We are Roxby Downs

8 per cent.

8 in every 100 Roxby Downs residents speak a language other than English at home. 294 people, in 35 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
3,911
Speak another language
294
Languages at home
35
Growth since last census
+19.0%

Most of us speak English at home. 294 of us do not, across 35 languages, most often Tagalog, Filipino and Sinhalese. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In South Australia

#25

of 70 South Australia councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #197 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Tagalog

63 speakers

Tagalog is spoken by 63 of our residents at home, 1.6% of Roxby Downs.

Filipino

45 speakers

Filipino is spoken by 45 of our residents at home, 1.2% of Roxby Downs.

Sinhalese

25 speakers

Sinhalese is spoken by 25 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Roxby Downs.

The languages of Roxby Downs

35 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 Roxby Downs, covering 261 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. 0163+152%
  2. 0245+181%
  3. 0325-13.8%
  4. 0420-25.9%
  5. 0515-28.6%
  6. 0613-35.0%
  7. 0710+233%
  8. 089+200%
  9. 098+167%
  10. 108

Why we publish this

7.5% 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. 294 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

10.9% of us were born overseas, across 34 countries.

  1. 01
    New Zealand
    109+2.8%
  2. 02
    Philippines
    109+91.2%
  3. 03
    England
    58-30.1%
  4. 04
    South Africa
    24+14.3%
  5. 05
    Sri Lanka
    23+27.8%
  6. 06
    Colombia
    17+325%
  7. 07
    India
    16-23.8%
  8. 08
    Brazil
    6
  9. 09
    Indonesia
    6-40.0%
  10. 10
    Canada
    6

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    2,101+38.7%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    1,187-35.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    37+8.8%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    33+26.9%
  5. 05
    Islam
    26+73.3%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 2 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Roxby Downs 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

Roxby Downs
7.5%
South Australia
16.9%
Australia
21.3%

7.5% of Roxby Downs 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. 7.5% is 294 residents as a share of all 3,911 of us. A further 459 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 19.3%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 8.5%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Roxby Downs, 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 Roxby Downs 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 Roxby Downs.