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 Frankston (C) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Frankston (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Frankston (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Frankston (C), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.
English
2021 count
56,221
% of total
40.4%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
56,221
40.4%
+0.4pp
Australian
2021 count
49,411
% of total
35.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
49,411
35.5%
+0.1pp
Irish
2021 count
14,976
% of total
10.8%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
14,976
10.8%
-0.5pp
Scottish
2021 count
14,846
% of total
10.7%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
14,846
10.7%
+0.4pp
Italian
2021 count
5,607
% of total
4.0%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
5,607
4.0%
+0.4pp
German
2021 count
5,468
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
5,468
3.9%
-0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
3,423
% of total
2.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
3,423
2.5%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
2,840
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
2,840
2.0%
+0.2pp
Greek
2021 count
2,648
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
2,648
1.9%
+0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
2,450
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
2,450
1.8%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+2,607
+0.4pp
Australian
+1,926
+0.1pp
Irish
-193
-0.5pp
Scottish
+1,045
+0.4pp
Italian
+843
+0.4pp
German
+93
-0.1pp
Dutch
+214
+0.1pp
Chinese
+466
+0.2pp
Greek
+423
+0.2pp
Indian
-80
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Frankston (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | pp | |
| English | 56,221 | 40.4% | 25.6% | 53,614 | 40.0% | 26.6% | +2,607 | +0.4pp |
| Australian | 49,411 | 35.5% | 23.4% | 47,485 | 35.4% | 24.0% | +1,926 | +0.1pp |
| Irish | 14,976 | 10.8% | 8.3% | 15,169 | 11.3% | 9.1% | -193 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 14,846 | 10.7% | 7.1% | 13,801 | 10.3% | 7.3% | +1,045 | +0.4pp |
| Italian | 5,607 | 4.0% | 6.6% | 4,764 | 3.6% | 6.7% | +843 | +0.4pp |
| German | 5,468 | 3.9% | 2.9% | 5,375 | 4.0% | 3.0% | +93 | -0.1pp |
| Dutch | 3,423 | 2.5% | 1.5% | 3,209 | 2.4% | 1.5% | +214 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 2,840 | 2.0% | 8.3% | 2,374 | 1.8% | 7.9% | +466 | +0.2pp |
| Greek | 2,648 | 1.9% | 3.5% | 2,225 | 1.7% | 3.6% | +423 | +0.2pp |
| Indian | 2,450 | 1.8% | 5.3% | 2,530 | 1.9% | 4.4% | -80 | -0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).