Greater Sydney
Ancestry
The three largest ancestries in Greater Sydney in 2016 were English, Australian 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 Greater Sydney 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 Greater Sydney'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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Sydney - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry totals | Number | % | Greater Adelaide % | Number | % | Greater Adelaide % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Not stated | 304,969 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 306,420 | 5.9 | 4.3 | -1,451 | 37500 |
| Total responses | 5,973,804 | -- | -- | 5,228,561 | -- | -- | +745,243 | 37502 |
| Total people | 4,823,994 | -- | -- | 4,391,636 | -- | -- | +432,358 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
| Ancestry - Ranked by size | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Sydney - Total persons (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Ancestry | Number | % | Greater Adelaide % | Number | % | Greater Adelaide % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| English | 1,220,145 | 25.3 | 37.3 | 37033 | 1,132,110 | 25.8 | 37.3 | +88,035 |
| Australian | 1,133,985 | 23.5 | 30.9 | 37010 | 1,130,338 | 25.7 | 32.3 | +3,647 |
| Chinese | 488,102 | 10.1 | 3.9 | 37024 | 358,079 | 8.2 | 2.9 | +130,023 |
| Irish | 416,642 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 37050 | 365,485 | 8.3 | 7.6 | +51,157 |
| Scottish | 307,460 | 6.4 | 8.2 | 37100 | 276,975 | 6.3 | 7.8 | +30,485 |
| Italian | 204,160 | 4.2 | 6.8 | 37051 | 183,914 | 4.2 | 6.9 | +20,246 |
| Indian | 194,018 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 37046 | 128,405 | 2.9 | 1.6 | +65,613 |
| Lebanese | 160,372 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 37060 | 141,479 | 3.2 | 0.4 | +18,893 |
| German | 122,901 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 37041 | 109,596 | 2.5 | 6.8 | +13,305 |
| Greek | 117,714 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 37042 | 112,852 | 2.6 | 2.8 | +4,862 |
| Vietnamese | 105,449 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 37123 | 79,459 | 1.8 | 1.3 | +25,990 |
| Filipino | 102,412 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 37038 | 83,629 | 1.9 | 0.8 | +18,783 |
| Korean | 63,766 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 37056 | 49,720 | 1.1 | 0.3 | +14,046 |
| Maltese | 57,161 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 37064 | 54,083 | 1.2 | 0.5 | +3,078 |
| Dutch | 44,848 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 37031 | 44,500 | 1.0 | 1.7 | +348 |
| Spanish | 39,432 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 37109 | 31,451 | 0.7 | 0.3 | +7,981 |
| New Zealander | 38,069 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 37070 | 35,547 | 0.8 | 0.4 | +2,522 |
| Polish | 37,714 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 37093 | 34,719 | 0.8 | 1.3 | +2,995 |
| Croatian | 37,480 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 37027 | 35,555 | 0.8 | 0.5 | +1,925 |
| Nepalese | 34,295 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 37069 | 16,030 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +18,265 |
| French | 31,573 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 37040 | 25,284 | 0.6 | 0.4 | +6,289 |
| Assyrian/Chaldean | 31,130 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 37009 | 21,678 | 0.5 | 0.0 | +9,452 |
| Serbian | 30,036 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 37101 | 28,260 | 0.6 | 0.6 | +1,776 |
| Inadequately Described | 28,832 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 37045 | 16,608 | 0.4 | 0.4 | +12,224 |
| Bengali/Bangladeshi | 28,328 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 370130 | 18,541 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +9,787 |
| Sinhalese/Sri Lankan | 27,524 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 370131 | 21,508 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +6,016 |
| South African | 27,160 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 37108 | 25,772 | 0.6 | 0.3 | +1,388 |
| Russian | 26,529 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 37097 | 22,794 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +3,735 |
| Macedonian | 25,996 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37062 | 24,209 | 0.6 | 0.1 | +1,787 |
| Pakistani | 25,462 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 37089 | 14,563 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +10,899 |
| Thai | 25,106 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 37116 | 15,469 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +9,637 |
| Turkish | 25,001 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37120 | 22,851 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +2,150 |
| Samoan | 24,757 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 37099 | 19,584 | 0.4 | 0.0 | +5,173 |
| Egyptian | 24,730 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37032 | 19,828 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +4,902 |
| Fijian | 24,535 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37037 | 20,163 | 0.5 | 0.1 | +4,372 |
| Maori | 24,316 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 37065 | 24,111 | 0.5 | 0.2 | +205 |
| Indonesian | 24,306 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 37047 | 17,520 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +6,786 |
| Welsh | 24,048 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 37124 | 21,097 | 0.5 | 0.7 | +2,951 |
| Iranian | 23,423 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 37048 | 14,497 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +8,926 |
| Iraqi | 22,950 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37049 | 14,846 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +8,104 |
| Portuguese | 22,198 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 37094 | 16,973 | 0.4 | 0.1 | +5,225 |
| Arab not further described | 19,788 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 37006 | 14,364 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +5,424 |
| Japanese | 19,059 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 37052 | 15,327 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +3,732 |
