Cultural diversity
Ancestry
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.
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 Meadow Heights were Turkish, Australian and English.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Meadow Heights - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Meadow Heights in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Hume (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Meadow Heights, with comparison markers for Hume (C).
Turkish
Australian
English
Lebanese
Iraqi
Assyrian
Vietnamese
Arab, nfd
Pakistani
Chaldean
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Turkish
-84
-0.7pp
Australian
+174
+1.1pp
English
-120
-0.8pp
Lebanese
-27
-0.2pp
Iraqi
-100
-0.7pp
Assyrian
-51
-0.3pp
Vietnamese
-90
-0.6pp
Arab, nfd
+148
+1.0pp
Pakistani
+198
+1.3pp
Chaldean
-271
-1.8pp
Data table
Ancestry for Meadow Heights. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Hume (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Hume (C)% | Count | % | Hume (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Turkish | 3,253 | 21.8% | 6.8% | 3,337 | 22.5% | 7.2% | -84 | -0.7pp |
| Australian | 1,815 | 12.2% | 19.2% | 1,641 | 11.1% | 20.6% | +174 | +1.1pp |
| English | 1,394 | 9.4% | 16.9% | 1,514 | 10.2% | 19.3% | -120 | -0.8pp |
| Lebanese | 1,337 | 9.0% | 4.1% | 1,364 | 9.2% | 4.6% | -27 | -0.2pp |
| Iraqi | 661 | 4.4% | 3.7% | 761 | 5.1% | 3.0% | -100 | -0.7pp |
| Assyrian | 624 | 4.2% | 3.1% | 675 | 4.5% | 2.5% | -51 | -0.3pp |
| Vietnamese | 562 | 3.8% | 0.9% | 652 | 4.4% | 1.0% | -90 | -0.6pp |
| Arab, nfd | 493 | 3.3% | 1.6% | 345 | 2.3% | 1.0% | +148 | +1.0pp |
| Pakistani | 414 | 2.8% | 1.9% | 216 | 1.5% | 1.2% | +198 | +1.3pp |
| Chaldean | 386 | 2.6% | 2.6% | 657 | 4.4% | 2.7% | -271 | -1.8pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).