We are Woollahra

15 per cent.

About 15 in every 100 Woollahra residents speak a language other than English at home, across 76 languages.

Our population
62,254
Speak another language
9,359
Languages at home
76
Growth since last census
+0.3%

9,359 of us — 15.0% — speak a language other than English at home, most often Mandarin, Spanish and Greek. A share this size is easy to design around by accident, which is precisely how it gets designed out.

In New South Wales

#29

of 128 New South Wales councils for the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home. #130 of 540 nationally.

What makes our community ours

Mandarin

1,520 speakers

Mandarin is spoken by 1,520 of our residents at home, 2.4% of Woollahra.

Spanish

818 speakers

Spanish is spoken by 818 of our residents at home, 1.3% of Woollahra.

Greek

729 speakers

Greek is spoken by 729 of our residents at home, 1.2% of Woollahra.

The languages of Woollahra

76 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 Woollahra, covering 8,026 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
    1,520+60.2%
  2. 02
    Spanish
    818+12.2%
  3. 03
    Greek
    729-5.7%
  4. 04
    French
    690-15.4%
  5. 05
    Cantonese
    645+15.0%
  6. 06
    Russian
    616-18.6%
  7. 07
    Italian
    601-5.4%
  8. 08
    Hebrew
    571-14.4%
  9. 09
    Portuguese
    418+7.7%
  10. 10
    German
    330-11.8%

Fastest-growing among us

Mandarin

+60.2% since last census

We share this portrait because a council below the New South Wales average is the one most likely to be planned for as though everybody here reads English. 9,359 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.

Mandarin grew 60.2% since the last census, to 1,520 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

32.6% of us were born overseas, across 101 countries.

  1. 01
    England
    3,970-0.9%
  2. 02
    South Africa
    2,992+3.9%
  3. 03
    New Zealand
    1,613-6.3%
  4. 04
    China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)
    1,224+36.6%
  5. 05
    United States of America
    1,030+9.9%
  6. 06
    Hong Kong (SAR of China)
    552+24.6%
  7. 07
    Israel
    471-6.0%
  8. 08
    Italy
    443+3.3%
  9. 09
    France
    435+3.3%
  10. 10
    Germany
    430+4.1%

What we believe

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

  1. 01
    Christianity
    23,583-6.8%
  2. 02
    No religion or secular beliefs
    23,432+19.9%
  3. 03
    Judaism
    10,076+6.8%
  4. 04
    Buddhism
    789+4.1%
  5. 05
    Hinduism
    326+19.0%
  6. 06
    Islam
    281+35.1%

Our suburbs

Our linguistic character changes street by street. Click through to any of our 10 suburbs for its own portrait: the languages spoken there, the communities calling it home.

Where we are

Woollahra 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

Woollahra
15.0%
New South Wales
25.7%
Australia
21.3%

15.0% of Woollahra residents speak a language other than English at home, against 25.7% for New South Wales 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. 15.0% is 9,359 residents as a share of all 62,254 of us. A further 3,170 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 20.1%, which is a larger number and a weaker claim. Measured only across the residents who answered, the share is 15.8%. If you have seen a higher figure quoted for Woollahra, 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 Woollahra 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 Woollahra.