We are Townsville

7 per cent.

7 in every 100 Townsville residents speak a language other than English at home. 13k people, in 138 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
190,351
Speak another language
12,547
Languages at home
138
Growth since last census
+14.8%

Most of us speak English at home. 13k of us do not, across 138 languages, most often Tagalog, Malayalam and Italian. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Queensland

#26

of 76 Queensland councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #211 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Tagalog

905 speakers

Tagalog is spoken by 905 of our residents at home, 0.5% of Townsville.

Malayalam

791 speakers

Malayalam is spoken by 791 of our residents at home, 0.4% of Townsville.

Italian

546 speakers

Italian is spoken by 546 of our residents at home, 0.3% of Townsville.

The languages of Townsville

138 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 Townsville, covering 7,661 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
    Tagalog
    905+37.5%
  2. 02
    Malayalam
    791+41.8%
  3. 03
    Italian
    546-20.3%
  4. 04
    Mandarin
    482-5.7%
  5. 05
    Swahili
    467+97.0%
  6. 06
    Filipino
    427-1.4%
  7. 07
    Spanish
    418+12.4%
  8. 08
    Punjabi
    400+59.4%
  9. 09
    Vietnamese
    397+26.8%
  10. 10
    Korean
    392+47.4%

Fastest-growing among us

Swahili

+97.0% since last census

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. 13k 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.

Swahili grew 97.0% since the last census, to 467 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

11.9% of us were born overseas, across 139 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    4,752-3.4%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    4,027-5.7%
  3. 03
    Philippines
    1,978+31.1%
  4. 04
    India
    1,748+32.9%
  5. 05
    South Africa
    1,008+9.0%
  6. 06
    Papua New Guinea
    795-4.1%
  7. 07
    Germany
    552-6.8%
  8. 08
    Scotland
    530+5.8%
  9. 09
    United States of America
    456+5.1%
  10. 10
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    3850%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    91,584-16.2%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    77,947+44.4%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    1,513+2.2%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    1,317+39.2%
  5. 05
    Islam
    960+1.7%
  6. 06
    Judaism
    49+6.5%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 73 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Townsville 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

Townsville
6.6%
Queensland
12.2%
Australia
21.3%

6.6% of Townsville 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. 6.6% is 12,547 residents as a share of all 190,351 of us. A further 15,790 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 14.9%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 7.2%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Townsville, 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 Townsville 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 Townsville.