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 Wollert were Indian, Australian and English.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Wollert - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Wollert in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Whittlesea (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Wollert, with comparison markers for Whittlesea (C).

Wollert
Whittlesea (C)

Indian

2021 count

4,631

% of total

19.0%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Australian

2021 count

2,868

% of total

11.8%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

English

2021 count

2,255

% of total

9.2%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Italian

2021 count

1,996

% of total

8.2%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Punjabi

2021 count

1,662

% of total

6.8%

Change from 2016

+3.7pp

Macedonian

2021 count

1,239

% of total

5.1%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Sikh

2021 count

854

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

+0.9pp

Iraqi

2021 count

737

% of total

3.0%

Change from 2016

+1.6pp

Greek

2021 count

728

% of total

3.0%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Lebanese

2021 count

629

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Data table

Ancestry for Wollert. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Whittlesea (C).

Ancestry for Wollert. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Whittlesea (C).
Ancestry for Wollert. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Whittlesea (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Whittlesea (C)%Count%Whittlesea (C)%Countpp
Indian4,63119.0%7.9%1,65118.2%6.7%+2,980+0.8pp
Australian2,86811.8%19.7%1,10612.2%20.0%+1,762-0.4pp
English2,2559.2%17.6%91510.1%18.7%+1,340-0.9pp
Italian1,9968.2%12.2%99210.9%13.2%+1,004-2.7pp
Punjabi1,6626.8%2.0%2773.1%0.8%+1,385+3.7pp
Macedonian1,2395.1%6.1%5496.1%6.6%+690-1.0pp
Sikh8543.5%0.9%2352.6%0.5%+619+0.9pp
Iraqi7373.0%1.1%1241.4%1.1%+613+1.6pp
Greek7283.0%5.3%3253.6%5.9%+403-0.6pp
Lebanese6292.6%2.2%2002.2%2.4%+429+0.4pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).