South Yarra
Ancestry
The three largest ancestries in South Yarra in 2021 were English, Australian and Irish.
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 South Yarra 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 South Yarra'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.
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's ancestry?'
Multi-response
Total population
| Ancestry - Totals | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yarra - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry totals | Number | % | Armadale % | Number | % | Armadale % | 2001 to 2021 | |
| Not stated | 1,600 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 1,317 | 9.4 | 8.1 | +283 | 37500 |
| Total responses | 27,963 | -- | -- | 14,030 | -- | -- | +13,933 | 37502 |
| Total people | 21,149 | -- | -- | 12,602 | -- | -- | +8,547 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2001 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
| Ancestry - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yarra - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2001 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry | Number | % | Armadale % | Number | % | Armadale % | 2001 to 2021 | |
| English | 6,379 | 30.2 | 34.6 | 37033 | 3,640 | 28.9 | 33.0 | +2,739 |
| Australian | 4,129 | 19.5 | 26.4 | 37010 | 2,837 | 22.5 | 29.6 | +1,292 |
 Irish | 2,669 | 12.6 | 13.1 | 37050 | 1,448 | 11.5 | 13.1 | +1,221 |
| Chinese | 2,351 | 11.1 | 7.2 | 37024 | 997 | 7.9 | 4.1 | +1,354 |
| Scottish | 2,078 | 9.8 | 11.4 | 37100 | 464 | 3.7 | 3.8 | +1,614 |
| Italian | 1,120 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 37051 | 429 | 3.4 | 3.0 | +691 |
| German | 830 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 37041 | 480 | 3.8 | 3.6 | +350 |
| Greek | 661 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 37042 | 499 | 4.0 | 3.8 | +162 |
| Indian | 632 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 37046 | 151 | 1.2 | 1.0 | +481 |
| Polish | 339 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 37093 | 217 | 1.7 | 3.0 | +122 |
| French | 308 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 37040 | 114 | 0.9 | 1.1 | +194 |
| Dutch | 306 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 37031 | 149 | 1.2 | 1.2 | +157 |
| Vietnamese | 257 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 37123 | 82 | 0.7 | 0.2 | +175 |
| Russian | 250 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 37097 | 223 | 1.8 | 1.3 | +27 |
| Filipino | 244 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 37038 | 44 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +200 |
| Inadequately Described | 198 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 37045 | 56 | 0.4 | 0.8 | +142 |
| New Zealander | 193 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 37070 | 144 | 1.1 | 0.7 | +49 |
| Spanish | 192 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 37109 | 65 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +127 |
| Sinhalese/Sri Lankan | 177 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 370131 | 64 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +113 |
| Japanese | 166 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 37052 | 164 | 1.3 | 0.4 | +2 |
| Welsh | 155 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 37124 | 56 | 0.4 | 0.6 | +99 |
| Thai | 142 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 37116 | 33 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +109 |
| Iranian | 142 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 37048 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +133 |
| Jewish | 141 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 37053 | 187 | 1.5 | 1.3 | -46 |
| Colombian | 139 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 37025 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +136 |
| Croatian | 132 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 37027 | 60 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +72 |
| Indonesian | 129 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 37047 | 125 | 1.0 | 0.5 | +4 |
| Serbian | 126 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 37101 | 87 | 0.7 | 0.6 | +39 |
| Malay | 123 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 37063 | 16 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +107 |
| American | 116 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 37004 | 46 | 0.4 | 0.6 | +70 |
| Korean | 114 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 37056 | 46 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +68 |
| South African | 114 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 37108 | 44 | 0.3 | 0.4 | +70 |
| Ukrainian | 114 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 37121 | 47 | 0.4 | 0.3 | +67 |
| Turkish | 95 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 37120 | 50 | 0.4 | 0.2 | +45 |
| Maltese | 94 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 37064 | 38 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +56 |
| Lebanese | 93 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 37060 | 24 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +69 |
| Australian Aboriginal | 93 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 37011 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +84 |
| Hungarian | 93 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 37044 | 68 | 0.5 | 0.7 | +25 |
| Maori | 80 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 37065 | 18 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +62 |
| Austrian | 73 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37013 | 62 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +11 |
| Macedonian | 68 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 37062 | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +56 |
| Portuguese | 66 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 37094 | 21 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +45 |
| Romanian | 64 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37096 | 38 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +26 |
| Egyptian | 64 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37032 | 22 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +42 |
| Chilean | 62 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 37023 | 24 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +38 |
| Other Middle-Eastern peoples | 59 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 37079 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +59 |
| Swiss | 59 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37112 | 25 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +34 |
| Swedish | 56 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37111 | 28 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +28 |
| Tamil | 53 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37115 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +53 |
| Cypriot | 53 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37028 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Brazilian | 52 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37017 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +46 |
| Canadian | 52 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37020 | 18 | 0.1 | 0.3 | +34 |
| Danish | 50 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 37030 | 30 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +20 |
| Other Indian subcontinent | 47 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 37078 | 10 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +37 |
| Other North American | 46 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37080 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +40 |
| Lithuanian | 45 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37061 | 16 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +29 |
