Top Languages Spoken in NSW

Key multicultural stats for NSW from the 2016 Census.

NSW is one of Australia’s most culturally diverse states where one in four (25%) speaks a language other than English at home. In Sydney the figure rises to one in three (36%). This is due to the high concentration of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) audiences in greater Sydney, only 8% of CALD audiences live outside of Sydney.

Top languages spoken in NSW
The top languages (other than English) spoken at home in NSW and their English proficiency are shown below. The top five languages are unchanged since 2006, however the order have changed.

Mandarin is now the state’s most spoken language, overtaking Arabic. Mandarin is up 72% since the past Census, Hindi is up by 27% and Korean by 26%. All language groups in the top 10 have recorded increases except Greek, down 6% and Italian, down 9% since the 2011 Census.

Rank	Language	High Proficiency	Low Proficiency	Total	Not applicable	Grand Total
1	Mandarin	170426	68165	238591	1351	239947
2	Arabic	167006	31935	198941	1882	200828
3	Cantonese	103820	38770	142590	746	143338
4	Vietnamese	68948	33346	102294	604	102896
5	Greek	68294	12576	80870	816	81685
6	Italian	65141	9594	74735	959	75697
7	Hindi	63456	3020	66476	562	67037
8	Spanish	55340	7518	62858	672	63523
9	Korean	39428	19952	59380	533	59914
10	Tagalog	43363	1313	44676	451	45133
11	Nepali	31883	2434	34317	283	34608
12	Punjabi	29658	3480	33138	291	33429
13	Bengali	28944	2530	31474	207	31687
14	Indonesian	26836	2979	29815	219	30032
15	Urdu	26951	2430	29381	330	29723
16	Tamil	26793	2669	29462	206	29676
17	Macedonian	23063	4749	27812	326	28144
18	Thai	18205	6396	24601	232	24841
19	Filipino	23333	673	24006	209	24211
20	French	22566	958	23524	222	23743
21	German	22090	662	22752	284	23029
22	Portuguese	19524	3233	22757	238	23005
23	Persian (excluding Dari)	17872	3955	21827	209	22044
24	Turkish	17425	3989	21414	210	21623
25	Serbian	17554	3709	21263	220	21489
26	Croatian	18186	2759	20945	208	21149
27	Assyrian Neo-Aramaic	15608	4512	20120	193	20316
28	Gujarati	16971	1779	18750	127	18875
29	Russian	15838	2823	18661	110	18765
30	Japanese	14587	2598	17185	136	17321
31	Samoan	14833	1370	16203	338	16544
32	Polish	12547	1452	13999	126	14127
33	Malayalam	12748	1034	13782	96	13885
34	Telugu	11541	816	12357	100	12463
35	Maltese	11264	897	12161	167	12328
37	Khmer	7628	3938	11566	119	11697
38	Sinhalese	10741	435	11176	56	11232
39	Tongan	9175	949	10124	160	10286
40	Chaldean Neo-Aramaic	6229	3049	9278	64	9340
41	Dari	6745	2272	9017	122	9141
42	Dutch	8388	194	8582	111	8688
43	Armenian	6969	827	7796	45	7839
44	Afrikaans	7571	119	7690	51	7735
45	Min Nan	5546	1632	7178	40	7213
46	Chinese, nfd	4554	2512	7066	55	7114
47	Hungarian	5881	596	6477	52	6533
48	Marathi	5615	321	5936	31	5967
49	Lao	3819	1535	5354	51	5405
50	Burmese	3817	1039	4856	37	4902
51	Hazaraghi	2989	1790	4779	64	4834
52	Fijian	4315	152	4467	68	4532
53	Bosnian	3192	654	3846	40	3889
54	Kannada	3468	179	3647	17	3663
55	Hebrew	3316	121	3437	32	3468
56	Czech	3182	187	3369	29	3395
57	Swedish	3184	105	3289	25	3316
58	Inadequately described	2261	624	2885	367	3247
59	Malay	2682	141	2823	19	2838
60	Southern Asian Languages, nfd	2507	205	2712	40	2750
61	Auslan	1971	661	2632	63	2693
62	Kurdish	2082	534	2616	39	2653
63	Pashto	2047	549	2596	57	2650
64	Shona	2511	52	2563	22	2580
65	Romanian	2198	235	2433	21	2450
66	Maori (New Zealand)	2322	59	2381	51	2432
67	Slovak	2104	124	2228	15	2239
68	Ukrainian	1965	224	2189	21	2208
69	Wu	1471	674	2145	3	2147
70	Dinka	1642	335	1977	32	2012
