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 Greenslopes were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Greenslopes - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Greenslopes, with comparison markers for Brisbane (C).

Greenslopes
Brisbane (C)

English

2021 count

2,719

% of total

34.2%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Australian

2021 count

2,348

% of total

29.6%

Change from 2016

+1.9pp

Irish

2021 count

1,155

% of total

14.5%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

914

% of total

11.5%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

German

2021 count

459

% of total

5.8%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Chinese

2021 count

300

% of total

3.8%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Indian

2021 count

256

% of total

3.2%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Italian

2021 count

228

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

-0.2pp

Greek

2021 count

151

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Filipino

2021 count

138

% of total

1.7%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Greenslopes. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brisbane (C).
Ancestry for Greenslopes. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brisbane (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Brisbane (C)%Count%Brisbane (C)%Countpp
English2,71934.2%33.3%2,47633.1%33.6%+243+1.1pp
Australian2,34829.6%27.9%2,07527.7%28.1%+273+1.9pp
Irish1,15514.5%12.3%1,13315.1%13.4%+22-0.6pp
Scottish91411.5%10.2%80410.7%10.3%+110+0.8pp
German4595.8%5.2%4305.7%5.3%+29+0.1pp
Chinese3003.8%7.7%3254.3%7.2%-25-0.5pp
Indian2563.2%3.7%4325.8%3.5%-176-2.6pp
Italian2282.9%3.4%2293.1%3.2%-1-0.2pp
Greek1511.9%1.1%1071.4%1.1%+44+0.5pp
Filipino1381.7%1.7%1201.6%1.4%+18+0.1pp

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