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 Monash (C) were Chinese, English and Australian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Monash (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Monash (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Monash (C), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.
Chinese
2021 count
47,227
% of total
12.4%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
47,227
12.4%
+0.4pp
English
2021 count
32,041
% of total
8.4%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
32,041
8.4%
-0.6pp
Australian
2021 count
28,116
% of total
7.4%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
28,116
7.4%
-0.4pp
Indian
2021 count
15,190
% of total
4.0%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
15,190
4.0%
+0.6pp
Greek
2021 count
13,221
% of total
3.5%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
13,221
3.5%
0.0pp
Irish
2021 count
9,987
% of total
2.6%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
9,987
2.6%
-0.5pp
Italian
2021 count
9,205
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
9,205
2.4%
-0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
8,982
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
8,982
2.4%
-0.1pp
Sri Lankan
2021 count
4,745
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
4,745
1.2%
-0.5pp
Vietnamese
2021 count
4,154
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
4,154
1.1%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Chinese
+3,234
+0.4pp
English
-976
-0.6pp
Australian
-498
-0.4pp
Indian
+2,898
+0.6pp
Greek
+363
0.0pp
Irish
-1,468
-0.5pp
Italian
-157
-0.2pp
Scottish
-325
-0.1pp
Sri Lankan
-1,433
-0.5pp
Vietnamese
+633
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Monash (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 | 47,227 | 12.4% | 4.2% | 43,993 | 12.0% | 4.0% | +3,234 | +0.4pp |
| English | 32,041 | 8.4% | 12.8% | 33,017 | 9.0% | 13.3% | -976 | -0.6pp |
| Australian | 28,116 | 7.4% | 11.7% | 28,614 | 7.8% | 12.0% | -498 | -0.4pp |
| Indian | 15,190 | 4.0% | 2.7% | 12,292 | 3.4% | 2.2% | +2,898 | +0.6pp |
| Greek | 13,221 | 3.5% | 1.7% | 12,858 | 3.5% | 1.8% | +363 | 0.0pp |
| Irish | 9,987 | 2.6% | 4.2% | 11,455 | 3.1% | 4.6% | -1,468 | -0.5pp |
| Italian | 9,205 | 2.4% | 3.3% | 9,362 | 2.6% | 3.3% | -157 | -0.2pp |
| Scottish | 8,982 | 2.4% | 3.6% | 9,307 | 2.5% | 3.7% | -325 | -0.1pp |
| Sri Lankan | 4,745 | 1.2% | 0.5% | 6,178 | 1.7% | 0.6% | -1,433 | -0.5pp |
| Vietnamese | 4,154 | 1.1% | 1.2% | 3,521 | 1.0% | 1.2% | +633 | +0.1pp |
| Total | 380,732 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 365,221 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +15,511 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).