We are Hawkesbury

6 per cent.

6 in every 100 Hawkesbury residents speak a language other than English at home. 4,152 people, in 77 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
66,974
Speak another language
4,152
Languages at home
77
Growth since last census
+32.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 4,152 of us do not, across 77 languages, most often Maltese, Punjabi and Italian. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In New South Wales

#45

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #216 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Maltese

589 speakers

Maltese is spoken by 589 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Hawkesbury.

Punjabi

365 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 365 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Hawkesbury.

Italian

276 speakers

Italian is spoken by 276 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Hawkesbury.

The languages of Hawkesbury

77 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 Hawkesbury, covering 3,125 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
    Maltese
    589+3.7%
  2. 02
    Punjabi
    365+769%
  3. 03
    Italian
    276+26.6%
  4. 04
    Arabic
    224+44.5%
  5. 05
    Cantonese
    2160%
  6. 06
    Mandarin
    185-0.5%
  7. 07
    Spanish
    177+29.2%
  8. 08
    Macedonian
    147-15.5%
  9. 09
    Croatian
    132+12.8%
  10. 10
    Hindi
    118+141%

Fastest-growing among us

Arabic

+44.5% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the New South Wales average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 4,152 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.

Arabic grew 44.5% since the last census, to 224 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

11.1% of us were born overseas, across 93 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    2,176-7.9%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    809-3.2%
  3. 03
    India
    527+455%
  4. 04
    Malta
    4470%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    301+35.0%
  6. 06
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    290+28.3%
  7. 07
    South Africa
    275+35.5%
  8. 08
    Germany
    247-9.9%
  9. 09
    Scotland
    199+8.7%
  10. 10
    Netherlands
    188-3.1%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    38,936-8.8%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    23,044+47.2%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    381+301%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    380+4.4%
  5. 05
    Islam
    347+86.6%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    19-51.3%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 40 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Hawkesbury 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

Hawkesbury
6.2%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

6.2% of Hawkesbury residents speak a language other than English at home, against 25.7% for New South Wales 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. 6.2% is 4,152 residents as a share of all 66,974 of us. A further 3,019 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 10.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 6.5%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Hawkesbury, 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 Hawkesbury 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 Hawkesbury.