We are South Gippsland

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 South Gippsland residents speak a language other than English at home. 891 people, in 53 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
29,288
Speak another language
891
Languages at home
53
Growth since last census
+18.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 891 of us do not, across 53 languages, most often Italian, German and Malayalam. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Victoria

#60

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #358 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

191 speakers

Italian is spoken by 191 of our residents at home, 0.7% of South Gippsland.

German

92 speakers

German is spoken by 92 of our residents at home, 0.3% of South Gippsland.

Malayalam

57 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 57 of our residents at home, 0.2% of South Gippsland.

The languages of South Gippsland

53 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 South Gippsland, covering 712 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. 01191-14.7%
  2. 0292+17.9%
  3. 0357-13.6%
  4. 0455-12.7%
  5. 0544+22.2%
  6. 0632-15.8%
  7. 0732+28.0%
  8. 0828+86.7%
  9. 0928+155%
  10. 1026+62.5%

Why we publish this

3.0% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Victoria average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 891 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

9.4% of us were born overseas, across 54 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    1,080+9.0%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    353-0.8%
  3. 03
    Netherlands
    240+6.2%
  4. 04
    Germany
    142+23.5%
  5. 05
    Italy
    138-11.5%
  6. 06
    Scotland
    120-3.2%
  7. 07
    India
    103+28.7%
  8. 08
    Philippines
    80+48.1%
  9. 09
    South Africa
    48-11.1%
  10. 10
    Ireland
    40-24.5%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    15,125+41.5%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    11,488-16.6%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    138+7.0%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    55+77.4%
  5. 05
    Judaism
    13+333%
  6. 06
    Islam
    4-82.6%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 31 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

South Gippsland 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

South Gippsland
3.0%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

3.0% of South Gippsland residents speak a language other than English at home, against 26.6% for Victoria 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. 3.0% is 891 residents as a share of all 29,288 of us. A further 1,949 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 9.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.3%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for South Gippsland, 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 South Gippsland 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 South Gippsland.