We are Southern Downs

4 per cent.

4 in every 100 Southern Downs residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,275 people, in 56 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
36,104
Speak another language
1,275
Languages at home
56
Growth since last census
+3.6%

Most of us speak English at home. 1,275 of us do not, across 56 languages, most often Italian, Mandarin and Filipino. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#46

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #320 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Italian

221 speakers

Italian is spoken by 221 of our residents at home, 0.6% of Southern Downs.

Mandarin

128 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 128 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Southern Downs.

Filipino

88 speakers

Filipino is spoken by 88 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Southern Downs.

The languages of Southern Downs

56 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 Southern Downs, covering 1,002 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
    221-33.8%
  2. 02
    Mandarin
    128+16.4%
  3. 03
    Filipino
    88+193%
  4. 04
    German
    74-20.4%
  5. 05
    Korean
    69-9.2%
  6. 06
    Spanish
    53+55.9%
  7. 07
    Tagalog
    48-9.4%
  8. 08
    Portuguese
    46+35.3%
  9. 09
    Tok Pisin (Neomelanesian)
    42
  10. 10
    Punjabi
    41+173%

Why we publish this

3.5% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Queensland average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 1,275 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

8.7% of us were born overseas, across 68 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    932+1.1%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    618+3.3%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    263+52.9%
  4. 04
    Italy
    199-19.4%
  5. 05
    Germany
    116+8.4%
  6. 06
    Netherlands
    88-25.4%
  7. 07
    South Africa
    86-9.5%
  8. 08
    India
    70+45.8%
  9. 09
    Korea, Republic of (South)
    69-1.4%
  10. 10
    United States of America
    56+14.3%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    20,699-12.3%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    11,587+45.8%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    175+37.8%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    97+26.0%
  5. 05
    Islam
    34-8.1%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    4+33.3%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 40 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Southern 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

Southern Downs
3.5%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

3.5% of Southern Downs residents speak a language other than English at home, against 12.2% for Queensland 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. 3.5% is 1,275 residents as a share of all 36,104 of us. A further 2,771 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 11.2%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern Downs.