We are Lithgow

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Lithgow residents speak a language other than English at home. 677 people, in 53 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
20,630
Speak another language
677
Languages at home
53
Growth since last census
+27.5%

Most of us speak English at home. 677 of us do not, across 53 languages, most often Thai, Spanish and Mandarin. 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

#73

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #336 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Thai

44 speakers

Thai is spoken by 44 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Lithgow.

Spanish

41 speakers

Spanish is spoken by 41 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Lithgow.

Mandarin

39 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 39 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Lithgow.

The languages of Lithgow

53 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 Lithgow, covering 483 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. 0144+91.3%
  2. 0241+242%
  3. 0339+95.0%
  4. 0438-20.8%
  5. 0535+40.0%
  6. 0632-27.3%
  7. 0729+81.3%
  8. 0828-3.4%
  9. 0927+125%
  10. 1026+62.5%

Why we publish this

3.3% 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. 677 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

7.8% of us were born overseas, across 63 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    499-10.6%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    193-4.9%
  3. 03
    Scotland
    99+22.2%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    88+17.3%
  5. 05
    India
    84+68.0%
  6. 06
    Germany
    82+13.9%
  7. 07
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    50+11.1%
  8. 08
    Italy
    48+50.0%
  9. 09
    Thailand
    40+150%
  10. 10
    United States of America
    30+76.5%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    10,883-16.2%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    7,432+54.0%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    156+23.8%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    89+58.9%
  5. 05
    Islam
    65+27.5%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    15+400%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 26 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Lithgow 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

Lithgow
3.3%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

3.3% of Lithgow 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. 3.3% is 677 residents as a share of all 20,630 of us. A further 1,734 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 11.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Lithgow, 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 Lithgow 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 Lithgow.