We are Mornington Peninsula

5 per cent.

5 in every 100 Mornington Peninsula residents speak a language other than English at home. 7,622 people, in 90 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
167,221
Speak another language
7,622
Languages at home
90
Growth since last census
+13.8%

Most of us speak English at home. 7,622 of us do not, across 90 languages, most often Italian, Greek and German. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Victoria

#45

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #272 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

1,458 speakers

Italian is spoken by 1,458 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Mornington Peninsula.

Greek

1,315 speakers

Greek is spoken by 1,315 of our residents at home, 0.8% of Mornington Peninsula.

German

488 speakers

German is spoken by 488 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Mornington Peninsula.

The languages of Mornington Peninsula

90 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 Mornington Peninsula, covering 6,095 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
    Italian
    1,458-2.5%
  2. 02
    Greek
    1,315+18.9%
  3. 03
    German
    488-13.2%
  4. 04
    Mandarin
    390+12.4%
  5. 05
    Spanish
    383+57.6%
  6. 06
    French
    292+5.4%
  7. 07
    Croatian
    244-2.4%
  8. 08
    Dutch
    200-17.4%
  9. 09
    Thai
    179+51.7%
  10. 10
    Polish
    177+52.6%

Fastest-growing among us

Spanish

+57.6% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the Victoria average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 7,622 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.

Spanish grew 57.6% since the last census, to 383 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

15.5% of us were born overseas, across 105 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    11,696+1.3%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    2,291+7.5%
  3. 03
    Scotland
    1,4520%
  4. 04
    Italy
    1,162+7.7%
  5. 05
    Germany
    900+7.1%
  6. 06
    South Africa
    756+28.4%
  7. 07
    Netherlands
    753-7.6%
  8. 08
    Greece
    645+22.6%
  9. 09
    Ireland
    616+12.6%
  10. 10
    United States of America
    566+20.9%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    82,759+36.2%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    71,147-8.4%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    1,030-11.0%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    274+30.5%
  5. 05
    Islam
    252+71.4%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    251+73.1%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 37 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Mornington Peninsula 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

Mornington Peninsula
4.6%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

4.6% of Mornington Peninsula residents speak a language other than English at home, against 26.6% for Victoria 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. 4.6% is 7,622 residents as a share of all 167,221 of us. A further 9,098 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 10.0%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 4.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Mornington Peninsula, 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 Mornington Peninsula 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 Mornington Peninsula.