We are Stonnington

20 per cent.

Nearly 20 in every 100 Stonnington residents speak a language other than English at home. It is one of the shares that shapes Victoria.

Our population
98,510
Speak another language
20,163
Languages at home
106
Growth since last census
−5.3%

One in 5 of us speaks a language other than English at home: 20k people, most often Mandarin, Greek and Cantonese. That is not a fringe of the community. It is a standing share of every audience anyone here is trying to reach.

In Victoria

#21

of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #98 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Mandarin

4,604 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 4,604 of our residents at home, 4.7% of Stonnington.

Greek

3,164 speakers

Greek is spoken by 3,164 of our residents at home, 3.2% of Stonnington.

Cantonese

1,386 speakers

Cantonese is spoken by 1,386 of our residents at home, 1.4% of Stonnington.

The languages of Stonnington

106 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 Stonnington, covering 16,514 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
    Mandarin
    4,604-4.8%
  2. 02
    Greek
    3,164-2.5%
  3. 03
    Cantonese
    1,386-1.4%
  4. 04
    Spanish
    1,226+30.7%
  5. 05
    Italian
    866-27.5%
  6. 06
    Russian
    694-21.8%
  7. 07
    French
    666-17.4%
  8. 08
    Hindi
    631-6.4%
  9. 09
    Vietnamese
    619+2.0%
  10. 10
    Japanese
    381-18.4%

Fastest-growing among us

Hebrew

+33.3% since last census

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. 20k 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.

Hebrew grew 33.3% since the last census, to 232 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

28.6% of us were born overseas, across 122 countries.

  1. 01
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    3,874-11.5%
  2. 02
    England
    3,721+3.0%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    2,228-13.0%
  4. 04
    India
    2,1240%
  5. 05
    Greece
    1,371-6.1%
  6. 06
    Malaysia
    1,241+6.2%
  7. 07
    United States of America
    910+15.2%
  8. 08
    South Africa
    785+2.2%
  9. 09
    Ireland
    702+16.6%
  10. 10
    Italy
    621-1.4%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    45,726+20.4%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    37,225-8.4%
  3. 03
    Judaism
    4,452+8.7%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    2,171-11.6%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    2,052+7.6%
  6. 06
    Islam
    1,137+7.4%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 8 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Stonnington 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

Stonnington
20.5%
Victoria
26.6%
Australia
21.3%

20.5% of Stonnington 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. 20.5% is 20,163 residents as a share of all 98,510 of us. A further 5,235 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 25.8%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 21.6%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Stonnington, 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 Stonnington 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 Stonnington.