71	Serbo-Croatian/Yugoslavian, so described	1520	265	1785	41	1828
72	Swahili	1611	140	1751	23	1770
73	Akan	1632	81	1713	31	1743
74	Danish	1682	39	1721	5	1731
75	Hakka	1279	395	1674	9	1675
76	Maori (Cook Island)	1477	93	1570	47	1612
77	Finnish	1436	138	1574	15	1588
78	Mongolian	901	597	1498	8	1507
79	Fijian Hindustani	1386	63	1449	13	1458
80	Krio	1179	95	1274	40	1314
81	Slovene	1165	89	1254	15	1271
82	Somali	1066	164	1230	17	1245
83	Bisaya	976	41	1017	8	1028
84	Rohingya	421	532	953	15	968
85	Norwegian	929	27	956	5	960
86	Latvian	835	29	864	10	871
87	Tibetan	566	280	846	7	859
88	Bulgarian	787	55	842	5	844
89	African Languages, nec	755	65	820	20	841
90	Konkani	786	37	823	4	829
91	Karen	456	370	826	3	825
92	Amharic	693	64	757	20	773
93	Albanian	667	98	765	10	772
94	Mauritian Creole	719	42	761	10	760
95	Cebuano	729	25	754	7	754
96	Lithuanian	686	33	719	5	717
97	Igbo	688	15	703	14	715
98	Tok Pisin (Neomelanesian)	594	32	626	8	642
99	Yoruba	616	10	626	3	631
100	Estonian	573	26	599	3	609
101	Indo-Aryan, nfd	555	40	595	12	609
102	Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd	528	30	558	59	609
103	African Languages, nfd	527	59	586	13	600
104	Irish	574	6	580	6	587
105	Tokelauan	392	52	444	12	458
106	Sindhi	425	41	466	4	457
107	Welsh	421	11	432	5	434
108	Sign Languages, nfd	210	165	375	19	387
109	Tigrinya	304	68	372	3	382
110	Wiradjuri	344	7	351	11	374
111	French Creole, nfd	360	10	370	0	368
112	Ndebele	352	0	352	0	355
113	Indo-Aryan, nec	293	42	335	0	334
114	Gaelic (Scotland)	303	0	303	6	321
115	Niue	302	7	309	4	318
116	Oriya	288	26	314	4	309
117	Burmese and Related Languages, nec	189	114	303	12	306
118	Other Southern Asian Languages	287	17	304	0	302
119	Tetum	246	50	296	4	301
120	Iranic, nfd	226	67	293	8	295
121	Uygur	207	84	291	0	288
122	Kirundi (Rundi)	185	51	236	4	248
123	Fulfulde	203	32	235	6	242
124	IIokano	212	15	227	0	220
125	Ilonggo (Hiligaynon)	219	0	219	0	219
126	Rotuman	203	6	209	0	206
127	Tulu	185	3	188	0	197
128	Azeri	166	22	188	3	187
129	Madi	155	30	185	0	184
130	Zulu	164	0	164	3	172
131	Aboriginal English, so described	165	3	168	6	168
132	Swiss, so described	165	0	165	0	168
133	Chin Haka	82	80	162	0	165
134	Other Australian Indigenous Languages, nec	153	4	157	3	163
135	Catalan	153	8	161	0	159
136	Hmong	97	54	151	0	153
137	Ewe	127	26	153	4	152
138	Turkmen	129	22	151	0	150
139	Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)	120	25	145	0	147
140	Luganda	136	0	136	0	144
141	Assamese	135	4	139	0	138
142	Yiddish	122	3	125	4	136
143	Creole, nfd	124	4	128	0	129
144	Norf'k-Pitcairn	125	0	125	0	127
145	Timorese	92	38	130	6	125
146	Mandinka	101	14	115	4	118
147	Oromo	97	21	118	0	116
148	Pampangan	96	3	99	0	106
149	Georgian	76	18	94	0	103
150	Latin	87	19	106	0	100
151	Tswana	92	0	92	0	95
152	Southeast Asian Austronesian Languages, nec	87	4	91	0	88
153	Bandjalang	85	0	85	6	88
154	Cypriot, so described	77	13	90	0	87
155	Gumbaynggir	84	0	84	0	87
156	Mandaean (Mandaic)	74	13	87	4	85
157	Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole)	71	3	74	4	82
158	Bislama	76	0	76	0	81
159	Kashmiri	76	0	76	0	79
160	Ga	78	3	81	0	77
161	Bari	71	4	75	0	74
162	Czechoslovakian, so described	70	10	80	0	73
163	Southeast Asian Austronesian Languages, nfd	68	0	68	0	72
164	Icelandic	63	4	67	0	72
165	Pidgin, nfd	68	8	76	0	71
166	Acholi	67	3	70	0	71
167	Gamilaraay	66	3	69	0	70
168	Balinese	56	9	65	0	70
169	Uzbek	58	11	69	0	69
170	Pacific Austronesian Languages, nec	57	10	67	0	69
171	Hausa	55	9	64	0	68
172	Solomon Islands Pijin	66	0	66	0	67
173	Dan (Gio-Dan)	55	4	59	0	64
