We are Mount Isa

8 per cent.

8 in every 100 Mount Isa residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,519 people, in 70 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
18,644
Speak another language
1,519
Languages at home
70
Growth since last census
+16.4%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,519 of us do not, across 70 languages, most often Tagalog, Filipino and Afrikaans. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#22

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #188 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Tagalog

187 speakers

Tagalog is spoken by 187 of our residents at home, 1.0% of Mount Isa.

Filipino

167 speakers

Filipino is spoken by 167 of our residents at home, 0.9% of Mount Isa.

Afrikaans

100 speakers

Afrikaans is spoken by 100 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Mount Isa.

The languages of Mount Isa

70 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 Isa, covering 1,054 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
    Tagalog
    187+28.1%
  2. 02
    Filipino
    167-1.8%
  3. 03
    Afrikaans
    100+12.4%
  4. 04
    Fijian
    86+28.4%
  5. 05
    Malayalam
    80+135%
  6. 06
    Shona
    53+8.2%
  7. 07
    Mandarin
    45+309%
  8. 08
    Punjabi
    40+81.8%
  9. 09
    Maori (New Zealand)
    390%
  10. 10
    Sinhalese
    39+144%

Why we publish this

8.1% of us

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. 1,519 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

14.1% of us were born overseas, across 65 countries.

  1. 01
    New Zealand
    788-13.8%
  2. 02
    Philippines
    496+14.5%
  3. 03
    England
    212-21.8%
  4. 04
    South Africa
    184+26.0%
  5. 05
    India
    142+2.2%
  6. 06
    Fiji
    93+5.7%
  7. 07
    Papua New Guinea
    93+32.9%
  8. 08
    Zimbabwe
    85+26.9%
  9. 09
    Sri Lanka
    42+23.5%
  10. 10
    Italy
    28+33.3%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    8,665-16.6%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    7,710+44.1%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    134-7.6%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    103+13.2%
  5. 05
    Islam
    79+38.6%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    0-100%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 19 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Mount Isa 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 Isa
8.1%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

8.1% of Mount Isa 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. 8.1% is 1,519 residents as a share of all 18,644 of us. A further 1,915 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 18.4%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 9.1%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Mount Isa, 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 Isa 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 Isa.