Italian
10,012 speakers
That's one in 17 residents.
37th of 542 local government areas for language diversity
Merri-bek's languages, old and new
Italian and Greek still rank among the main languages of Merri-bek, where the 2021 Census counted about 56,000 people speaking a language other than English at home. Australia as a whole comes in under Merri-bek's share. The number speaking another language at home is lower than in 2016.
- Residents
- 167,647
- Speak another language
- 56,418
- Languages at home
- 128
- Change since 2016
- −4.6%
Which three languages lead in Merri-bek?
How have Italian and Greek changed in Merri-bek since 2016?
Italian and Greek have fewer speakers than in 2016. Go back to 2011 and Italian was larger than today. The quickest growth is in Portuguese, which has grown by about three quarters.
How does each language in Merri-bek compare with 2016?
The chip beside each count is the change since 2016. Totals include broad ABS categories like "Chinese, nfd" that the list leaves out.
What does Merri-bek's language mix look like?
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
Where does Merri-bek sit on the diversity index?
Nationally
#37
Merri-bek ranks 37th of 542 local government areas nationally. In Victoria, it’s 13 of 79. Compare Merri-bek with every council on the diversity index.
Is Merri-bek above or below the City of Melbourne?
Merri-bek's share is under the share for the City of Melbourne, though not by much. Merri-bek is 13th among Victoria councils.
- Merri-bek
- 33.7%
- City of Melbourne
- 45.0%
- Australia
- 21.3%
Each bar uses the same count: residents who named another home language, over all residents.
Compare Merri-bek with every council on the diversity index.
Which suburbs of Merri-bek are most multilingual?
Fawkner is highest, at nearly three in five residents; Brunswick East is lowest.
Open any suburb for its own language breakdown.
- FawknerLed by Urdu58%8,038
- Glenroy (Vic.)Led by Arabic48%11,299
- HadfieldLed by Arabic41%2,559
- Pascoe ValeLed by Italian33%5,919
- Oak ParkLed by Nepali33%2,176
- Coburg NorthLed by Italian31%2,589
- CoburgLed by Italian31%7,984
- GowanbraeLed by Italian30%796
- Pascoe Vale SouthLed by Italian28%2,837
- Brunswick WestLed by Italian27%3,759
- Brunswick (Vic.)Led by Greek22%5,717
- Brunswick EastLed by Italian22%2,745
- 12 suburbs in Merri-bek. The percentage is residents speaking a language other than English at home; the figure beneath it is how many people that is.
What do religion and birthplace show in Merri-bek?
Italy is the most common overseas birthplace.
Country of birth
30.6% born overseas, across 140 countries.
- 01Italy6,564-16.5%
- 02India3,987-1.0%
- 03England3,685+18.0%
- 04Nepal3,615+56.2%
- 05Greece3,028-11.1%
- 06New Zealand3,011+4.9%
- 07Lebanon2,573-1.8%
- 08Pakistan2,484-17.2%
- 09China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)2,084-19.7%
- 10Turkey1,846+13.0%
Religious affiliation
Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.
- 01No religion or secular beliefs70,001+33.6%
- 02Christianity62,399-9.1%
- 03Islam16,764+6.1%
- 04Hinduism6,089+27.9%
- 05Buddhism3,437+3.5%
- 06Judaism234+88.7%
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.
33.7% is the share of all residents who reported a language other than English. The 7,672 who didn't answer aren't counted as speakers. If they were, the share would be 38.2%; among respondents alone it's 35.3%.
Ranked lists skip broad categories such as "Chinese, nfd", which stay in the totals. National figures are summed from suburbs and sit a touch under the ABS release.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
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