We are Irwin

1 per cent.

1 in every 100 Irwin residents speak a language other than English at home. 53 people, in 12 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
3,664
Speak another language
53
Languages at home
12
Growth since last census
0.0%

Most of us speak English at home. 53 of us do not, across 12 languages, most often German, Vietnamese and French. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Western Australia

#120

of 137 Western Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #489 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

German

18 speakers

German is spoken by 18 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Irwin.

Vietnamese

7 speakers

Vietnamese is spoken by 7 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Irwin.

French

4 speakers

French is spoken by 4 of our residents at home, 0.1% of Irwin.

The languages of Irwin

12 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 9 most spoken languages in Irwin, covering 49 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. 0118-18.2%
  2. 027+133%
  3. 034
  4. 044+33.3%
  5. 054
  6. 063-40.0%
  7. 073
  8. 083
  9. 093
  10. 100-100%

Why we publish this

1.4% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Western Australia average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 53 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.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

11.4% of us were born overseas, across 18 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    179-10.1%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    92-20.0%
  3. 03
    Scotland
    320%
  4. 04
    Netherlands
    23+43.8%
  5. 05
    Thailand
    18+38.5%
  6. 06
    Germany
    15-21.1%
  7. 07
    South Africa
    10+100%
  8. 08
    Ireland
    9-10.0%
  9. 09
    Philippines
    7
  10. 10
    Belgium
    4

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    1,626+39.1%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    1,530-24.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    19-32.1%
  4. 04
    Islam
    4-33.3%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    3

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 4 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Irwin 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

Irwin
1.4%
Western Australia
17.3%
Australia
21.3%

1.4% of Irwin residents speak a language other than English at home, against 17.3% for Western 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. 1.4% is 53 residents as a share of all 3,664 of us. A further 396 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 12.3%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 1.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Irwin, 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 Irwin 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 Irwin.