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 Moira (S) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Moira (S) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Moira (S) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Vic. and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Moira (S), with comparison markers for Regional Vic..
English
2021 count
12,723
% of total
41.7%
Change from 2016
+1.2pp
12,723
41.7%
+1.2pp
Australian
2021 count
12,507
% of total
41.0%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
12,507
41.0%
-1.0pp
Irish
2021 count
3,869
% of total
12.7%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
3,869
12.7%
-0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
3,232
% of total
10.6%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
3,232
10.6%
+0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
1,452
% of total
4.8%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,452
4.8%
0.0pp
German
2021 count
1,076
% of total
3.5%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,076
3.5%
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
600
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+1.8pp
600
2.0%
+1.8pp
Dutch
2021 count
462
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
462
1.5%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
341
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
341
1.1%
+0.6pp
Filipino
2021 count
229
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
229
0.8%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+931
+1.2pp
Australian
+268
-1.0pp
Irish
+123
-0.2pp
Scottish
+210
+0.2pp
Italian
+67
0.0pp
German
+69
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
+551
+1.8pp
Dutch
+40
+0.1pp
Chinese
+186
+0.6pp
Filipino
+71
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Moira (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Vic..
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Vic.% | Count | % | Regional Vic.% | Count | pp | |
| English | 12,723 | 41.7% | 40.6% | 11,792 | 40.5% | 40.1% | +931 | +1.2pp |
| Australian | 12,507 | 41.0% | 39.2% | 12,239 | 42.0% | 40.0% | +268 | -1.0pp |
| Irish | 3,869 | 12.7% | 12.9% | 3,746 | 12.9% | 13.0% | +123 | -0.2pp |
| Scottish | 3,232 | 10.6% | 11.7% | 3,022 | 10.4% | 11.3% | +210 | +0.2pp |
| Italian | 1,452 | 4.8% | 3.9% | 1,385 | 4.8% | 3.7% | +67 | 0.0pp |
| German | 1,076 | 3.5% | 4.6% | 1,007 | 3.5% | 4.6% | +69 | 0.0pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 600 | 2.0% | 1.9% | 49 | 0.2% | 0.2% | +551 | +1.8pp |
| Dutch | 462 | 1.5% | 2.3% | 422 | 1.4% | 2.2% | +40 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 341 | 1.1% | 1.1% | 155 | 0.5% | 1.0% | +186 | +0.6pp |
| Filipino | 229 | 0.8% | 0.8% | 158 | 0.5% | 0.5% | +71 | +0.3pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).