We are Snowy Valleys

4 per cent.

4 in every 100 Snowy Valleys residents speak a language other than English at home. 524 people, in 49 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
14,591
Speak another language
524
Languages at home
49
Growth since last census
+33.3%

Most of us speak English at home. 524 of us do not, across 49 languages, most often Afrikaans, Mandarin and Thai. 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

#66

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #318 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Afrikaans

80 speakers

Afrikaans is spoken by 80 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Snowy Valleys.

Mandarin

43 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 43 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Snowy Valleys.

Thai

42 speakers

Thai is spoken by 42 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Snowy Valleys.

The languages of Snowy Valleys

49 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 Snowy Valleys, covering 398 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
    Afrikaans
    80+6.7%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    43-21.8%
  3. 03
    Thai
    42+121%
  4. 04
    Wiradjuri
    32+256%
  5. 05
    Cantonese
    20+186%
  6. 06
    Filipino
    20-28.6%
  7. 07
    Portuguese
    17+183%
  8. 08
    German
    16-33.3%
  9. 09
    Punjabi
    16+23.1%
  10. 10
    Tagalog
    16

Why we publish this

3.6% of us

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. 524 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

7.2% of us were born overseas, across 46 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    251+11.1%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    177-10.2%
  3. 03
    South Africa
    132+50.0%
  4. 04
    Philippines
    75+97.4%
  5. 05
    India
    60+100%
  6. 06
    Germany
    400%
  7. 07
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    33+43.5%
  8. 08
    Thailand
    33+65.0%
  9. 09
    Scotland
    31-29.5%
  10. 10
    Netherlands
    24-14.3%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    8,629-10.5%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    4,345+61.8%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    85+37.1%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    62+121%
  5. 05
    Islam
    27+145%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    8

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 20 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Snowy Valleys 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

Snowy Valleys
3.6%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

3.6% of Snowy Valleys 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. 3.6% is 524 residents as a share of all 14,591 of us. A further 1,253 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 12.2%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.9%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Snowy Valleys, 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 Snowy Valleys 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 Snowy Valleys.