Abbreviated as LANP; referenced by 3 other explainers
Language used at home shows the main language each person speaks at home. English only is shown first. The top other languages come after it.
These figures are Place Forecast estimates based on Census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Census asks for the main language a person speaks at home. Some people speak more than one language. Only one main language is counted here. So a home where two languages are spoken shows just the main one.
The ABS puts some languages into broader groups. Two examples are Other Chinese languages and Other Indo-Aryan languages. These groups can hold many different languages.
Australian Indigenous languages are shown as one ABS group too. So single Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are not split out here.
This page does not show how well a person speaks English. It only shows the main language they use at home.
Languages outside the top group fall into All other categories. So every person is still counted.
The ABS publishes a separate Not stated group for this data. It marks when the language question was left blank.
The figures count people where they usually live. They include people living in non-private dwellings such as hospitals, aged-care homes, hostels, and student housing. People here on a visit from another country are left out.
These figures show how people answered Census questions. Here are the equity caveats to keep in mind. They keep the numbers fair:
See the marker methodology for how these figures are calculated and their limitations.