Between the 2016 and 2021 ABS census we have seen a very large increase in multicultural immigration in Australia. This has led to over 255,000 Australians in WA speaking a top 10 language other than English. The largest increases have come from Spanish and Filipino speakers increasing by 20% and 14% respectively. The most frequently spoken languages are Chinese languages, Indian languages and Tagalog.
Source: ABS Census 2021
| Rank | Language | 2021 | % Change from 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinese Languages | 71,434 | 6% |
| 2 | Indian | 42,614 | 11% |
| 3 | Filipino | 29,814 | 14% |
| 4 | Italian | 25,432 | -16% |
| 5 | Vietnamese | 22,763 | 11% |
| 6 | Arabic | 16,000 | 12% |
| 7 | Afrikaans | 14,729 | 4% |
| 8 | Spanish | 12,958 | 20% |
| 9 | Indonesian | 12,444 | 12% |
| 10 | French | 9,751 | 2% |