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 Sydney (C) were English, Australian and Chinese.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Sydney (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Sydney (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Sydney (C), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
English
2021 count
53,016
% of total
25.1%
Change from 2016
+1.7pp
53,016
25.1%
+1.7pp
Australian
2021 count
35,616
% of total
16.8%
Change from 2016
+1.5pp
35,616
16.8%
+1.5pp
Chinese
2021 count
35,562
% of total
16.8%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
35,562
16.8%
-0.6pp
Irish
2021 count
22,547
% of total
10.7%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
22,547
10.7%
+0.4pp
Scottish
2021 count
15,789
% of total
7.5%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
15,789
7.5%
+0.6pp
Italian
2021 count
8,347
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
8,347
3.9%
+0.5pp
German
2021 count
6,906
% of total
3.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
6,906
3.3%
+0.2pp
Thai
2021 count
6,293
% of total
3.0%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
6,293
3.0%
-0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
5,480
% of total
2.6%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
5,480
2.6%
+0.5pp
Indonesian
2021 count
4,058
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
4,058
1.9%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+4,331
+1.7pp
Australian
+3,644
+1.5pp
Chinese
-606
-0.6pp
Irish
+1,021
+0.4pp
Scottish
+1,457
+0.6pp
Italian
+1,179
+0.5pp
German
+463
+0.2pp
Thai
-418
-0.2pp
Indian
+1,178
+0.5pp
Indonesian
+796
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Sydney (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | pp | |
| English | 53,016 | 25.1% | 23.8% | 48,685 | 23.4% | 25.3% | +4,331 | +1.7pp |
| Australian | 35,616 | 16.8% | 22.3% | 31,972 | 15.3% | 23.5% | +3,644 | +1.5pp |
| Chinese | 35,562 | 16.8% | 10.6% | 36,168 | 17.4% | 10.1% | -606 | -0.6pp |
| Irish | 22,547 | 10.7% | 7.7% | 21,526 | 10.3% | 8.6% | +1,021 | +0.4pp |
| Scottish | 15,789 | 7.5% | 6.0% | 14,332 | 6.9% | 6.4% | +1,457 | +0.6pp |
| Italian | 8,347 | 3.9% | 4.3% | 7,168 | 3.4% | 4.2% | +1,179 | +0.5pp |
| German | 6,906 | 3.3% | 2.3% | 6,443 | 3.1% | 2.5% | +463 | +0.2pp |
| Thai | 6,293 | 3.0% | 0.6% | 6,711 | 3.2% | 0.5% | -418 | -0.2pp |
| Indian | 5,480 | 2.6% | 4.5% | 4,302 | 2.1% | 4.0% | +1,178 | +0.5pp |
| Indonesian | 4,058 | 1.9% | 0.6% | 3,262 | 1.6% | 0.5% | +796 | +0.3pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).