Willoughby City
Ancestry
The three largest ancestries in Willoughby City in 2021 were Chinese, English and Australian.
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 Willoughby City 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 Willoughby City'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willoughby City - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry totals | Number | % | NSROC Region % | Number | % | NSROC Region % | 2016 to 2021 | |
| Not stated | 2,897 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3,784 | 4.1 | 3.8 | -887 | 37500 |
| Total responses | 97,010 | -- | -- | 92,505 | -- | -- | +4,505 | 37502 |
| Total people | 75,610 | -- | -- | 74,308 | -- | -- | +1,302 | |
The NSROC (Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils) Region is located to the north of Sydney and includes the following 8 LGAs: Hornsby (A), Hunters Hill (A), Ku-ring-gai (A), Lane Cove (A), Mosman (A), North Sydney (A), Ryde (C) & Willoughby (C).
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
| Ancestry - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willoughby City - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry | Number | % | NSROC Region % | Number | % | NSROC Region % | 2016 to 2021 | |
 Chinese | 20,012 | 26.5 | 19.7 | 37024 | 17,932 | 24.1 | 16.7 | +2,080 |
| English | 17,755 | 23.5 | 26.7 | 37033 | 18,118 | 24.4 | 28.8 | -363 |
| Australian | 15,120 | 20.0 | 21.9 | 37010 | 14,998 | 20.2 | 23.1 | +122 |
| Irish | 6,478 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 37050 | 7,061 | 9.5 | 10.4 | -583 |
| Scottish | 5,276 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 37100 | 5,117 | 6.9 | 8.2 | +159 |
| Indian | 2,985 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 37046 | 2,564 | 3.5 | 3.9 | +421 |
| Italian | 2,446 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 37051 | 2,355 | 3.2 | 3.8 | +91 |
| Korean | 2,101 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 37056 | 2,679 | 3.6 | 2.8 | -578 |
| Japanese | 1,976 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 37052 | 1,898 | 2.6 | 1.1 | +78 |
| German | 1,800 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 37041 | 1,810 | 2.4 | 2.9 | -10 |
| Filipino | 1,310 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 37038 | 1,086 | 1.5 | 1.4 | +224 |
| Armenian | 1,048 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 37008 | 1,040 | 1.4 | 0.8 | +8 |
| Greek | 982 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 37042 | 896 | 1.2 | 1.2 | +86 |
| Croatian | 765 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 37027 | 679 | 0.9 | 0.6 | +86 |
| Dutch | 727 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 37031 | 686 | 0.9 | 1.2 | +41 |
| Thai | 716 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 37116 | 555 | 0.7 | 0.5 | +161 |
| French | 660 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 37040 | 583 | 0.8 | 0.8 | +77 |
| Iranian | 651 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 37048 | 629 | 0.8 | 1.1 | +22 |
| New Zealander | 628 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 37070 | 695 | 0.9 | 1.0 | -67 |
| Polish | 622 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 37093 | 558 | 0.8 | 0.8 | +64 |
| Vietnamese | 568 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 37123 | 433 | 0.6 | 0.6 | +135 |
| Lebanese | 558 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 37060 | 574 | 0.8 | 1.1 | -16 |
| Nepalese | 514 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 37069 | 403 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +111 |
| South African | 509 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 37108 | 484 | 0.7 | 1.1 | +25 |
| Indonesian | 493 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 37047 | 392 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +101 |
| Russian | 482 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 37097 | 462 | 0.6 | 0.7 | +20 |
| Taiwanese | 462 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 37114 | 385 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +77 |
| Inadequately Described | 432 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 37045 | 315 | 0.4 | 0.5 | +117 |
| Welsh | 403 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 37124 | 425 | 0.6 | 0.7 | -22 |
| Spanish | 393 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 37109 | 406 | 0.5 | 0.6 | -13 |
| Hungarian | 385 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 37044 | 382 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +3 |
| Malay | 361 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 37063 | 235 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +126 |
| American | 343 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 37004 | 287 | 0.4 | 0.5 | +56 |
| Sinhalese/Sri Lankan | 323 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 370131 | 241 | 0.3 | 0.8 | +82 |
| Other Indian subcontinent | 303 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 37078 | 101 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +202 |
| Serbian | 259 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 37101 | 215 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +44 |
| Portuguese | 228 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 37094 | 179 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +49 |
| Australian Aboriginal | 226 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37011 | 32 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +194 |
| Austrian | 217 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37013 | 192 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +25 |
| Canadian | 201 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37020 | 194 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +7 |
| Maltese | 201 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37064 | 183 | 0.2 | 0.4 | +18 |
| Swedish | 185 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37111 | 158 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +27 |
| Brazilian | 179 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37017 | 94 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +85 |
| Danish | 176 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37030 | 170 | 0.2 | 0.3 | +6 |
| Colombian | 161 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37025 | 114 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +47 |
| Tamil | 157 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 37115 | 35 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +122 |
| Egyptian | 156 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37032 | 112 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +44 |
| Pakistani | 147 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37089 | 141 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +6 |
| Macedonian | 145 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37062 | 136 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +9 |
| Jewish | 142 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37053 | 112 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +30 |
| Czech | 140 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37029 | 135 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +5 |
| Swiss | 135 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37112 | 162 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -27 |
| Maori | 128 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37065 | 89 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +39 |
| Ukrainian | 121 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37121 | 121 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Bengali/Bangladeshi | 116 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 370130 | 73 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +43 |
| Norwegian | 114 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37071 | 95 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +19 |
| Other South American | 110 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37085 | 87 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +23 |
| Chilean | 108 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37023 | 95 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +13 |
| Other Eastern European | 107 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37077 | 82 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +25 |
| Fijian | 105 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37037 | 58 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +47 |
| Turkish | 104 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37120 | 81 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +23 |
| Other Middle-Eastern peoples | 99 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37079 | 80 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +19 |
