While a majority of Bendigo locals remain Australian born, as has been the case for many years, the cultural backgrounds of those who call the region home has changed to reflect Australia's proximity to Asia.

Across the country, Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language other than English, but the Karen language takes top spot in Bendigo. 1597 people, 1.3 per cent of the community, identified the language as their chosen language at home.

This figure has grown from 282 Karen speakers in 2011 following the arrival of seven Karen refugees in 2007. Bendigo is now home to a thriving Karen community, estimated by some community members as being 5000 strong.

Nationally, 685,274 use Mandarin at home including 570 people in Greater Bendigo. Malayalam, Punjabi and Tagalog have respectively 495, 464 and 240 locals who speak the languages at home respectively.

52 people in Bendigo used Indigenous languages at home in 2021, with 12 Yorta Yorta speakers, nine Paakantyi, six Ngarrindjeri, four Anmatyerr and 12 who did not specify further.

By contrast in 2001, the top languages spoken at home in Bendigo other than English were Greek, Italian, German, Cantonese, Dutch and Mandarin. None of these languages surpassed more than 50 speakers in the municipality at the time.

In 2021, 2743 people identified themselves as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, with the Indigenous community having a median age of 22. This figure includes 1026 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander families and 1387 households.

Two decades ago, 89.5 per cent of people in Bendigo identified Australia as their country of birth, with 1.9 per cent from England, 0.6 from New Zealand, 0.4 per cent from Scotland, 0.3 from the Netherlands and 0.3 per cent from Germany.

In 2021, 84.6 per cent of people in Bendigo identified Australia as their country of birth, with those from England at 1.7 per cent, India at one per cent, New Zealand at 0.7 per cent, and Myanmar and Thailand each at 0.6 per cent. Nationally 66.9 per cent of people were born in Australia.

Just under three quarters of people in Bendigo had two parents born in Australia, although in Victoria and Australia broadly this was the case for less than half of the population.

Going back in history, the last time more than half the national population was either born overseas or the child of a migrant was pre-federation.

While regional parts of the state remain less diverse than the capital cities, the positive impacts of immigration on Bendigo can be seen through the town's history from the Gold Rush to the modern day in the arrival of communities such as the Chinese and the Karen.

Currently Bendigo counts 32,381 families and 121,470 residents and whatever the size, culture or language of a family, everyone can contribute to making the town a safe and caring place to live.

For more information about the 2021 census, visit: abs.gov.au/census

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