We are Orange

6 per cent.

6 in every 100 Orange residents speak a language other than English at home. 2,735 people, in 85 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
44,292
Speak another language
2,735
Languages at home
85
Growth since last census
+40.0%

Most of us speak English at home. 2,735 of us do not, across 85 languages, most often Malayalam, Nepali and Mandarin. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In New South Wales

#46

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #219 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Malayalam

285 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 285 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Orange.

Nepali

218 speakers

Nepali is spoken by 218 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Orange.

Mandarin

158 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 158 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Orange.

The languages of Orange

85 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 Orange, covering 1,903 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. 01285+17.3%
  2. 02218+94.6%
  3. 03158+29.5%
  4. 04135+187%
  5. 05107+84.5%
  6. 06104+333%
  7. 0793+55.0%
  8. 0890-30.2%
  9. 0984+95.3%
  10. 1084+50.0%

Fastest-growing among us

Malayalam

+17.3% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the New South Wales average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 2,735 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.

Malayalam grew 17.3% since the last census, to 285 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

8.7% of us were born overseas, across 79 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    730+14.1%
  2. 02
    India
    491+33.4%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    412+2.2%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    276+78.1%
  5. 05
    Nepal
    218+106%
  6. 06
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    180+46.3%
  7. 07
    South Africa
    148+16.5%
  8. 08
    Zimbabwe
    107+13.8%
  9. 09
    Germany
    84+35.5%
  10. 10
    Thailand
    83+277%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    25,615-8.6%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    14,688+60.5%
  3. 03
    Hinduism
    475+74.0%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    329+49.5%
  5. 05
    Islam
    242+90.6%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    10

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 8 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Orange 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

Orange
6.2%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

6.2% of Orange residents speak a language other than English at home, against 25.7% for New South Wales 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 2,735 residents as a share of all 44,292 of us. A further 2,472 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 11.8%, 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 Orange, 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 Orange 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 Orange.