We are Mount Gambier

6 per cent.

6 in every 100 Mount Gambier residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,562 people, in 55 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
27,299
Speak another language
1,562
Languages at home
55
Growth since last census
+19.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,562 of us do not, across 55 languages, most often Karen, Italian and Swahili. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#29

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #230 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Karen

394 speakers

Karen is spoken by 394 of our residents at home, 1.4% of Mount Gambier.

Italian

170 speakers

Italian is spoken by 170 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Mount Gambier.

Swahili

90 speakers

Swahili is spoken by 90 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Mount Gambier.

The languages of Mount Gambier

55 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 Mount Gambier, covering 1,241 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
    Karen
    394+26.3%
  2. 02
    Italian
    170-17.5%
  3. 03
    Swahili
    90-33.3%
  4. 04
    Mandarin
    76+55.1%
  5. 05
    Punjabi
    61+144%
  6. 06
    Afrikaans
    57+83.9%
  7. 07
    Urdu
    49+188%
  8. 08
    Filipino
    37+37.0%
  9. 09
    Kurdish
    36+300%
  10. 10
    French
    34+41.7%

Fastest-growing among us

Karen

+26.3% since last census

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. 1,562 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.

Karen grew 26.3% since the last census, to 394 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

9.9% of us were born overseas, across 68 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    656-9.1%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    222-6.3%
  3. 03
    Myanmar
    211+13.4%
  4. 04
    Thailand
    173+49.1%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    153+73.9%
  6. 06
    India
    146+103%
  7. 07
    Netherlands
    146-14.1%
  8. 08
    Italy
    118-18.1%
  9. 09
    South Africa
    116+45.0%
  10. 10
    Scotland
    104+42.5%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    14,454+34.4%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    10,561-22.3%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    143-4.0%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    119+133%
  5. 05
    Islam
    113+105%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 3 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Mount Gambier 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

Mount Gambier
5.7%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

5.7% of Mount Gambier 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. 5.7% is 1,562 residents as a share of all 27,299 of us. A further 1,540 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 11.4%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 6.1%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Mount Gambier, 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 Mount Gambier 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 Mount Gambier.