We are Port Pirie

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 Port Pirie residents speak a language other than English at home. 583 people, in 43 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
17,017
Speak another language
583
Languages at home
43
Growth since last census
−12.7%

Most of us speak English at home. 583 of us do not, across 43 languages, most often Italian, Romanian and Greek. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#39

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #327 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

107 speakers

Italian is spoken by 107 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Port Pirie.

Romanian

79 speakers

Romanian is spoken by 79 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Port Pirie.

Greek

61 speakers

Greek is spoken by 61 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Port Pirie.

The languages of Port Pirie

43 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 Port Pirie, covering 516 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
    Italian
    107-34.0%
  2. 02
    Romanian
    79+58.0%
  3. 03
    Greek
    61-36.5%
  4. 04
    Mandarin
    32+88.2%
  5. 05
    Urdu
    30-18.9%
  6. 06
    Tagalog
    26+23.8%
  7. 07
    Afrikaans
    25-34.2%
  8. 08
    Vietnamese
    22+22.2%
  9. 09
    Arabic
    22
  10. 10
    Filipino
    19-44.1%

Why we publish this

3.4% of us

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. 583 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

5.8% of us were born overseas, across 37 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    366-10.3%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    82+26.2%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    82-15.5%
  4. 04
    Italy
    74-20.4%
  5. 05
    Netherlands
    43+4.9%
  6. 06
    South Africa
    38-42.4%
  7. 07
    Scotland
    36+2.9%
  8. 08
    Pakistan
    36+28.6%
  9. 09
    Germany
    31-26.2%
  10. 10
    Romania
    31+6.9%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    8,225+42.5%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    7,417-24.8%
  3. 03
    Islam
    77+63.8%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    46-14.8%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    28-3.4%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 13 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Port Pirie 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

Port Pirie
3.4%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

3.4% of Port Pirie 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. 3.4% is 583 residents as a share of all 17,017 of us. A further 978 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 9.2%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Port Pirie, 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 Port Pirie 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 Port Pirie.