The latest figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal that Australia’s Cantonese-speaking population increased by more than 14,000 in the space of five years, making Cantonese the fourth most spoken language in the country.
According to the ABS census data released on June 28, the top five most spoken languages excluding English, are Mandarin (2.7 percent), Arabic (1.4 percent), Vietnamese (1.3 percent), Cantonese (1.2 percent), and Punjabi (0.9 percent).
The number of Cantonese speakers increased by 14,338—compared to the 2016 census—to 295,281. Mandarin remains the second most spoken language in Australia.
The ABS conducts the Census of Population and Housing every five years and the latest census data is from Aug. 10, 2021. Figures show that the country’s total population, excluding short-term overseas visitors, was 25,422,788. This means that the total population of Australia has doubled in the last 50 years….