Cultural diversity

Ancestry

About this topic

Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.

This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.

Interpretation notes

  • People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
  • ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
  • The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.

Key insight

In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Rosanna were English, Australian and Italian.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Rosanna - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Rosanna in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Banyule (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Rosanna, with comparison markers for Banyule (C).

Rosanna
Banyule (C)

English

2021 count

2,712

% of total

31.5%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Australian

2021 count

2,408

% of total

27.9%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Italian

2021 count

1,134

% of total

13.2%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Irish

2021 count

1,120

% of total

13.0%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Scottish

2021 count

824

% of total

9.6%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Chinese

2021 count

676

% of total

7.8%

Change from 2016

+2.0pp

Indian

2021 count

325

% of total

3.8%

Change from 2016

+1.5pp

Greek

2021 count

279

% of total

3.2%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

German

2021 count

261

% of total

3.0%

Change from 2016

-0.2pp

Croatian

2021 count

112

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Data table

Ancestry for Rosanna. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Banyule (C).

Ancestry for Rosanna. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Banyule (C).
Ancestry for Rosanna. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Banyule (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Banyule (C)%Count%Banyule (C)%Countpp
English2,71231.5%31.3%2,63331.0%31.6%+79+0.5pp
Australian2,40827.9%29.1%2,41828.5%29.0%-10-0.6pp
Italian1,13413.2%10.5%1,04112.2%10.1%+93+1.0pp
Irish1,12013.0%12.2%1,17913.9%13.2%-59-0.9pp
Scottish8249.6%9.6%85910.1%9.4%-35-0.5pp
Chinese6767.8%7.0%4955.8%6.0%+181+2.0pp
Indian3253.8%2.6%1972.3%2.4%+128+1.5pp
Greek2793.2%4.1%2833.3%3.8%-4-0.1pp
German2613.0%3.3%2743.2%3.5%-13-0.2pp
Croatian1121.3%1.1%941.1%0.9%+18+0.2pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).