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 Watsonia were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Watsonia - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Watsonia in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Banyule (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Watsonia, with comparison markers for Banyule (C).
Australian
2021 count
1,833
% of total
34.2%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
1,833
34.2%
+0.9pp
English
2021 count
1,801
% of total
33.7%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
1,801
33.7%
+0.3pp
Irish
2021 count
722
% of total
13.5%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
722
13.5%
-0.3pp
Scottish
2021 count
540
% of total
10.1%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
540
10.1%
-0.8pp
Italian
2021 count
380
% of total
7.1%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
380
7.1%
+0.4pp
Chinese
2021 count
280
% of total
5.2%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
280
5.2%
+0.3pp
German
2021 count
208
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
208
3.9%
+0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
157
% of total
2.9%
Change from 2016
+1.1pp
157
2.9%
+1.1pp
Greek
2021 count
125
% of total
2.3%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
125
2.3%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
73
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
73
1.4%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+97
+0.9pp
English
+58
+0.3pp
Irish
+4
-0.3pp
Scottish
-30
-0.8pp
Italian
+33
+0.4pp
Chinese
+27
+0.3pp
German
+16
+0.2pp
Indian
+62
+1.1pp
Greek
+8
+0.1pp
Dutch
+2
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Watsonia. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Banyule (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Banyule (C)% | Count | % | Banyule (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,833 | 34.2% | 29.1% | 1,736 | 33.3% | 29.0% | +97 | +0.9pp |
| English | 1,801 | 33.7% | 31.3% | 1,743 | 33.4% | 31.6% | +58 | +0.3pp |
| Irish | 722 | 13.5% | 12.2% | 718 | 13.8% | 13.2% | +4 | -0.3pp |
| Scottish | 540 | 10.1% | 9.6% | 570 | 10.9% | 9.4% | -30 | -0.8pp |
| Italian | 380 | 7.1% | 10.5% | 347 | 6.7% | 10.1% | +33 | +0.4pp |
| Chinese | 280 | 5.2% | 7.0% | 253 | 4.9% | 6.0% | +27 | +0.3pp |
| German | 208 | 3.9% | 3.3% | 192 | 3.7% | 3.5% | +16 | +0.2pp |
| Indian | 157 | 2.9% | 2.6% | 95 | 1.8% | 2.4% | +62 | +1.1pp |
| Greek | 125 | 2.3% | 4.1% | 117 | 2.2% | 3.8% | +8 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 73 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 71 | 1.4% | 1.3% | +2 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).