TASMANIA, 27 June 2017: Nepali language is now the second most commonly spoken language other than English in Tasmania. According to the freshly-published results of Population Census 2016, Nepali comes only next to Chinese in terms of foreign languages spoken in the island state.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today said 0.3 per cent people of the total Tasmanian population speak Nepali language indicating a growing number of Australian residents of Nepalese origin are now migrating to the beautiful state.

Nepali is also the mother tongue of Bhutanese refugees, who have been resettled in Tasmania from their UN-supported camps in eastern Nepal.

ABS reported 509,965 usual residents of Tasmania were counted on Census night, a 2.9 per cent increase from 2011.

The dominance of Chinese language in Tasmania was due to an increase in Chinese population born in China (0.4 per cent in 2011 to 0.6 per cent in 2016).

In the meantime, an Australian statistician has assured people can be confident about the quality of data of the latest census which was conducted with a “digital-first approach”.

“The Independent Assurance Panel I established to provide extra assurance and transparency of Census data quality concluded that the 2016 Census data can be used with confidence,” Australian Statistician David W. Kalisch said in a press release by ABS.

“The 2016 Census had a response rate of 95.1 per cent and a net undercount of 1.0 per cent. This is a quality result, comparable to both previous Australian Censuses and Censuses in other countries, such as New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

“Furthermore, 63 per cent of people completed the Census online, embracing the digital-first approach and contributing to faster data processing and data quality improvements.

“2016 Census data provides a detailed, accurate and fascinating picture of Australia, which will be used to inform critical policy, planning and service delivery decisions for our communities over the coming years,” he said.

Since last Census, 1.3 million new migrants have arrived Australia, ABS said. They come from 180 countries of birth recorded in the Census.