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SCoA community and youth group photo with Somali Women's Development AssociationSomali women at a SCoA community workshopCareer workshop presentation for young jobseekersSCoA representatives at a Victorian Multicultural Commission eventCommunity members attending an employment workshopEmployment opportunity seminar in MelbourneSomali Australian community gatheringWorkshop participants listening to a speakerSomali women networking at a community eventCommunity members at an employment brokers sessionElders and women at a SCoA eventSCoA community and youth group photo with Somali Women's Development AssociationSomali women at a SCoA community workshopCareer workshop presentation for young jobseekersSCoA representatives at a Victorian Multicultural Commission eventCommunity members attending an employment workshopEmployment opportunity seminar in MelbourneSomali Australian community gatheringWorkshop participants listening to a speakerSomali women networking at a community eventCommunity members at an employment brokers sessionElders and women at a SCoA event
Community Profile

Somali community profile

Information about the Somali community in Victoria — including where people live and when they arrived, languages spoken, English language proficiency, religions and significant dates.

Location

Many people in the Somali community live in Melbourne's south-western and north-western suburbs. The City of Wyndham is home to the largest Somali community in Victoria with 1,555 people, followed by the City of Hume with 1,326 people.

Ten local government areas with the largest Somali communities

  • Wyndham1,555
  • Hume1,326
  • Banyule1,033
  • Melbourne989
  • Whittlesea916
  • Darebin814
  • Moonee Valley590
  • Brimbank540
  • Yarra456
  • Greater Dandenong426

The statistics below focus on people living in Victoria who were born in Somalia — referred to as the ‘Somali-born population’.

Language

There are many different dialects in the Somali language, with the main one being Standard Somali (based on the Northern/Central dialect). The top languages spoken by the Somali-born population in Victoria are:

3,647

Somali

265

English

118

Arabic

English language proficiency

The Somali-born population in Victoria has high levels of English language proficiency.

76.9%

Speak English ‘very well’ or ‘well’

14.8%

Speak English ‘not well’ or ‘not at all’

6.2%

Speak English only

Years of Arrival

Two significant points of arrival: 1991–2000 and 2001–2010.

Most of the Somali-born population in Victoria arrived between 1991 and 2000, following the outbreak of civil war in Somalia in 1991.

Sources of information

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census — Country of birth QuickStats
  • SBS Cultural Atlas
  • Encyclopedia of Melbourne (School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne, in association with the University of Melbourne's eScholarship Research Centre)