The number of people who speak a language other than English at
home has increased by 10 percent during a five-year period,
according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2008 Year
Book available on Thursday.
The statistics say that 16 percent of Australians - or 3.1
million - speak a language other than English at home, which
represent a 10 percent rise from the 2001 Census to the 2006
Census.
The most-commonly spoken languages were Italian, Greek, Arabic,
Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin) and Vietnamese.
Indigenous Australians - who speak a native language at home -
represent 11 percent of people who speak a language other than
English at home. Of these people more than 50 percent reside in the
Northern Territory.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2008)