174	Gilbertese	57	0	57	3	63
175	Burmese and Related Languages, nfd	30	27	57	3	62
176	Zomi	16	41	57	0	60
177	Bemba	58	0	58	0	59
178	Dhivehi	53	4	57	0	59
179	Balochi	50	3	53	0	57
180	Moro (Nuba Moro)	33	12	45	5	57
181	Other Eastern Asian Languages, nec	31	25	56	0	56
182	Key Word Sign Australia	25	23	48	3	55
183	Papua New Guinea Languages, nfd	52	0	52	0	54
184	Motu (HiriMotu)	58	0	58	0	52
185	Liberian (Liberian English)	45	5	50	4	52
186	Themne	44	5	49	0	52
187	Seychelles Creole	45	0	45	3	52
188	Acehnese	28	20	48	0	51
189	Xhosa	39	0	39	6	46
190	Dravidian, nec	41	0	41	0	45
191	Belorussian	36	6	42	0	43
192	Nyanja (Chichewa)	35	0	35	0	41
193	Eastern European Languages, nfd	33	0	33	0	39
194	American Languages	37	6	43	0	38
195	Mon-Khmer, nec	34	7	41	0	35
196	Invented Languages	36	0	36	0	34
197	Anuak	30	5	35	0	33
198	Romany	19	6	25	0	32
199	Dhanggatti	24	6	30	0	31
200	Papua New Guinea Languages, nec	30	0	30	0	30
201	Luo	26	0	26	0	29
202	Dharawal	22	0	22	3	29
203	Bikol	25	0	25	0	28
204	Other Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd	23	3	26	0	27
205	Yolngu Matha, nfd	25	0	25	3	27
206	Kikuyu	23	0	23	0	27
207	Mon	18	12	30	0	26
208	Middle Eastern Semitic Languages, nec	24	4	28	0	26
209	Tuvaluan	23	0	23	0	26
210	Nuer	17	0	17	0	26
211	Paakantyi	26	3	29	0	24
212	Lingala	26	4	30	0	22
213	Other Southeast Asian Languages	22	0	22	0	22
214	Pacific Austronesian Languages, nfd	19	0	19	3	22
215	Turkic, nec	19	5	24	0	21
216	Javanese	12	3	15	0	21
217	Other Southern European Languages, nec	12	6	18	0	19
218	Bassa	15	0	15	0	19
219	Harari	13	0	13	0	19
220	Sign Languages, nec	9	7	16	0	17
221	Eastern Asian Languages, nfd	12	3	15	0	16
222	Chinese, nec	12	3	15	0	15
223	Nyungar	11	0	11	0	15
224	Shilluk	18	0	18	0	14
225	Iberian Romance, nfd	13	0	13	0	14
226	Iranic, nec	10	3	13	0	14
227	Mann	8	0	8	0	14
228	Yankunytjatjara	11	0	11	0	13
229	Letzeburgish	9	0	9	0	13
230	Basque	17	0	17	0	12
231	Frisian	8	0	8	0	12
232	Celtic, nec	15	0	15	0	11
233	Tai, nec	10	0	10	0	11
234	Nauruan	13	4	17	0	10
235	Iberian Romance, nec	13	0	13	0	10
236	Other Eastern Asian Languages, nfd	13	0	13	0	10
237	Middle Eastern Semitic Languages, nfd	5	0	5	0	10
238	Ngarrindjeri	9	0	9	0	9
239	German and Related Languages, nfd	5	0	5	0	9
240	Iban	4	0	4	0	9
241	Finnish and Related Languages, nfd	10	0	10	0	8
242	Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Kalaw Lagaw Ya	10	0	10	0	8
243	Warlpiri	7	0	7	0	8
244	Kpelle	6	0	6	0	8
245	Southwest and Central Asian Languages, nfd	11	0	11	0	7
246	Arrernte, nec	7	0	7	0	7
247	Gurindji	6	0	6	0	7
248	Scandinavian, nec	5	0	5	0	7
249	Kuuku-Ya'u	6	0	6	3	6
250	Pitjantjatjara	6	0	6	0	6
251	Torres Strait Island Languages, nfd	3	0	3	0	6
252	Krahn	0	0	0	0	6
253	Oceanian Pidgins and Creoles, nec	0	0	0	0	6
254	Tai, nfd	7	0	7	0	5
255	Finnish and Related Languages, nec	5	0	5	0	5
256	Southern European Languages, nfd	5	0	5	0	5
257	Tiwi	5	0	5	0	5
258	Oceanian Pidgins and Creoles, nfd	5	0	5	0	5
259	Muruwari	4	0	4	0	5
260	Other Southwest and Central Asian Languages, nec	3	0	3	0	5
261	Murrinh Patha	4	0	4	0	4
262	Guugu Yimidhirr	4	0	4	0	4
263	Meriam Mir	4	0	4	0	4
264	Arrernte, nfd	4	0	4	0	4
265	Portuguese Creole, nfd	4	0	4	0	4
266	Baltic, nfd	0	0	0	0	4
267	Githabul	7	0	7	0	3
268	Yorta Yorta	4	0	4	0	3
269	Celtic, nfd	3	0	3	0	3
270	South Slavic, nfd	3	0	3	0	3
271	Other Eastern European Languages, nec	3	0	3	0	3
272	Southeast Asian Languages, nfd	3	0	3	0	3
273	Anindilyakwa	3	0	3	0	3
274	Kriol	3	0	3	0	3
275	Aromunian (Macedo-Romanian)	0	0	0	0	3
276	Tatar	0	0	0	0	3
277	Luritja	0	0	0	0	3
	Total	1549025	336268	1885293	5594786	7480194

