.0%
  8. 08
    Croatia
    1,196-1.0%
  9. 09
    Netherlands
    1,180-3.4%
  10. 10
    Germany
    1,146-12.0%

Religious affiliation

Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    119,451+50.8%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    118,138-4.0%
  3. 03
    Islam
    3,884+59.2%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    3,608+110%
  5. 05
    Buddhism
    2,646+14.6%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    100+133%

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.

Other sources sometimes quote 15.8% for Greater Geelong. That figure treats the 13,853 unanswered forms as another language. This page uses 10.6%, and 11.2% is the share among those who answered.

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.

Need something in one of these languages? Get in touch about translation.