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 Clarence Gardens were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Clarence Gardens - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Clarence Gardens in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mitcham (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Clarence Gardens, with comparison markers for Mitcham (C).

Clarence Gardens
Mitcham (C)

English

2021 count

890

% of total

37.5%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Australian

2021 count

867

% of total

36.5%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Irish

2021 count

256

% of total

10.8%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

220

% of total

9.3%

Change from 2016

+1.4pp

German

2021 count

176

% of total

7.4%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Italian

2021 count

143

% of total

6.0%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Chinese

2021 count

143

% of total

6.0%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Greek

2021 count

121

% of total

5.1%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Indian

2021 count

44

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Dutch

2021 count

40

% of total

1.7%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for Clarence Gardens. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mitcham (C).

Ancestry for Clarence Gardens. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mitcham (C).
Ancestry for Clarence Gardens. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mitcham (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mitcham (C)%Count%Mitcham (C)%Countpp
English89037.5%42.1%86437.5%41.5%+260.0pp
Australian86736.5%33.7%82335.7%33.3%+44+0.8pp
Irish25610.8%9.5%24910.8%10.0%+70.0pp
Scottish2209.3%10.6%1817.9%10.2%+39+1.4pp
German1767.4%8.3%1858.0%8.1%-9-0.6pp
Italian1436.0%4.5%1144.9%4.0%+29+1.1pp
Chinese1436.0%4.3%1365.9%4.0%+7+0.1pp
Greek1215.1%3.5%1205.2%3.5%+1-0.1pp
Indian441.9%1.9%431.9%1.6%+10.0pp
Dutch401.7%1.9%462.0%1.7%-6-0.3pp

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