We are West Coast

3 per cent.

3 in every 100 West Coast residents speak a language other than English at home. 146 people, in 21 languages — small enough to be overlooked, large enough to be a community.

Our population
4,204
Speak another language
146
Languages at home
21
Growth since last census
+284.2%

Most of us speak English at home. 146 of us do not, across 21 languages, most often German, Nepali and Sinhalese. Small communities are the ones a mainstream service misses first and notices last — which is the whole reason to count them.

In Tasmania

#13

of 29 Tasmania councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #322 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

German

24 speakers

German is spoken by 24 of our residents at home, 0.6% of West Coast.

Nepali

22 speakers

Nepali is spoken by 22 of our residents at home, 0.5% of West Coast.

Sinhalese

15 speakers

Sinhalese is spoken by 15 of our residents at home, 0.4% of West Coast.

The languages of West Coast

21 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 17 most spoken languages in West Coast, covering 138 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. 0124
  2. 0222
  3. 0315
  4. 0413+30.0%
  5. 0511
  6. 069
  7. 077
  8. 085
  9. 094
  10. 104

Why we publish this

3.5% of us

We share this portrait because a council below the Tasmania average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 146 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 26 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    125+6.8%
  2. 02
    New Zealand
    60+1.7%
  3. 03
    South Africa
    28+367%
  4. 04
    Nepal
    22
  5. 05
    Philippines
    20+42.9%
  6. 06
    Germany
    170%
  7. 07
    United States of America
    16
  8. 08
    Sri Lanka
    16
  9. 09
    India
    11+57.1%
  10. 10
    Thailand
    9

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    No religion or secular beliefs
    1,917+37.1%
  2. 02
    Christianity
    1,684-24.9%
  3. 03
    Buddhism
    31+107%
  4. 04
    Hinduism
    24+243%
  5. 05
    Islam
    17

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 5 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

West Coast 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

West Coast
3.5%
Tasmania
7.8%
Australia
21.3%

3.5% of West Coast residents speak a language other than English at home, against 7.8% for Tasmania 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 146 residents as a share of all 4,204 of us. A further 429 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 13.7%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 3.9%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for West Coast, 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 West Coast 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 West Coast.