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 counts represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count, while percentages are shown against the total population.
- 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 Sunshine West were Vietnamese, Australian and English.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Sunshine West - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Sunshine West in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Brimbank (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Sunshine West, with comparison markers for Brimbank (C).
Vietnamese
Australian
English
Chinese
Greek
Maltese
Italian
Filipino
Macedonian
Irish
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Vietnamese
-241
-1.3pp
Australian
+135
+0.8pp
English
+140
+0.8pp
Chinese
+142
+0.8pp
Greek
-157
-0.9pp
Maltese
-111
-0.6pp
Italian
+3
0.0pp
Filipino
+41
+0.2pp
Macedonian
-41
-0.2pp
Irish
+20
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Sunshine West. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brimbank (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Brimbank (C)% | Count | % | Brimbank (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Vietnamese | 3,601 | 19.4% | 16.9% | 3,842 | 20.7% | 16.0% | -241 | -1.3pp |
| Australian | 2,168 | 11.7% | 12.6% | 2,033 | 10.9% | 12.4% | +135 | +0.8pp |
| English | 1,944 | 10.5% | 11.6% | 1,804 | 9.7% | 11.7% | +140 | +0.8pp |
| Chinese | 1,350 | 7.3% | 6.8% | 1,208 | 6.5% | 6.4% | +142 | +0.8pp |
| Greek | 989 | 5.3% | 3.4% | 1,146 | 6.2% | 3.6% | -157 | -0.9pp |
| Maltese | 980 | 5.3% | 5.2% | 1,091 | 5.9% | 5.7% | -111 | -0.6pp |
| Italian | 767 | 4.1% | 6.2% | 764 | 4.1% | 6.5% | +3 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 582 | 3.1% | 4.0% | 541 | 2.9% | 3.9% | +41 | +0.2pp |
| Macedonian | 537 | 2.9% | 2.8% | 578 | 3.1% | 2.9% | -41 | -0.2pp |
| Irish | 521 | 2.8% | 3.0% | 501 | 2.7% | 3.3% | +20 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).