| Czech | 45 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37029 | 34 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +11 |
| Mauritian | 43 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37066 | 24 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +19 |
| Other Eastern European | 43 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37077 | 25 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +18 |
| Norwegian | 43 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37071 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +34 |
| Taiwanese | 42 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37114 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +33 |
| Latvian | 37 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37059 | 39 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -2 |
| Caribbean Islander | 35 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37021 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +35 |
| Khmer (Cambodian) | 32 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37055 | 8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +24 |
| Mexican | 31 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37067 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +25 |
| Arab not further described | 31 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37006 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +25 |
| Nepalese | 30 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37069 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +30 |
| Other South American | 30 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37085 | 22 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +8 |
| Other Southern and East African | 29 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37087 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +20 |
| Pakistani | 29 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37089 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +23 |
| Bulgarian | 29 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37018 | 18 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +11 |
| Other Northern Asian | 28 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37082 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +28 |
| Other South-East Asian | 28 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37086 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +28 |
| Argentinian | 27 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37007 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +24 |
| Ethiopian | 27 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37036 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +27 |
| Slovene | 27 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37106 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +21 |
| Singaporean | 24 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37103 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Eritrean | 24 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37034 | 10 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +14 |
| Bosnian | 24 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37016 | 28 | 0.2 | 0.1 | -4 |
| Other North-Western European | 24 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37081 | 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +12 |
| Other Arab peoples | 23 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37073 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +14 |
| Other British | 22 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37074 | 21 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +1 |
| Peruvian | 20 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37092 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +20 |
| Burmese peoples | 20 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37019 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +17 |
| Finnish | 20 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37039 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +11 |
| Bengali/Bangladeshi | 19 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 370130 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +16 |
| Syrian | 18 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37113 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +18 |
| Other Southern/South East European | 18 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37088 | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +9 |
| Punjabi | 17 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37095 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +11 |
| Native American | 16 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 378106 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Albanian | 16 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37003 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +13 |
| Armenian | 16 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37008 | 13 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +3 |
| Fijian | 15 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37037 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +15 |
| Zimbabwean | 15 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37125 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +15 |
| Samoan | 15 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37099 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +15 |
| Slovak | 14 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37105 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +11 |
| Anglo-Indian | 14 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37005 | 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +4 |
| Belgian | 14 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37014 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Other Central Asian | 13 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37076 | 8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +5 |
| Salvadoran | 13 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37098 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +13 |
| Torres Strait Islander | 11 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37119 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +11 |
| Sudanese | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37110 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Palestinian | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37090 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Estonian | 10 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37035 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.2 | +4 |
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Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the ancestry responses of the population in South Yarra in 2021 shows that the top five ancestries nominated were:
- English (6,379 people or 30.2%)
- Australian (4,129 people or 19.5%)
- Irish (2,669 people or 12.6%)
- Chinese (2,351 people or 11.1%)
- Scottish (2,078 people or 9.8%)
In combination these five ancestries account for 17,606 responses in total, or 83.25% of all responses.
The major differences between the ancestries of the population in South Yarra and Armadale were:
- A larger percentage of people with Chinese ancestry (11.1% compared to 7.2%)
- A smaller percentage of people with Australian ancestry (19.5% compared to 26.4%)
- A smaller percentage of people with English ancestry (30.2% compared to 34.6%)
- A smaller percentage of people with Polish ancestry (1.6% compared to 3.3%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the reported ancestries of the population in this area between 2001 and 2021 were:
- English (+2,739 persons)
- Scottish (+1,614 persons)
- Chinese (+1,354 persons)
- Australian (+1,292 persons)