Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Languages Spoken in New South Wales (NSW)
New South Wales is the most diverse state in Australia. There are over 260 different languages spoken by
people living in NSW and 22.47% of the NSW population speak a language other than English at home.
The top five languages other than English spoken across the state are Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese,
Vietnamese, and Greek.
In NSW there are 604,562 households (representing 24.5% of all households) where two or more
languages are spoken.
Top Languages Spoken at Home
Language
English
Number
of people Percentage
5,0133,45
72.47%
Arabic
184,254
2.66%
Mandarin
139,822
2.02%
Cantonese
136,373
1.97%
Vietnamese
87,499
1.26%
Greek
86,602
1.25%
Italian
83,175
1.20%
Spanish
55,623
0.80%
Hindi
52,780
0.76%
Korean
47,424
0.69%
Tagalog
37119
0.54%
Total LOTE
1,554,123
22.47%
Total
population
6,917,452
100%
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Rapidly Growing Languages
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of people living in NSW who spoke a language other than English at
home increased by 239,737 or 18.2%. In contrast, those who spoke English increased by 166,671 or
3.4%.
The languages spoken at home in NSW that saw the greatest increase in numbers between 2006 and
2011 were Mandarin (increase of 39,172 people), Arabic (increase of 19,288 people), Hindi (increase of
14,679 people) and Nepali (an increase of 12,919 people). (Multicultural NSW 2016 1)
Proficiency in Spoken English
The majority of people living in NSW who speak a language other than English at home reported that they
are able to speak English very well, or well (18.6% of the NSW population). Of those living in NSW 3.9% of
reported that they are unable to speak English well or are unable to speak English at all.
Proficiency in Spoken English – respondent speaks English
Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Country of Birth
Of those living in NSW, 1,778,544 people or 25.7% were born outside of Australia in over 250 different
countries. The top five countries of birth apart from Australia were England, China, New Zealand, India and
Vietnam.
Around 20% of the population of NSW were born in countries where English is not the main language
spoken.
Country of Birth
Country
Number
Percentage
of people
Australia
4,747,374
68.63%
England
227,522
3.29%
China
156,034
2.26%
New Zealand
114,230
1.65%
India
95,387
1.38%
Vietnam
71,838
1.04%
Philippines
70,388
1.02%
Lebanon
56,295
0.81%
Italy
51,626
0.75%
Korea, (South)
41,819
0.60%
South Africa
40,247
0.58%
Total born O/S 1,778,544
Total
population
25.71%
6,917,656
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Ancestry
Of people living in NSW, 3,092,227 or 44.7% reported having at least one parent born overseas.
Birthplace of Parents
The top ten ancestries based on the birthplace of parents for people in NSW are Australian, English, Irish,
Scottish, Chinese, Italian, German, Lebanese, Indian and Greek.
Ancestry- birthplace of parents
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Recent Settlement
There were a total of 301,611 settlement arrivals to NSW between July 2011 and June 2016. Of these
102,887 were family entrants, 69,862 skilled and 22,294 of these were humanitarian entrants.* The five
main languages spoken by these recent migrants are English (46,957), Mandarin (20,653), Arabic (12,716),
Chinese (5,914) and Hindi (5,737).
*Figures for migration category should be treated with caution due to the large number of ‘unknown’
For humanitarian entrants the five most common languages spoken were Arabic (9,489), Assyrian (2,475),
Farsi (Persian) (1,239), Dari (1,229) and Hazaragi (911).
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Recent arrivals – Country of Birth
The top five countries of birth of recent arrivals to NSW were China (53,175), India (44,313), United
Kingdom (20,601), Philippines (13,932) and Iraq (10,298).
For humanitarian entrants to NSW between 2011 and 2016 the five main countries of birth were Iraq,
Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. For family entrants the top five countries of birth were China, India,
Vietnam, United Kingdom and Philippines, while for skilled entrants the top five countries of birth were
China, India, United Kingdom, Nepal and Pakistan.
(Australian Government, Department of Social Services, 2016 2)
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Older People
There are 713,851 people or 10.32% of the total population living in NSW aged 70 or over. Of these older
people 24.5% reported speaking a language other than English at home, while 32% were born outside
Australia.
70+ Language spoken at home in the
NSW
Italian
Greek
Cantonese
Arabic
German
Mandarin
Spanish
Croatian
Maltese
Vietnamese
24,346
17,120
11,228
8,575
5,929
5,763
5,198
4,622
3,733
3,559
70+ Country of Birth in NSW
England
Italy
China
Greece
Scotland
Germany
New Zealand
Netherlands
Lebanon
Croatia
44,825
23,440
14,131
14,010
8,321
7,945
6,686
5,942
5,686
5,143
(PICAC, 2013 3)
Young people
Approximately 1,157,340 people or 16.7% of the total population living in NSW are aged between 12 and
24. Of these young people 22% speak a language other than English at home. The top five languages
other than English spoken by young people throughout the state are Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese,
Vietnamese and Korean. Of the people in this age group 13.87% were born outside of Australia. The top
five countries of birth apart from Australia are China, New Zealand, India, England and Hong Kong.
