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 Keilor Park were Italian, Australian and English.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Keilor Park - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Keilor Park
Brimbank (C)

Italian

2021 count

852

% of total

16.0%

Change from 2016

+13.3pp

Australian

2021 count

575

% of total

10.8%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

English

2021 count

537

% of total

10.1%

Change from 2016

-4.7pp

Greek

2021 count

211

% of total

4.0%

Change from 2016

+3.2pp

Irish

2021 count

168

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

-4.2pp

Scottish

2021 count

142

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

-2.3pp

Maltese

2021 count

118

% of total

2.2%

Change from 2016

+1.7pp

German

2021 count

57

% of total

1.1%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Chinese

2021 count

53

% of total

1.0%

Change from 2016

-4.2pp

Macedonian

2021 count

51

% of total

1.0%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Keilor Park. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brimbank (C).
Ancestry for Keilor Park. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brimbank (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Brimbank (C)%Count%Brimbank (C)%Countpp
Italian85216.0%3.1%5842.7%3.3%+268+13.3pp
Australian57510.8%6.3%2,52611.7%6.2%-1,951-0.9pp
English53710.1%5.8%3,20214.8%5.9%-2,665-4.7pp
Greek2114.0%1.7%1640.8%1.8%+47+3.2pp
Irish1683.1%1.5%1,5897.3%1.6%-1,421-4.2pp
Scottish1422.7%1.2%1,0925.0%1.3%-950-2.3pp
Maltese1182.2%2.6%1150.5%2.8%+3+1.7pp
German571.1%0.7%4412.0%0.9%-384-0.9pp
Chinese531.0%3.4%1,1235.2%3.2%-1,070-4.2pp
Macedonian511.0%1.4%410.2%1.5%+10+0.8pp
Total5,334100.0%100.0%21,624100.0%100.0%-16,2900.0pp

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