idc-logo
svg rectangle color
Western Sydney (LGA)Community profile

Western Sydney (LGA)

Ancestry

reset

The three largest ancestries in Western Sydney (LGA) in 2021 were Australian, English and Chinese.

Ancestry defines the cultural association and ethnic background of an individual going back three generations. Ancestry is a good measure of the total size of cultural groups in Western Sydney (LGA) regardless of where they were born or what language they speak.

Ancestry data, should be combined with data on Birthplace, Language Spoken at Home and Religion for a more complete picture of Western Sydney (LGA)'s ethnic characteristics.

Please note that the "Australian Aboriginal" and "Torres Strait Islander" categories in this topic are not directly comparable from 2021 to previous years, due to a change in the wording of the question. In 2021, these options were marked boxes on the question rather than write-in options. The "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Origin" question is still considered a more reliable count for this group, and can be found on the Population summary page.

Please note: Due to changes in ABS rules around perturbation and additivity of data to protect the confidentiality of individuals, counts of ancestry groups and totals derived from them may differ slightly from those published by the ABS. For more information see notes on data confidentiality.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the person's ancestry?'

Multi-response

Ancestry - Totals
Western Sydney (LGA) - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Ancestry totalsNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2016 to 2021
Not stated177,5995.64.7140,1455.05.1+37,454
Total responses3,169,900----2,783,303----+386,597
Total people2,606,585----2,307,174----+299,411
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Western Sydney (LGA) - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
AncestryNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2016 to 2021
Australian520,88820.022.3502,61521.823.5+18,273
English476,83418.323.8473,36220.525.3+3,472
Chinese231,5718.910.6195,1948.510.1+36,377
Indian171,1706.64.5134,7035.84.0+36,467
Irish130,3485.07.7141,5916.18.6-11,243
Lebanese129,9135.03.3124,0045.43.3+5,909
Scottish107,3764.16.0108,3944.76.4-1,018
Italian96,8413.74.390,4433.94.2+6,398
Vietnamese94,3713.62.386,1953.72.2+8,176
Filipino89,4453.42.570,7383.12.1+18,707
Show all (130 entries)

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

Dominant groups

Analysis of the ancestry responses of the population in Western Sydney (LGA) in 2021 shows that the top five ancestries nominated were:

  • Australian (520,888 people or 20.0%)
  • English (476,834 people or 18.3%)
  • Chinese (231,571 people or 8.9%)
  • Indian (171,170 people or 6.6%)
  • Irish (130,348 people or 5.0%)

In combination these five ancestries account for 1,530,811 responses in total, or 58.73% of all responses.

The major differences between the ancestries of the population in Western Sydney (LGA) and Greater Sydney were:

  • A larger percentage of people with Indian ancestry (6.6% compared to 4.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with English ancestry (18.3% compared to 23.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with Irish ancestry (5.0% compared to 7.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with Australian ancestry (20.0% compared to 22.3%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the reported ancestries of the population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Australian Aboriginal (+44,700 persons)
  • Indian (+36,467 persons)
  • Chinese (+36,377 persons)
  • Nepalese (+20,498 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.