Mandarin
18,153 speakers
That's one in 11 residents.
Sydney, New South Wales
What Sydney speaks at home
In Sydney, about 69,000 people speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2021 Census, with Mandarin the largest group. The share speaking another language at home is 1.3 times the share for New South Wales. The number speaking another language at home is lower than in 2016.
- Residents
- 202,494
- Speak another language
- 68,746
- Languages at home
- 127
- Change since 2016
- −3.7%
Which three languages are most common in Sydney?
Where does Sydney land against Australia as a whole?
Sydney runs ahead of Australia as a whole on this measure. Sydney is 17th among New South Wales councils.
- Sydney
- 33.9%
- Australia
- 21.3%
- New South Wales
- 25.7%
Each bar uses the same count: residents who named another home language, over all residents.
How does Sydney's language list break down?
Ten rows at a time, largest first. Anything the ABS couldn't pin to a single language is counted in the totals, not here.
- 0118,153-11.5%
- 026,071+0.5%
- 035,758-11.5%
- 045,005+43.4%
- 054,414-3.6%
- 062,342+9.0%
- 072,120+27.3%
- 082,105-33.4%
- 091,926-21.0%
- 101,910-8.2%
How do Sydney's languages compare in size?
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
- Grew 50%+
- 25%+
- 10%+
- Held
- Slipped
- Declined 10%+
- Not comparable
What's the fastest-growing language in Sydney?
Fastest-growing language
Spanish
+43.4% since 2016
With about 5,000 speakers now, Spanish has grown by more than a quarter since 2016.
Which suburbs of Sydney are most multilingual?
Haymarket is highest, at just over seven in ten residents; Elizabeth Bay is lowest.
Every suburb here has a page of its own.
- HaymarketLed by Mandarin71%5,810
- SydneyLed by Mandarin60%9,738
- UltimoLed by Mandarin57%4,075
- ChippendaleLed by Mandarin51%3,898
- ZetlandLed by Mandarin49%6,029
- Moore ParkLed by Sinhalese43%10
- Rosebery (NSW)Led by Mandarin43%5,749
- PyrmontLed by Mandarin38%4,726
- Waterloo (NSW)Led by Mandarin38%6,021
- BarangarooLed by Mandarin34%91
- EveleighLed by Vietnamese33%200
- Darlington (Sydney - NSW)Led by Mandarin28%718
- Beaconsfield (NSW)Led by Cantonese28%376
- Forest LodgeLed by Mandarin26%1,297
- The Rocks (Sydney - NSW)Led by Mandarin25%155
- RedfernLed by Mandarin24%3,080
- Millers PointLed by Mandarin24%374
- Surry HillsLed by Mandarin24%3,633
- Glebe (NSW)Led by Mandarin23%2,570
- WoolloomoolooLed by Spanish20%740
- Dawes PointLed by Mandarin20%93
- DarlinghurstLed by Spanish19%1,921
- Camperdown (NSW)Led by Mandarin19%1,622
- AlexandriaLed by Mandarin19%1,703
- ErskinevilleLed by Mandarin18%1,700
- Centennial Park (NSW)Led by Spanish18%388
- Rushcutters BayLed by Spanish17%381
- Potts PointLed by Spanish15%1,066
- Elizabeth BayLed by Spanish12%582
- 29 suburbs in Sydney. The percentage is residents speaking a language other than English at home; the figure beneath it is how many people that is.
Where were Sydney's residents born?
Birthplace follows language: about 95,000 people were born outside Australia.
Country of birth
46.8% born overseas, across 144 countries.
- 01China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)16,559-18.1%
- 02England9,763+8.4%
- 03Thailand6,241-5.9%
- 04Indonesia5,773+9.9%
- 05New Zealand5,517+6.7%
- 06India3,755+38.0%
- 07United States of America2,739+8.0%
- 08Malaysia2,676+14.2%
- 09Philippines2,395+31.3%
- 10Hong Kong (SAR of China)2,390+5.2%
Religious affiliation
Reported affiliation, with the change since 2016.
- 01No religion or secular beliefs106,833+20.2%
- 02Christianity57,997-3.0%
- 03Buddhism13,725-5.7%
- 04Hinduism3,653+32.7%
- 05Islam3,631+21.5%
- 06Judaism2,119+8.4%
Where does Sydney sit on the map of Australia's languages?
Shade reflects the share speaking a multicultural languageany language other than English at home; council boundaries are from the ABS ASGS 2021. Explore the full Language Map.
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.
Other sources sometimes quote 41.3% for Sydney. That figure treats the 14,872 unanswered forms as another language. This page uses 33.9%, and 36.6% is the share among those who answered.
National totals here run slightly under ABS published figures, because summing suburbs misses people without a usual address. Broad ABS categories count in the totals but not in the ranked lists.
Reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0 with credit to LEXIGO Language Map.
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