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 Sunbury were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Sunbury - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Sunbury in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Hume (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Sunbury, with comparison markers for Hume (C).
English
2021 count
14,714
% of total
37.9%
Change from 2016
-1.3pp
14,714
37.9%
-1.3pp
Australian
2021 count
14,557
% of total
37.5%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
14,557
37.5%
-0.6pp
Irish
2021 count
5,014
% of total
12.9%
Change from 2016
-1.2pp
5,014
12.9%
-1.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
4,066
% of total
10.5%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
4,066
10.5%
-0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
2,653
% of total
6.8%
Change from 2016
+1.0pp
2,653
6.8%
+1.0pp
German
2021 count
1,533
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,533
3.9%
-0.5pp
Maltese
2021 count
1,482
% of total
3.8%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
1,482
3.8%
+0.6pp
Indian
2021 count
855
% of total
2.2%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
855
2.2%
+0.9pp
Dutch
2021 count
747
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
747
1.9%
+0.2pp
Greek
2021 count
522
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
522
1.3%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+557
-1.3pp
Australian
+798
-0.6pp
Irish
-76
-1.2pp
Scottish
+197
-0.2pp
Italian
+547
+1.0pp
German
-57
-0.5pp
Maltese
+311
+0.6pp
Indian
+384
+0.9pp
Dutch
+138
+0.2pp
Greek
+92
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Sunbury. 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 | |
| English | 14,714 | 37.9% | 16.9% | 14,157 | 39.2% | 19.3% | +557 | -1.3pp |
| Australian | 14,557 | 37.5% | 19.2% | 13,759 | 38.1% | 20.6% | +798 | -0.6pp |
| Irish | 5,014 | 12.9% | 4.7% | 5,090 | 14.1% | 6.1% | -76 | -1.2pp |
| Scottish | 4,066 | 10.5% | 3.9% | 3,869 | 10.7% | 4.7% | +197 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 2,653 | 6.8% | 7.7% | 2,106 | 5.8% | 8.5% | +547 | +1.0pp |
| German | 1,533 | 3.9% | 1.6% | 1,590 | 4.4% | 2.0% | -57 | -0.5pp |
| Maltese | 1,482 | 3.8% | 2.3% | 1,171 | 3.2% | 2.5% | +311 | +0.6pp |
| Indian | 855 | 2.2% | 6.6% | 471 | 1.3% | 5.3% | +384 | +0.9pp |
| Dutch | 747 | 1.9% | 0.6% | 609 | 1.7% | 0.7% | +138 | +0.2pp |
| Greek | 522 | 1.3% | 2.1% | 430 | 1.2% | 2.4% | +92 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).