We are Moreton Bay

8 per cent.

8 in every 100 Moreton Bay residents speak a language other than English at home. 36k people, in 150 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
471,670
Speak another language
35,680
Languages at home
150
Growth since last census
+45.6%

Most of us speak English at home. 36k of us do not, across 150 languages, most often Punjabi, Mandarin and Samoan. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#24

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #194 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Punjabi

2,687 speakers

Punjabi is spoken by 2,687 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Moreton Bay.

Mandarin

2,363 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 2,363 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Moreton Bay.

Samoan

2,206 speakers

Samoan is spoken by 2,206 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Moreton Bay.

The languages of Moreton Bay

150 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 Moreton Bay, covering 24,164 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
    Punjabi
    2,687+291%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    2,363+32.2%
  3. 03
    Samoan
    2,206+11.6%
  4. 04
    Afrikaans
    2,034+28.8%
  5. 05
    Hindi
    1,988+43.8%
  6. 06
    Tagalog
    1,907+30.8%
  7. 07
    Spanish
    1,645+44.2%
  8. 08
    Filipino
    1,329+59.0%
  9. 09
    German
    996-2.7%
  10. 10
    Italian
    969-6.6%

Fastest-growing among us

Punjabi

+290.6% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the Queensland average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 36k 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.

Punjabi grew 290.6% since the last census, to 2,687 speakers. A community growing at that rate is one whose translation needs are ahead of the last set of figures anyone commissioned.

Who we are, beyond language

Where we were born

19.0% of us were born overseas, across 159 countries.

  1. 01
    New Zealand
    23,139+8.3%
  2. 02
    England
    22,497+7.5%
  3. 03
    South Africa
    5,612+22.7%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    5,044+45.3%
  5. 05
    India
    4,964+138%
  6. 06
    Scotland
    2,139-4.2%
  7. 07
    Germany
    1,671+14.9%
  8. 08
    Fiji
    1,516+25.3%
  9. 09
    Papua New Guinea
    1,261-1.4%
  10. 10
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    1,236+33.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    218,893-10.0%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    210,425+57.7%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    5,002+84.4%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    3,708+3.1%
  5. 05
    Islam
    1,725+87.5%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    132-25.8%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 85 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Moreton Bay 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

Moreton Bay
7.6%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

7.6% of Moreton Bay residents speak a language other than English at home, against 12.2% for Queensland 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. 7.6% is 35,680 residents as a share of all 471,670 of us. A further 22,904 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 12.4%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 8.0%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Moreton Bay, 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 Moreton Bay 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 Moreton Bay.