| Singaporean | 84 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37103 | 65 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +19 |
| Peruvian | 80 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37092 | 62 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +18 |
| Romanian | 80 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37096 | 83 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -3 |
| Estonian | 80 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37035 | 60 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +20 |
| Cypriot | 76 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37028 | 50 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +26 |
| Finnish | 72 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37039 | 80 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -8 |
| Other Northern Asian | 72 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37082 | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +42 |
| Slovak | 68 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37105 | 68 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Mexican | 68 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37067 | 44 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +24 |
| Lithuanian | 68 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37061 | 78 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -10 |
| Mauritian | 62 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37066 | 50 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +12 |
| Slovene | 60 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37106 | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +9 |
| Other South-East Asian | 58 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37086 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +29 |
| Other British | 58 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37074 | 67 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -9 |
| Other North-Western European | 57 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37081 | 37 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +20 |
| Punjabi | 57 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37095 | 26 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +31 |
| Latvian | 56 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37059 | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +5 |
| Burmese peoples | 52 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37019 | 37 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +15 |
| Belgian | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37014 | 48 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +3 |
| Khmer (Cambodian) | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37055 | 41 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Arab not further described | 50 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37006 | 66 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -16 |
| Palestinian | 46 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37090 | 24 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +22 |
| Argentinian | 45 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37007 | 60 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -15 |
| Other North American | 42 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37080 | 39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +3 |
| Afghan | 39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37001 | 37 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +2 |
| Lao | 38 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37058 | 18 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +20 |
| Other Southern/South East European | 37 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37088 | 22 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +15 |
| Bulgarian | 36 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37018 | 39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -3 |
| Other Arab peoples | 35 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37073 | 27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +8 |
| Caribbean Islander | 33 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37021 | 51 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -18 |
| Papua New Guinean | 32 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37091 | 23 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +9 |
| Other Southern and East African | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37087 | 24 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +6 |
| Torres Strait Islander | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37119 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +30 |
| Iraqi | 30 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37049 | 28 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +2 |
| Sikh | 29 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 377114 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Syrian | 28 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37113 | 32 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -4 |
| Samoan | 27 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37099 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -2 |
| Other Central Asian | 27 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37076 | 19 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +8 |
| Tongan | 22 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37118 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +11 |
| Uruguayan | 21 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37122 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +15 |
| Bosnian | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37016 | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Anglo-Indian | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37005 | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Assyrian/Chaldean | 19 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37009 | 27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -8 |
| Central and West African (other) | 19 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 370132 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Zimbabwean | 18 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37125 | 21 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -3 |
| Other Polynesian | 17 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37084 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +9 |
| Afrikaner | 17 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37002 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +2 |
| Other Central American | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37075 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +7 |
| Kurdish | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37057 | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +3 |
| Other Oceanian (inc. Melanesia & Micronesia) | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37083 | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +5 |
| Kenyan | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 379205 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Jordanian | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37054 | 14 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Nigerian | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 379104 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Albanian | 10 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37003 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +2 |
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The NSROC (Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils) Region is located to the north of Sydney and includes the following 8 LGAs: Hornsby (A), Hunters Hill (A), Ku-ring-gai (A), Lane Cove (A), Mosman (A), North Sydney (A), Ryde (C) & Willoughby (C).
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 Willoughby City in 2021 shows that the top five ancestries nominated were:
- Chinese (20,012 people or 26.5%)
- English (17,755 people or 23.5%)
- Australian (15,120 people or 20.0%)
- Irish (6,478 people or 8.6%)
- Scottish (5,276 people or 7.0%)
In combination these five ancestries account for 64,641 responses in total, or 85.49% of all responses.
The major differences between the ancestries of the population in Willoughby City and NSROC Region were:
- A larger percentage of people with Chinese ancestry (26.5% compared to 19.7%)
- A larger percentage of people with Japanese ancestry (2.6% compared to 1.2%)
- A smaller percentage of people with English ancestry (23.5% compared to 26.7%)
- A smaller percentage of people with Australian ancestry (20.0% compared to 21.9%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the reported ancestries of the population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Chinese (+2,080 persons)
- Irish (-583 persons)
- Korean (-578 persons)
- Indian (+421 persons)