Language
English
Arabic
Mandarin
Cantonese
Vietnamese
Korean
Greek
Hindi
Spanish
Italian
Tagalog
Total
speaking
LOTE
84,5207
38,304
31,524
26,941
17,425
9,220
8,600
7,856
6,680
5,249
5,046
% of
12-24
73.03%
3.31%
2.72%
2.33%
1.51%
0.80%
0.74%
0.68%
0.58%
0.45%
0.44%
255,608
22.09%
Number
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
Country of
Birth
Australia
China
New Zealand
India
England
Hong Kong
Iraq
South Africa
Vietnam
Nepal
USA
Total Born
Overseas
915,524
29,896
16,323
11,493
10,888
6,604
5,825
5,641
5,016
4,196
3,993
% of
12-24
80.99%
2.64%
1.44%
1.02%
0.96%
0.58%
0.52%
0.50%
0.44%
0.37%
0.35%
155,977
13.87%
Number
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
Young People – Birthplace of Parents
Of young people between the ages of 12-24 living in NSW, 42% have at least one parent born overseas.
Birthplace of parent
Young people - Education
In 2015 around a third of students enrolled in NSW government schools (32.3%) came from homes where
languages other than English were spoken. The top ten languages spoken other than English were
Chinese (including Cantonese, Mandarin and other Chinese), Arabic, Vietnamese, Hindi, Greek,
Filipino/Tagalog, Samoan, Korean, Spanish and Italian.
These top ten languages represented more than 50% of all students with language backgrounds other than
English. The language groups with the most significant growth in 2015 were Marathi and Polish, with
speakers of both languages increasing to more than 1,000 students.
Top ten languages spoken by students enrolled in NSW public schools in NSW
Chinese
41,379
Arabic
34,302
Vietnamese
15,593
Hindi
10,240
Greek
9,111
Filipino/Tagalog
8,991
Samoan
8,034
Korean
7,878
Spanish
7,166
Italian
5,530
(NSW Department of Education, 2016 4)
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
People Using Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications in NSW 2011
In 2011 there were 507,993 people who accessed Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) subsidised mental
health services in NSW. This represents 7.3% of the NSW population. MBS subsidised services include
those provided by psychiatrists, general practitioners (GPs), clinical psychologists, other psychologists and
other allied health professionals that were recorded as mental health related.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates that 122,960 people accessing these services were
born overseas. This is 6.9% of the overseas born population in NSW. Of the Australian born population in
NSW, 374,744 people or 7.9% accessed these services.
Of those who accessed MBS subsidised mental health services in NSW 96,209 spoke a language other
than English at home. This is 6.2% of the NSW population who speak a language other than English at
home. Of those accessing these services 406,904 people (or 8.1% of the English speaking population)
spoke English at home.
In 2011 there were 732,905 people (10.6% of the NSW population) who accessed Pharmaceutical
Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidised mental health related medications in NSW. PBS subsidised mental
health-related medications comprise antipsychotics, anxiolytics/hypnotics and sedatives, antidepressants,
and psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics.
ABS estimates indicate that 10.5% of the overseas born population of NSW (185,857 people) accessed
these medications in 2011 compared to 11% (520,905) of the Australian born population. Of the population
speaking a language other than English, 8% (124,685) accessed PBS subsidised medications in 2011. Of
the English speaking population 11.9% or 594,173 people accessed these medications in 2011.
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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Demographic Fact Sheet New South Wales
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016 5)
References & Notes
Unless otherwise indicated all statistics presented here are derived from: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian
Census of Population and Housing 2006 & 2011. Table Builder. Available at:
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/tablebuilder?opendocument&navpos=240 <last viewed 8
September 2016>
1. Multicultural NSW. 2016. New South Wales Languages Spoken at Home. Available at:
http://multiculturalnsw.id.com.au/multiculturalnsw/lga-language?WebID=40 <last viewed 16 February 2016>
2. Australian Government, Department of Social Services, Settlement and Multicultural Affairs, 2016.
Information on recent arrivals was drawn from the Settlement Reporting Facility. Available at:
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-and-multicultural-affairs/programs-policy/settlementservices/settlement-reporting-facility <last viewed 8 September 2016>
3. Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICAC), 2013 NSW & ACT Demographics 2011 Available at:
http://www.picacnsw.org.au/?q=node/87 <last viewed 30 January 2015>
4. NSW Department of Education and Communities, Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation. 2015
Schools: Language Diversity in NSW, 2015 Available at:
http://www.cese.nsw.gov.au/images/stories/PDF/2015_LBOTE_Bulletin%20v2.pdf <last viewed 8
September 2016>
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016. 4329.0.00.001 Cultural and Linguistic Characteristics of People Using
Mental Health Services and Prescription Medications, 2011 Available at
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4329.0.00.001Main+Features12011?OpenDocument
<last viewed 30 August 2016>
Prepared by the Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Last updated August 2016
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