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 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 Essendon were English, Australian and Italian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Essendon - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Essendon in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Moonee Valley (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Essendon, with comparison markers for Moonee Valley (C).
English
Australian
Italian
Irish
Scottish
Greek
Chinese
Indian
German
Maltese
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+295
+0.6pp
Australian
-47
-1.0pp
Italian
+374
+1.3pp
Irish
-13
-0.5pp
Scottish
+80
+0.1pp
Greek
+94
+0.3pp
Chinese
+138
+0.6pp
Indian
-173
-1.0pp
German
+89
+0.3pp
Maltese
+84
+0.4pp
Data table
Ancestry for Essendon. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Moonee Valley (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Moonee Valley (C)% | Count | % | Moonee Valley (C)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 5,649 | 26.6% | 24.0% | 5,354 | 26.0% | 23.6% | +295 | +0.6pp |
| Australian | 5,030 | 23.7% | 23.2% | 5,077 | 24.7% | 23.1% | -47 | -1.0pp |
| Italian | 3,464 | 16.3% | 17.4% | 3,090 | 15.0% | 16.7% | +374 | +1.3pp |
| Irish | 2,894 | 13.6% | 11.3% | 2,907 | 14.1% | 11.8% | -13 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 1,751 | 8.2% | 7.3% | 1,671 | 8.1% | 7.1% | +80 | +0.1pp |
| Greek | 1,061 | 5.0% | 5.3% | 967 | 4.7% | 5.0% | +94 | +0.3pp |
| Chinese | 930 | 4.4% | 5.0% | 792 | 3.8% | 4.8% | +138 | +0.6pp |
| Indian | 745 | 3.5% | 2.8% | 918 | 4.5% | 2.9% | -173 | -1.0pp |
| German | 685 | 3.2% | 2.9% | 596 | 2.9% | 2.7% | +89 | +0.3pp |
| Maltese | 543 | 2.6% | 2.7% | 459 | 2.2% | 2.4% | +84 | +0.4pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).