Note: does not include English and Not Stated. Low Proficiency include “Not Well” or “Not at All”, High Proficiency include “Well” or “Very Well” in relation to English language proficiency.

Top local government areas (LGAs) ranked by the percentage of residents who speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home in NSW.

Rank	LGA	Total	LOTE	% LOTE
1	Fairfield (C)	198816	140724	71
2	Cumberland (A)	216077	141811	66
3	Strathfield (A)	40313	25870	64
4	Burwood (A)	36810	23421	63
5	Canterbury-Bankstown (A)	346300	208323	60
6	Rockdale (C)	109402	61542	56
7	Georges River (A)	146834	78617	54
8	Parramatta (C)	226153	117616	52
9	Liverpool (C)	204330	106094	52
10	Ryde (C)	116304	55901	48
11	Botany Bay (C)	46651	20789	45
12	Blacktown (C)	336965	138300	41
13	Canada Bay (A)	88015	35968	41
14	Willoughby (C)	74303	29896	40
15	Sydney (C)	208376	75386	36
16	Randwick (C)	140659	45112	32
17	The Hills Shire (A)	157243	50112	32
18	Hornsby (A)	142666	44379	31
19	Campbelltown (C) (NSW)	157007	47716	30
20	Inner West (A)	182037	51715	28
21	Ku-ring-gai (A)	118053	32746	28
22	Lane Cove (A)	36050	9514	26
23	North Sydney (A)	67655	15053	22
24	Waverley (A)	66813	14016	21
25	Griffith (C)	25635	5347	21
26	Hunters Hill (A)	13999	2722	19
27	Penrith (C)	196064	33077	17
28	Wollongong (C)	203630	34297	17
29	Woollahra (A)	54239	8376	15
30	Northern Beaches (A)	252876	38209	15
31	Mosman (A)	28476	4302	15
32	Camden (A)	78220	11272	14
33	Sutherland Shire (A)	218465	28411	13
34	Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional (A)	56027	6787	12
35	Shellharbour (C)	68460	7112	10
36	Newcastle (C)	155412	15381	10
37	Armidale Regional (A)	29451	2333	8
38	Coffs Harbour (C)	72949	5460	7
39	Leeton (A)	11167	816	7
40	Albury (C)	51080	3451	6
41	Byron (A)	31556	2126	7
42	Balranald (A)	2290	154	7
43	Wagga Wagga (C)	62383	4128	7
44	Blue Mountains (C)	76902	4708	6
45	Carrathool (A)	2723	164	6
46	Orange (C)	40348	2411	6
47	Hawkesbury (C)	64591	3851	6
48	Central Coast (C) (NSW)	327736	19213	6
49	Wollondilly (A)	48520	2766	6
50	Wingecarribee (A)	47878	2701	6
51	Walgett (A)	6112	326	5
52	Snowy Monaro Regional (A)	20216	1069	5
53	Goulburn Mulwaree (A)	29608	1401	5
54	Western Plains Regional (A)	50075	2348	5
55	Lismore (C)	43134	1989	5
56	Lake Macquarie (C)	197373	8749	4
57	Kiama (A)	21466	931	4
58	Tweed (A)	91374	3851	4
59	Bathurst Regional (A)	41301	1694	4
60	Cobar (A)	4650	189	4
61	Shoalhaven (C)	99649	4013	4
