Mandarin
103 speakers
Mandarin is spoken by 103 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Wellington.
We are Wellington
3 per cent.
3 in every 100 Wellington residents speak a language other than English at home. 1,327 people, in 65 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.
- Our population
- 44,911
- Speak another language
- 1,327
- Languages at home
- 65
- Growth since last census
- +3.5%
Most of us speak English at home. 1,327 of us do not, across 65 languages, most often Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.
In Victoria
#61
of 79 Victoria councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #364 of 540 nationally.
What makes our community ours
Tagalog
102 speakers
Tagalog is spoken by 102 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Wellington.
Vietnamese
74 speakers
Vietnamese is spoken by 74 of our residents at home, 0.2% of Wellington.
The languages of Wellington
65 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
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.
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. 1,327 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
9.3% of us were born overseas, across 73 countries.
- 01England1,374+6.3%
- 02New Zealand571+23.3%
- 03Philippines266+43.0%
- 04Netherlands247-17.1%
- 05India206+36.4%
- 06Germany155+1.3%
- 07Vietnam133+26.7%
- 08South Africa104+26.8%
- 09Scotland103-8.8%
- 10Malaysia101+31.2%
What we believe
Reported affiliation in Wellington at the 2021 Census, with the change since 2016.
- 01No religion or secular beliefs20,811+46.4%
- 02Christianity19,001-15.9%
- 03Buddhism310+4.4%
- 04Hinduism181+47.2%
- 05Islam114+32.6%
- 06Judaism6-50.0%
Our suburbs
Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 39 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.
- NambrokTop language — Tagalog7%20
- DenisonTop language — Filipino6%27
- GlenmaggieTop language — Russian6%16
- SaleTop language — Mandarin5%717
- TinambaTop language — Filipino4%22
- Willung SouthTop language — Greek4%14
- NewryTop language — Thai4%18
- Loch SportTop language — Tagalog4%40
- SeasprayTop language — Tagalog4%14
- HedleyTop language — Greek3%11
- BlackwarryTop language — Polish3%9
- Golden Beach (Vic.)Top language — Spanish3%34
- Won WronTop language — Dutch3%6
- CobainsTop language — Tagalog3%18
- WurrukTop language — Afrikaans3%35
- Valencia CreekTop language — Mandarin2%11
- Maffra (Vic.)Top language — Filipino2%114
- Longford (Vic.)Top language — Dutch2%28
- CoongullaTop language — Hungarian2%7
- Port AlbertTop language — Korean2%13
- YarramTop language — Italian2%40
- East SaleTop language — Korean2%4
- Rosedale (Vic.)Top language — Khmer2%29
- DargoTop language — German2%3
- Alberton (Vic.)Top language — Greek1%4
- Devon NorthTop language — Afrikaans1%7
- BinginwarriTop language — Hungarian1%3
- Woodside (Vic.)Top language — German1%7
- Stratford (Vic.)Top language — Filipino1%33
- GormandaleTop language — Mandarin1%4
- HeyfieldTop language — Auslan1%12
- BriagolongTop language — French1%7
- Fulham (Vic.)0%0
- Cowwarr0%0
- Bundalaguah0%0
- Seaton (Vic.)0%0
- Moornapa0%0
- Meerlieu0%0
- Licola0%0
- 39 suburbs in Wellington. Percentage is residents speaking a language other than English at home; the figure beneath it is how many people that is.
Where we are
Wellington 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
- Wellington
- 3.0%
- Victoria
- 26.6%
- Australia
- 21.3%
3.0% of Wellington 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 1,327 residents as a share of all 44,911 of us. A further 4,007 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 11.9%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.2%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Wellington, 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 Wellington 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 Wellington.