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 Melbourne (C) were Chinese, English and Australian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Melbourne (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Melbourne (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Melbourne (C), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.
Chinese
English
Australian
Irish
Indian
Scottish
Italian
German
Vietnamese
Filipino
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Chinese
-3,735
-5.1pp
English
+5,436
+2.0pp
Australian
+4,366
+1.9pp
Irish
+1,792
+0.5pp
Indian
+2,853
+1.4pp
Scottish
+1,542
+0.5pp
Italian
+990
+0.3pp
German
+749
+0.3pp
Vietnamese
+1,281
+0.7pp
Filipino
+1,547
+0.9pp
Data table
Ancestry for Melbourne (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 | |
| Chinese | 34,459 | 23.0% | 8.3% | 38,194 | 28.1% | 7.9% | -3,735 | -5.1pp |
| English | 29,036 | 19.4% | 25.6% | 23,600 | 17.4% | 26.6% | +5,436 | +2.0pp |
| Australian | 20,728 | 13.9% | 23.4% | 16,362 | 12.0% | 24.0% | +4,366 | +1.9pp |
| Irish | 11,862 | 7.9% | 8.3% | 10,070 | 7.4% | 9.1% | +1,792 | +0.5pp |
| Indian | 9,935 | 6.6% | 5.3% | 7,082 | 5.2% | 4.4% | +2,853 | +1.4pp |
| Scottish | 9,179 | 6.1% | 7.1% | 7,637 | 5.6% | 7.3% | +1,542 | +0.5pp |
| Italian | 5,955 | 4.0% | 6.6% | 4,965 | 3.7% | 6.7% | +990 | +0.3pp |
| German | 4,033 | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3,284 | 2.4% | 3.0% | +749 | +0.3pp |
| Vietnamese | 3,625 | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2,344 | 1.7% | 2.4% | +1,281 | +0.7pp |
| Filipino | 2,888 | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1,341 | 1.0% | 1.3% | +1,547 | +0.9pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).