62	Maitland (C)	77307	3067	4
63	Hay (A)	2945	112	4
64	Ballina (A)	41786	1582	4
65	Eurobodalla (A)	37229	1400	4
66	Tamworth Regional (A)	59662	2239	4
67	Yass Valley (A)	16143	572	4
68	Moree Plains (A)	13158	466	4
69	Brewarrina (A)	1645	58	4
70	Snowy Valleys (A)	14398	503	3
71	Lithgow (C)	21090	733	3
72	Muswellbrook (A)	16086	559	3
73	Hilltops (A)	18497	634	3
74	Port Stephens (A)	69556	2371	3
75	Oberon (A)	5301	180	3
76	Murrumbidgee (A)	3838	127	3
77	Edward River (A)	8847	289	3
78	Bellingen (A)	12670	403	3
79	Inverell (A)	16485	521	3
80	Singleton (A)	22990	716	3
81	Berrigan (A)	8462	262	3
82	Port Macquarie-Hastings (A)	78541	2400	3
83	Junee (A)	6295	192	3
84	Bega Valley (A)	33254	1010	3
85	Upper Hunter Shire (A)	14112	420	3
86	Wentworth (A)	6798	200	3
87	Parkes (A)	14611	415	3
88	Bourke (A)	2633	72	3
89	Kyogle (A)	8939	244	3
90	Mid-Western Regional (A)	24079	652	3
91	Cowra (A)	12464	331	3
92	Central Darling (A)	1831	48	3
93	Mid-Coast (A)	90302	2362	3
94	Broken Hill (C)	17709	446	3
95	Murray River (A)	11682	292	3
96	Narrandera (A)	5853	144	3
97	Tenterfield (A)	6624	159	2
98	Nambucca (A)	19210	456	2
99	Bland (A)	5958	138	2
100	Kempsey (A)	28886	647	2
101	Gunnedah (A)	12214	273	2
102	Bogan (A)	2689	60	2
103	Temora (A)	6110	134	2
104	Lachlan (A)	6195	133	2
105	Clarence Valley (A)	50670	1082	2
106	Cabonne (A)	13391	281	2
107	Forbes (A)	9589	201	2
108	Glen Innes Severn (A)	8832	184	2
109	Warren (A)	2730	56	2
110	Gundagai (A)	11144	227	22
111	Warrumbungle Shire (A)	9380	191	2
112	Greater Hume Shire (A)	10357	209	2
113	Gilgandra (A)	4234	84	2
114	Federation (A)	12279	239	2
115	Cessnock (C)	55561	1056	2
116	Narrabri (A)	13083	227	2
117	Richmond Valley (A)	22805	391	2
118	Uralla (A)	6049	98	2
119	Blayney (A)	7259	117	2
120	Upper Lachlan Shire (A)	7694	121	2
121	Lockhart (A)	3121	43	1
122	Weddin (A)	3660	50	1
123	Coonamble (A)	3919	49	1
124	Walcha (A)	3090	38	1
125	Narromine (A)	6444	77	1
126	Coolamon (A)	4313	51	1
127	Gwydir (A)	5255	60	1
128	Liverpool Plains (A)	7689	84	1
129	Dungog (A)	8976	76	0
	Total	7480230	1882018	25

Note: Unincorporated NSW, No usual address (NSW) and Migratory – Offshore – Shipping (NSW).

NSW is home to over 216,000 people who identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander more than any other Australian state or territory. This is an increase of 25% since the 2011 Census. Seven in 10 of the community (68%) live outside greater Sydney.