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 Derrimut were Vietnamese, Filipino and Australian.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Derrimut - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Derrimut, with comparison markers for Brimbank (C).

Derrimut
Brimbank (C)

Vietnamese

2021 count

1,404

% of total

16.2%

Change from 2016

+2.9pp

Filipino

2021 count

944

% of total

10.9%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Australian

2021 count

939

% of total

10.9%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

English

2021 count

740

% of total

8.6%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

Chinese

2021 count

737

% of total

8.5%

Change from 2016

-1.2pp

Indian

2021 count

607

% of total

7.0%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Maltese

2021 count

321

% of total

3.7%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Italian

2021 count

296

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Macedonian

2021 count

217

% of total

2.5%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Samoan

2021 count

192

% of total

2.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Derrimut. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brimbank (C).
Ancestry for Derrimut. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brimbank (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Brimbank (C)%Count%Brimbank (C)%Countpp
Vietnamese1,40416.2%16.9%1,09913.3%16.0%+305+2.9pp
Filipino94410.9%4.0%1,00912.2%3.9%-65-1.3pp
Australian93910.9%12.6%93811.3%12.4%+1-0.4pp
English7408.6%11.6%7469.0%11.7%-6-0.4pp
Chinese7378.5%6.8%8009.7%6.4%-63-1.2pp
Indian6077.0%3.8%6427.8%4.9%-35-0.8pp
Maltese3213.7%5.2%2993.6%5.7%+22+0.1pp
Italian2963.4%6.2%3043.7%6.5%-8-0.3pp
Macedonian2172.5%2.8%1812.2%2.9%+36+0.3pp
Samoan1922.2%1.0%1541.9%1.1%+38+0.3pp

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