Mandarin
3,511 speakers
That's one in 70 residents.
Northern Beaches, New South Wales
The languages of Northern Beaches
Northern Beaches has no single dominant second language: about 38,000 people spoke a language other than English at home at the 2021 Census, Mandarin most often. Portuguese is barely behind. In the City of Sydney, the share speaking another language is more than double.
- Residents
- 260,531
- Speak another language
- 38,163
- Languages at home
- 112
- Change since 2016
- +8.9%
What languages are spoken in Northern Beaches?
Portuguese
3,475 speakers
Its speaker count has grown by more than a quarter since 2016.
Italian
3,124 speakers
About 1.2 per cent of all residents.
How does Northern Beaches compare with Australia as a whole?
Australia as a whole sits a little above Northern Beaches. Northern Beaches is 30th among New South Wales councils.
- Northern Beaches
- 14.6%
- Australia
- 21.3%
- City of Sydney
- 33.9%
Share of residents speaking a language other than English at home, by the same method for every area.
Compare Northern Beaches with every council on the diversity index.
How does Northern Beaches' language list break down?
The chip beside each count is the change since 2016. Totals include broad ABS categories like "Chinese, nfd" that the list leaves out.
How big is each language community in Northern Beaches?
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
What's the fastest-growing language in Northern Beaches?
Fastest-growing language
Nepali
+65.9% since 2016
With about 950 speakers now, Nepali has grown by more than half since 2016.
How do Northern Beaches' suburbs compare?
No suburb stands far apart; Dee Why is highest and Palm Beach lowest.
Open any suburb for its own language breakdown.
- Dee WhyLed by Portuguese33%7,688
- BrookvaleLed by Italian30%1,020
- Killarney HeightsLed by French25%1,164
- NarraweenaLed by Italian24%1,634
- Forestville (NSW)Led by Armenian23%1,960
- Manly ValeLed by Mandarin20%1,268
- Beacon HillLed by Italian20%1,472
- Frenchs ForestLed by Mandarin16%2,328
- InglesideLed by Italian16%178
- BelroseLed by Armenian15%1,311
- Manly (NSW)Led by Spanish15%2,388
- North ManlyLed by Italian14%445
- Seaforth (NSW)Led by Mandarin14%1,020
- Queenscliff (NSW)Led by Spanish14%466
- BalgowlahLed by French13%1,055
- Clontarf (NSW)Led by Mandarin13%217
- WarriewoodLed by Portuguese12%1,054
- Allambie HeightsLed by Italian12%888
- Freshwater (NSW)Led by Spanish12%1,096
- DavidsonLed by Armenian12%296
- Collaroy PlateauLed by Italian11%557
- Cromer (NSW)Led by Italian11%922
- Collaroy (NSW)Led by Portuguese11%835
- Balgowlah HeightsLed by Mandarin11%377
- Duffys ForestLed by Italian10%52
- North BalgowlahLed by French9%359
- Scotland IslandLed by German9%65
- FairlightLed by French9%558
- Mona ValeLed by Serbian9%990
- Wheeler HeightsLed by German9%294
- Terrey HillsLed by German9%284
- NarrabeenLed by Portuguese9%719
- North Curl CurlLed by Portuguese9%382
- North NarrabeenLed by Portuguese8%510
- Curl CurlLed by Portuguese8%203
- Elanora HeightsLed by German7%324
- Great Mackerel BeachLed by German7%24
- Church PointLed by Mandarin7%82
- Bayview (NSW)Led by German6%221
- Newport (NSW)Led by German6%573
- Bilgola BeachLed by Danish6%19
- Bilgola PlateauLed by German5%197
- Avalon BeachLed by German5%562
- ClarevilleLed by Afrikaans5%26
- Palm Beach (NSW)Led by Spanish4%64
- Cottage PointLed by Persian (excluding Dari)3%3
- Oxford FallsLed by Greek3%6
- Whale BeachLed by Italian2%7
- Ku-ring-gai Chase0%0
- 49 suburbs in Northern Beaches. The percentage is residents speaking a language other than English at home; the figure beneath it is how many people that is.
Where were Northern Beaches' residents born?
England is the most common overseas birthplace.
Country of birth
27.7% born overseas, across 135 countries.
- 01England20,979+3.9%
- 02New Zealand5,712-4.9%
- 03South Africa3,980+15.7%
- 04China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)3,647+3.2%
- 05United States of America2,914+20.7%
- 06Brazil2,901+38.8%
- 07Italy2,275+5.7%
- 08Germany2,045+8.2%
- 09India1,784+9.9%
- 10Philippines1,692+5.9%
Religious affiliation
Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.
- 01Christianity125,747-8.0%
- 02No religion or secular beliefs115,062+33.0%
- 03Buddhism3,501-4.3%
- 04Hinduism2,083+39.4%
- 05Islam1,226+20.6%
- 06Judaism761+12.7%
How does Northern Beaches look on the map?
Shade reflects the share speaking a multicultural languageany language other than English at home; council boundaries are from the ABS ASGS 2021. Explore the full Language Map.
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.
14.6% is the share of all residents who reported a language other than English. The 9,058 who didn't answer aren't counted as speakers. If they were, the share would be 18.1%; among respondents alone it's 15.2%.
Language lists name languages only; residual ABS groups are in the totals. Summed-suburb national totals run a little low.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
Reaching these communities in their own languages? Talk to us about translation for Northern Beaches.