We are Onkaparinga

6 per cent.

6 in every 100 Onkaparinga residents speak a language other than English at home. 11k people, in 125 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
175,470
Speak another language
10,900
Languages at home
125
Growth since last census
+13.5%

Most of us speak English at home. 11k of us do not, across 125 languages, most often Mandarin, Polish and Arabic. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#28

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #215 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Mandarin

831 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 831 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Onkaparinga.

Polish

605 speakers

Polish is spoken by 605 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Onkaparinga.

Arabic

595 speakers

Arabic is spoken by 595 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Onkaparinga.

The languages of Onkaparinga

125 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 Onkaparinga, covering 7,574 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
    Mandarin
    831+11.1%
  2. 02
    Polish
    605-9.6%
  3. 03
    Arabic
    595+24.0%
  4. 04
    German
    575-19.1%
  5. 05
    Greek
    561-6.7%
  6. 06
    Italian
    554+1.8%
  7. 07
    Punjabi
    462+143%
  8. 08
    Spanish
    416+13.7%
  9. 09
    Afrikaans
    396+39.4%
  10. 10
    Urdu
    396+32.4%

Fastest-growing among us

Punjabi

+143.2% 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. 11k 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 143.2% since the last census, to 462 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

19.2% of us were born overseas, across 128 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    16,992-1.7%
  2. 02
    Scotland
    1,819-2.8%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    1,697+5.3%
  4. 04
    India
    1,157+40.8%
  5. 05
    Philippines
    1,155+35.6%
  6. 06
    Germany
    1,075-6.3%
  7. 07
    South Africa
    1,065+18.1%
  8. 08
    Netherlands
    793-4.8%
  9. 09
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    686-0.6%
  10. 10
    Poland
    520+2.4%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    100,074+35.6%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    61,736-18.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    1,236-4.2%
  4. 04
    Islam
    1,029+34.3%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    919+54.7%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    48+17.1%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 47 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Onkaparinga 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

Onkaparinga
6.2%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

6.2% of Onkaparinga 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. 6.2% is 10,900 residents as a share of all 175,470 of us. A further 6,907 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 10.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 6.5%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Onkaparinga, 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 Onkaparinga 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 Onkaparinga.