We are Light

2 per cent.

2 in every 100 Light residents speak a language other than English at home. 305 people, in 37 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
15,367
Speak another language
305
Languages at home
37
Growth since last census
+9.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 305 of us do not, across 37 languages, most often Italian, German and Mandarin. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#50

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #450 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

48 speakers

Italian is spoken by 48 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Light.

German

41 speakers

German is spoken by 41 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Light.

Mandarin

22 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 22 of our residents at home, 0.1% of Light.

The languages of Light

37 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 Light, covering 268 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. 0148+37.1%
  2. 0241-12.8%
  3. 0322+120%
  4. 0416+60.0%
  5. 0515+275%
  6. 0614+16.7%
  7. 0714+27.3%
  8. 0814-46.2%
  9. 0912-45.5%
  10. 1011+175%

Why we publish this

2.0% of us

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. 305 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

9.4% of us were born overseas, across 44 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    951-0.9%
  2. 02
    Scotland
    80-25.9%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    70+12.9%
  4. 04
    Germany
    54+68.8%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    29-9.4%
  6. 06
    Zimbabwe
    22+175%
  7. 07
    Netherlands
    21-34.4%
  8. 08
    Italy
    15-11.8%
  9. 09
    Philippines
    15-44.4%
  10. 10
    Canada
    14+7.7%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    7,956+48.9%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    6,381-16.8%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    76-23.2%
  4. 04
    Islam
    18+125%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    0-100%

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

Light 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

Light
2.0%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

2.0% of Light 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. 2.0% is 305 residents as a share of all 15,367 of us. A further 724 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 6.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 2.1%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Light, 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 Light 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 Light.