The demographic information below highlights the great diversity of our population in NSW.
For further information download our NSW Demographic Fact Sheet here (PDF 1.1MB)
Languages Spoken in NSW
A language other than English is spoken in 29.5% of households in NSW. 26.6% of people in NSW use a language other than English at home. The top five languages other than English spoken across the state are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Hindi.
Top Languages used at home in NSW
| Language |
Number |
| Speaks English only |
5,457,982 |
| Mandarin |
270,685 |
| Arabic |
227,243 |
| Cantonese |
148,943 |
| Vietnamese |
117,907 |
| Hindi |
80,051 |
| Greek |
78,691 |
| Spanish |
71,868 |
| Nepali |
68,148 |
| Italian |
64,039 |
| Korean |
62,319 |
| Total population |
8,072,163 |
Country of Birth
Most people in NSW were born in Australia. The proportion of people who were born overseas has increased over time. In 1971, 19.1% of people were born overseas. This increased to 27.6% in 2016, and 29.3% in 2021.
Top Countries of Birth in NSW
| Country of Birth |
Number |
| Australia |
5,277,591 |
| China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) |
247,595 |
| England |
231,385 |
| India |
208,962 |
| New Zealand |
118,527 |
| Philippines |
106,930 |
| Vietnam |
97,995 |
| Nepal |
64,946 |
| Lebanon |
63,293 |
| Iraq |
55,353 |
| Korea, Republic of (South) |
53,046 |
Statistics presented here are derived from: Australian Bureau of Statistics, New South Wales 2021 Census Community Profiles General Community Profile https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/1