We are Holdfast Bay

9 per cent.

9 in every 100 Holdfast Bay residents speak a language other than English at home. 3,673 people, in 82 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
39,124
Speak another language
3,673
Languages at home
82
Growth since last census
+28.5%

Most of us speak English at home. 3,673 of us do not, across 82 languages, most often Mandarin, Greek and Portuguese. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#21

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #169 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Mandarin

339 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 339 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Holdfast Bay.

Greek

336 speakers

Greek is spoken by 336 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Holdfast Bay.

Portuguese

246 speakers

Portuguese is spoken by 246 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Holdfast Bay.

The languages of Holdfast Bay

82 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 Holdfast Bay, covering 2,735 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
    Mandarin
    339+18.5%
  2. 02
    Greek
    336+12.4%
  3. 03
    Portuguese
    246+364%
  4. 04
    Italian
    220-23.6%
  5. 05
    Spanish
    216+80.0%
  6. 06
    German
    179+8.5%
  7. 07
    Persian (excluding Dari)
    165+19.6%
  8. 08
    Punjabi
    162+58.8%
  9. 09
    Hindi
    133+70.5%
  10. 10
    Cantonese
    111+14.4%

Fastest-growing among us

Mandarin

+18.5% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the South Australia average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 3,673 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.

Mandarin grew 18.5% since the last census, to 339 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

21.0% of us were born overseas, across 97 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    3,105+5.7%
  2. 02
    India
    461+35.2%
  3. 03
    Scotland
    411+6.2%
  4. 04
    New Zealand
    361-4.0%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    308+35.1%
  6. 06
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    260+1.2%
  7. 07
    Germany
    233-13.1%
  8. 08
    Brazil
    211+415%
  9. 09
    United States of America
    201+27.2%
  10. 10
    Philippines
    175+54.9%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    18,861+37.4%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    17,461-8.7%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    358+47.3%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    350+12.9%
  5. 05
    Islam
    242+5.2%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    19-24.0%

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

Holdfast Bay 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

Holdfast Bay
9.4%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

9.4% of Holdfast Bay residents speak a language other than English at home, against 16.9% for South Australia 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. 9.4% is 3,673 residents as a share of all 39,124 of us. A further 1,284 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 12.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 9.7%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Holdfast Bay, 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 Holdfast Bay 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 Holdfast Bay.