| Hungarian | 18,979 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 37044 | 18,268 | 0.4 | 0.4 | +711 |
| Tongan | 15,796 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 37118 | 12,667 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +3,129 |
| American | 15,011 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 37004 | 14,879 | 0.3 | 0.2 | +132 |
| Khmer (Cambodian) | 14,933 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37055 | 11,267 | 0.3 | 0.3 | +3,666 |
| Chilean | 14,621 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 37023 | 12,718 | 0.3 | 0.1 | +1,903 |
| Afghan | 14,617 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37001 | 9,596 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +5,021 |
| Other Indian subcontinent | 13,616 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 37078 | 9,541 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +4,075 |
| Armenian | 12,553 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 37008 | 11,197 | 0.3 | 0.0 | +1,356 |
| Tamil | 11,313 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37115 | 9,065 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +2,248 |
| Syrian | 10,930 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37113 | 7,952 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +2,978 |
| Australian Aboriginal | 10,908 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 37011 | 7,704 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +3,204 |
| Ukrainian | 10,629 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 37121 | 8,391 | 0.2 | 0.4 | +2,238 |
| Austrian | 9,813 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37013 | 9,329 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +484 |
| Cypriot | 9,550 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37028 | 7,663 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +1,887 |
| Danish | 9,281 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37030 | 8,500 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +781 |
| Malay | 9,120 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37063 | 6,106 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +3,014 |
| Other Middle-Eastern peoples | 8,976 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 37079 | 6,521 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +2,455 |
| Other South American | 8,968 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37085 | 7,797 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +1,171 |
| Swedish | 8,547 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37111 | 7,013 | 0.2 | 0.2 | +1,534 |
| Brazilian | 8,520 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37017 | 4,869 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +3,651 |
| Palestinian | 7,998 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 37090 | 5,518 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +2,480 |
| Central and West African | 7,817 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 37022 | 4,993 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +2,824 |
| Canadian | 7,566 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37020 | 7,418 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +148 |
| Czech | 7,412 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37029 | 6,698 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +714 |
| Lao | 7,360 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 37058 | 6,216 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +1,144 |
| Mauritian | 7,349 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 37066 | 6,922 | 0.2 | 0.0 | +427 |
| Burmese peoples | 7,157 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37019 | 4,855 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +2,302 |
| Punjabi | 6,834 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37095 | 3,018 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +3,816 |
| Jewish | 6,337 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37053 | 9,037 | 0.2 | 0.0 | -2,700 |
| Colombian | 6,246 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37025 | 3,825 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +2,421 |
| Other Central Asian | 6,210 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 37076 | 3,622 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +2,588 |
| Peruvian | 6,189 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37092 | 5,015 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,174 |
| Swiss | 6,078 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37112 | 5,802 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +276 |
| Bosnian | 5,681 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37016 | 4,866 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +815 |
| Cook Islander | 5,614 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37026 | 4,421 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,193 |
| Romanian | 4,995 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37096 | 4,345 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +650 |
| Argentinian | 4,889 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37007 | 4,058 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +831 |
| Taiwanese | 4,831 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37114 | 2,353 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +2,478 |
| Uruguayan | 4,787 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37122 | 4,565 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +222 |
| Lithuanian | 4,670 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37061 | 3,370 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +1,300 |
| Norwegian | 4,638 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37071 | 4,224 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +414 |
| Other Arab peoples | 4,269 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37073 | 2,840 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,429 |
| Finnish | 4,200 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37039 | 3,930 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +270 |
| Sudanese | 4,122 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37110 | 4,132 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -10 |
