We are Kiama

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Kiama residents speak a language other than English at home. 793 people, in 51 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
22,713
Speak another language
793
Languages at home
51
Growth since last census
+26.1%

Most of us speak English at home. 793 of us do not, across 51 languages, most often German, Italian and Spanish. 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

#68

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #321 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

German

91 speakers

German is spoken by 91 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Kiama.

Italian

77 speakers

Italian is spoken by 77 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Kiama.

Spanish

61 speakers

Spanish is spoken by 61 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Kiama.

The languages of Kiama

51 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 Kiama, covering 628 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
    German
    91+13.8%
  2. 02
    Italian
    77-7.2%
  3. 03
    Spanish
    61+10.9%
  4. 04
    Greek
    54+20.0%
  5. 05
    French
    50+31.6%
  6. 06
    Mandarin
    43+48.3%
  7. 07
    Cantonese
    39+117%
  8. 08
    Macedonian
    35+16.7%
  9. 09
    Thai
    31-44.6%
  10. 10
    Swedish
    22+633%

Why we publish this

3.5% of us

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. 793 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

11.9% of us were born overseas, across 64 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    1,187+9.4%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    292+1.7%
  3. 03
    Scotland
    134+25.2%
  4. 04
    United States of America
    110+39.2%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    95+9.2%
  6. 06
    Ireland
    76+13.4%
  7. 07
    Germany
    73-13.1%
  8. 08
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    72+67.4%
  9. 09
    Italy
    53-31.2%
  10. 10
    Canada
    47+30.6%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    11,802-9.3%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    9,513+52.5%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    128-28.5%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    47+42.4%
  5. 05
    Islam
    38+322%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    23+130%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 13 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Kiama 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

Kiama
3.5%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

3.5% of Kiama 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. 3.5% is 793 residents as a share of all 22,713 of us. A further 1,025 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 8.0%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.7%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Kiama, 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 Kiama 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 Kiama.