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 Upper Mount Gravatt were English, Australian and Chinese.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Upper Mount Gravatt - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Upper Mount Gravatt, with comparison markers for Brisbane (C).

Upper Mount Gravatt
Brisbane (C)

English

2021 count

2,896

% of total

26.8%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

Australian

2021 count

2,649

% of total

24.5%

Change from 2016

-1.6pp

Chinese

2021 count

1,612

% of total

14.9%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Irish

2021 count

941

% of total

8.7%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

Scottish

2021 count

765

% of total

7.1%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

German

2021 count

472

% of total

4.4%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

Indian

2021 count

451

% of total

4.2%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Korean

2021 count

338

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

+0.9pp

Italian

2021 count

275

% of total

2.5%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

249

% of total

2.3%

Change from 2016

+2.0pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Upper Mount Gravatt. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brisbane (C).
Ancestry for Upper Mount Gravatt. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brisbane (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Brisbane (C)%Count%Brisbane (C)%Countpp
English2,89626.8%33.3%2,64328.6%33.6%+253-1.8pp
Australian2,64924.5%27.9%2,41426.1%28.1%+235-1.6pp
Chinese1,61214.9%7.7%1,32414.3%7.2%+288+0.6pp
Irish9418.7%12.3%97010.5%13.4%-29-1.8pp
Scottish7657.1%10.2%7047.6%10.3%+61-0.5pp
German4724.4%5.2%4484.8%5.3%+24-0.4pp
Indian4514.2%3.7%3333.6%3.5%+118+0.6pp
Korean3383.1%1.1%2062.2%1.1%+132+0.9pp
Italian2752.5%3.4%2202.4%3.2%+55+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal2492.3%1.7%270.3%0.2%+222+2.0pp

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