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 Pascoe Vale were Australian, English and Italian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Pascoe Vale - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Pascoe Vale in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Moreland (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Pascoe Vale, with comparison markers for Moreland (C).
Australian
2021 count
3,966
% of total
21.8%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
3,966
21.8%
+0.5pp
English
2021 count
3,873
% of total
21.3%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
3,873
21.3%
+0.4pp
Italian
2021 count
3,433
% of total
18.9%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
3,433
18.9%
+0.3pp
Irish
2021 count
1,678
% of total
9.2%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,678
9.2%
-0.5pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,206
% of total
6.6%
Change from 2016
+1.0pp
1,206
6.6%
+1.0pp
Greek
2021 count
1,086
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
1,086
6.0%
+0.4pp
Indian
2021 count
746
% of total
4.1%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
746
4.1%
-0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
712
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
712
3.9%
+0.4pp
Lebanese
2021 count
581
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
581
3.2%
-0.2pp
German
2021 count
419
% of total
2.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
419
2.3%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+334
+0.5pp
English
+313
+0.4pp
Italian
+268
+0.3pp
Irish
+21
-0.5pp
Scottish
+244
+1.0pp
Greek
+135
+0.4pp
Indian
+23
-0.1pp
Chinese
+113
+0.4pp
Lebanese
+2
-0.2pp
German
+31
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Pascoe Vale. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Moreland (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Moreland (C)% | Count | % | Moreland (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 3,966 | 21.8% | 21.4% | 3,632 | 21.3% | 20.0% | +334 | +0.5pp |
| English | 3,873 | 21.3% | 23.4% | 3,560 | 20.9% | 22.0% | +313 | +0.4pp |
| Italian | 3,433 | 18.9% | 15.0% | 3,165 | 18.6% | 15.6% | +268 | +0.3pp |
| Irish | 1,678 | 9.2% | 10.5% | 1,657 | 9.7% | 10.3% | +21 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 1,206 | 6.6% | 7.6% | 962 | 5.6% | 6.8% | +244 | +1.0pp |
| Greek | 1,086 | 6.0% | 5.9% | 951 | 5.6% | 6.1% | +135 | +0.4pp |
| Indian | 746 | 4.1% | 3.2% | 723 | 4.2% | 3.4% | +23 | -0.1pp |
| Chinese | 712 | 3.9% | 3.8% | 599 | 3.5% | 3.8% | +113 | +0.4pp |
| Lebanese | 581 | 3.2% | 3.8% | 579 | 3.4% | 4.3% | +2 | -0.2pp |
| German | 419 | 2.3% | 3.0% | 388 | 2.3% | 2.7% | +31 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).