Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages spoken

Valuing diversity, belonging and culture

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Number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who speak an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home

Why this matters

Speaking an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language improves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s wellbeing by making their connection to family, community and country stronger.

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap recognises the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages which are strong, supported and flourishing. Under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, by 2031, there should be a sustained increase in number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages being spoken.

Progress

In the 2021 Census, 76,978 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported speaking an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home, up from 63,754 people in 2016.

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home has decreased over the past 20 years, from 12.1% in 2001 to 9.5% in 2021.

The 2021 Census reported over 150 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages in the Australian Standard Classification of Languages that were actively spoken, 19 of which were spoken by over 1000 speakers.

  1. When considering time series changes in Census data, it is important to note that there have been significant increases in the number of people identifying as having Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin over time. Increases in the population are influenced by demographic factors such as births, deaths and migration, and by non-demographic factors including changes in whether or not a person identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander for each collection, the identification of children or others who have had their form completed by parents or someone else on their behalf, and the impact of communications and collection procedures. It is important to remember that Indigenous status is collected through self-identification and any change in how a person chooses to identify will affect the count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in ABS collections. Changes in Indigenous status over time can affect the interpretation of data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For more information see Understanding change in counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Census, 2021.
Data Source
ABS Language Statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Differences across groups

In 2021:

  • 8.1% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0-14 years spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home
  • 9.3% of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 15-24 years spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home
  • 11.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 25-44 years spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home
  • 10.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 45-64 years spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home
  • 8.1% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 65 years and over spoke an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home.

 

Disaggregation

Further information on the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who use an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language at home is available via the links below. 

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who use an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language at home: ABS Language Statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Disaggregation available includes:

  • Age group
  • Selected geographies.

Outcome 16 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing'. This outcome is accompanied by target 16: ‘By 2031, there is a sustained increase in number and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages being spoken’.

The target is measured using the National Indigenous Languages Surveys (NILS) and the National Indigenous Language Report (NILR) and is reported on in the Closing the Gap Information Repository.