CITY OF WHITEHORSE
COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS
FACTSHEET 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY1
This factsheet provides some information about cultural diversity in the City of Whitehorse.
Overseas Country of Birth
In 2011 approximately 33% of Whitehorse residents were
born overseas and 27% come from countries where English
is not the first language.
FIGURE 1: TOP 10 OVERSEAS COUNTRIES OF BIRTH, CITY
OF WHITEHORSE, 2011.
population by 7%. This is consistent with trends across
Australia and can be attributed to deaths and low
current migration levels replenishing these groups.
••
The number one and two overseas countries of birth for
residents aged 60+ were Greece and Italy.
••
The number one and two overseas countries of birth for
residents aged 15-24 were China and India.
••
One in 5 residents (20%) living in Box Hill were born
in China.
Language
Figure 2 shows the most common languages other than
English spoken at home by Whitehorse residents. Mandarin
and Cantonese rank highest at 8% and 5%, followed by
Greek (3%) and Italian (2%).
In 2011:
••
62% of residents were born in Australia. This is less than
for Greater Melbourne (63%) and Victoria (70%).
••
In 2006, 5788 residents were born in China. By 2011,
this number almost doubled to 11,048. Residents born
in China make up 7.3% of the population, an increase
of 3% of the population from 2006 levels (4%).
••
Between 2006 and 2011 the Indian population in
Whitehorse increased by 67% or 1414 people. India is
the number one country of birth for recent arrivals to
Australia (i.e. people who arrived between 2007 and the
census date.
••
The top 10 overseas countries of birth in Whitehorse
have not changed since 2006, though some of the
ordering has. China and the UK have been the top two
since at least 2001. In 2011, China was the leading
country of birth for the overseas born population
in Whitehorse, followed by the UK, India, Malaysia,
Vietnam, Hong Kong, Greece and New Zealand. In
Australia, the UK is the leading country of birth followed
by New Zealand, China and India.
••
The Italian population decreased by 13% and the Greek
FIGURE 2: LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME, CITY OF
WHITEHORSE, 2011.
•• 5.5% of residents indicated in the 2011 census that they
spoke English ‘Not well or not at all’. This is higher than the
equivalent for Greater Melbourne and Victoria at 5% and
4% respectively.
Unless otherwise stated, these statistics are based on place of usual residence data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics) accessed via: www.profile.id.com.au/whitehorse/home
2
ABS (2012), ‘Cultural Diversity in Australia’, http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013
1
COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHICS
Figure 3 – Persons who speak English ‘not well’
or ‘not at all’ by Language other than English,
City of Whitehorse, 2011.3
Females who speak languages other than English at home
are generally less proficient in spoken English than their male
counterparts. The languages for which this pattern is most
striking are Vietnamese and Korean. In 2011, 31% of females
who spoke Vietnamese at home spoken English either ‘not
well’ or ‘not at all’, compared with 19% for males; and 40% of
females speaking Korean spoke English either ‘not well’ or ‘not
at all’, compared with 26% of males.
Religion
Table 1 – Top 10 Religions, City of Whitehorse.
Religion
2011
2006
Western (Roman) Catholic
22.3
24.1
Anglican
10.9
12.7
Uniting Church
5.2
6.4
Buddhism
5.0
4.2
Greek Orthodox
4.1
4.4
Baptist
3.0
3.1
Presbyterian and Reformed
2.5
2.7
Christian, not further
identified
2.3
2.0
Hinduism
2.0
1.3
Pentecostal
1.1
1.0
In the 2011 census:
•• 27% of residents indicated they had no religion. In 2006
this figure was 22%. In 2001 it was 18%.
••
3
Based on Place of Usual Residence
The number of residents reporting a non-Christian faith
is growing in Whitehorse and across Australia. In 2011,
9% of Whitehorse residents and 7% of Australian
residents reported a non-Christian faith. In 2006 this
figure was 7% for Whitehorse and 6% for Australia.
FACTSHEET 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
TOLERANCE OF DIVERSITY
Whitehorse is home to a large number of international
students, attending Box Hill TAFE and Deakin University as
well as other tertiary and secondary institutions. While it’s
difficult to identify exactly how many live in Whitehorse, in
2006 Council completed a ‘Student Accommodation Study’.
This estimated that there were 3,800 international students
attending the TAFE and the University, with another 2,900
expected to arrive when Deakin University transferred its
Toorak campus to Burwood. The study estimated that the
number of international students as residents in Whitehorse
would grow by 7% per year. Estimates are contained in
Table 4.
Tolerance of diversity, or an ability to get along with
individuals of different cultural and social backgrounds is a
key aspect of social cohesion. Victorian’s opinions on cultural
diversity were measured in the 2007 Community Indicators
Victoria survey. Respondents were asked if they agree that ‘it
is good for a society to be made up of people from different
cultures’. 95% of persons in Whitehorse indicated they
agreed with this statement, compared to 92% in the Eastern
Metropolitan Regiont and the Victorian State average of 89%.
Figure 4 – Tolerance of Diversity, 2007.
Table 4 – Table 2 – Estimated International
Student Population, City of Whitehorse. 4
YEAR
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
2010
8,319
2015
11,668
2020
16,365
2025
22,953
2030
32,193
Source: Source: Community Indicators Victoria (2007), Whitehorse
Wellbeing Report, Community Indicators Victoria, www.
communityindicators.net.au/wellbeing_reports/whitehorse
Whitehorse City Council (2006), Student Accommodation Study,
http://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/Student%20Accommodation%20Study%202006.pdf
5
The Eastern Metropolitan Region comprises the seven local governments in the east: Whitehorse, Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Yarra Ranges.
4
More Information
For more information about CULTURAL DIVERSITY refer to:
City of Whitehorse Community Profile: http://forecast2.id.com.au/default.aspx?id=123&pg=5000
City of Whitehorse Community Atlas: http://www.id.com.au/atlas/default.aspx?id=123&pg=2005
City of Whitehorse Population Forecasting:
http://forecast2.id.com.au/default.aspx?id=123&pg=5000
Australian Bureau of Statistics: www.abs.gov.au
Women’s Health East: www.whe.org.au
Community Indicators Victoria:
http://www.communityindicators.net.au/wellbeing_reports/whitehorse
Profiles of Victorian Communities: http://www.socialstatistics.com.au/
You can also contact Social Policy Officer, Whitehorse City Council on 9262 6534.
Contacting Council
Postal Address:
Whitehorse City Council
Locked Bag 2
Nunawading Delivery Centre 3110
Telephone: 9262 6333
Fax: 9262 6490
TTY: 9262 6325
(Service for the deaf or hearing impaired people)
TIS: 131540
(Telephone Interpreter Service. Call and ask to be connected to Whitehorse City Council)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au
Service Centres
Whitehorse Civic Centre
(main Service Centre)
379–397 Whitehorse Road
Nunawading 3131
Box Hill Service Centre
Box Hill Town Hall
1022 Whitehorse Road
Box Hill 3128
Forest Hill Service Centre
Shop 130,
Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre
Canterbury Road
Forest Hill 3131
For a large print version of this brochure, please call 9262 6124.
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