We are Shoalhaven

4 per cent.

4 in every 100 Shoalhaven residents speak a language other than English at home. 4,112 people, in 86 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
107,180
Speak another language
4,112
Languages at home
86
Growth since last census
+39.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 4,112 of us do not, across 86 languages, most often Greek, Italian and Spanish. 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

#64

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #306 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Greek

278 speakers

Greek is spoken by 278 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Shoalhaven.

Italian

263 speakers

Italian is spoken by 263 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Shoalhaven.

Spanish

244 speakers

Spanish is spoken by 244 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Shoalhaven.

The languages of Shoalhaven

86 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 Shoalhaven, covering 2,739 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
    Greek
    278+26.4%
  2. 02
    Italian
    263-19.1%
  3. 03
    Spanish
    244+42.7%
  4. 04
    German
    235+16.9%
  5. 05
    Tagalog
    194+50.4%
  6. 06
    Cantonese
    159+48.6%
  7. 07
    Mandarin
    150-0.7%
  8. 08
    Nepali
    149+263%
  9. 09
    French
    136+147%
  10. 10
    Croatian
    129-16.8%

Fastest-growing among us

Spanish

+42.7% 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. 4,112 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.

Spanish grew 42.7% since the last census, to 244 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

11.2% of us were born overseas, across 96 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    4,812+3.9%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    1,327+11.6%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    526+68.6%
  4. 04
    India
    509+123%
  5. 05
    Scotland
    485+2.3%
  6. 06
    Germany
    433-7.3%
  7. 07
    Netherlands
    298-16.3%
  8. 08
    United States of America
    268+23.5%
  9. 09
    South Africa
    266+47.8%
  10. 10
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    230-3.0%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    52,002-10.7%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    45,086+53.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    824-9.4%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    529+163%
  5. 05
    Islam
    276+91.7%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    85+80.9%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 77 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Shoalhaven 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

Shoalhaven
3.8%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

3.8% of Shoalhaven 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. 3.8% is 4,112 residents as a share of all 107,180 of us. A further 7,234 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 10.6%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 4.1%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Shoalhaven, 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 Shoalhaven 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 Shoalhaven.