| Slovene | 4,108 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37106 | 3,886 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +222 |
| Kurdish | 4,043 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37057 | 3,004 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +1,039 |
| Other Polynesian | 3,968 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37084 | 2,617 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +1,351 |
| Latvian | 3,949 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37059 | 3,853 | 0.1 | 0.2 | +96 |
| Slovak | 3,811 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37105 | 3,072 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +739 |
| Other Oceanian (inc. Melanesia & Micronesia) | 3,711 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37083 | 3,770 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -59 |
| Other Eastern European | 3,708 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37077 | 2,461 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +1,247 |
| Jordanian | 3,527 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37054 | 2,702 | 0.1 | 0.0 | +825 |
| Other Southern and East African | 3,231 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 37087 | 3,279 | 0.1 | 0.2 | -48 |
| Other North American | 3,044 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37080 | 2,008 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +1,036 |
| Other Northern Asian | 2,857 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37082 | 823 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +2,034 |
| Other British | 2,703 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37074 | 1,887 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +816 |
| Belgian | 2,617 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37014 | 2,160 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +457 |
| Zimbabwean | 2,562 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37125 | 1,938 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +624 |
| Estonian | 2,440 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 37035 | 2,304 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +136 |
| Caribbean Islander | 2,333 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37021 | 1,904 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +429 |
| Mexican | 2,101 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37067 | 1,324 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +777 |
| Timorese | 2,016 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37117 | 1,707 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +309 |
| Other North-Western European | 1,968 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37081 | 1,296 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +672 |
| Other Southern/South East European | 1,961 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37088 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Anglo-Indian | 1,861 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37005 | 2,072 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -211 |
| Singaporean | 1,785 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37103 | 1,255 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +530 |
| Bulgarian | 1,657 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37018 | 1,275 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +382 |
| Salvadoran | 1,596 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37098 | 1,260 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +336 |
| Somali | 1,588 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37107 | 1,040 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +548 |
| Other South-East Asian | 1,540 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37086 | 1,306 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +234 |
| Papua New Guinean | 1,378 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37091 | 1,207 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +171 |
| Albanian | 1,376 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37003 | 989 | 0.0 | 0.1 | +387 |
| South Sudanese | 1,210 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 374305 | 720 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +490 |
| Ethiopian | 1,164 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 37036 | 861 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +303 |
| Other Central American | 1,022 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37075 | 792 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +230 |
| Australian South Sea Islander | 804 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37012 | 293 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +511 |
| Native American (Indian) | 794 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37068 | 514 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +280 |
| Afrikaner | 637 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37002 | 683 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -46 |
| Other Sudanese peoples | 549 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 370129 | 519 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +30 |
| Eritrean | 316 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37034 | 227 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +89 |
| Seychellois | 284 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37102 | 228 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +56 |
| Torres Strait Islander | 267 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37119 | 257 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +10 |
| Hmong | 231 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37043 | 198 | 0.0 | 0.0 | +33 |
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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 Greater Sydney in 2016 shows that the top five ancestries nominated were:
- English (1,220,145 people or 25.3%)
- Australian (1,133,985 people or 23.5%)
- Chinese (488,102 people or 10.1%)
- Irish (416,642 people or 8.6%)
- Scottish (307,460 people or 6.4%)
In combination these five ancestries account for 3,566,334 responses in total, or 73.93% of all responses.
The major differences between the ancestries of the population in Greater Sydney and Greater Adelaide were:
- A larger percentage of people with Chinese ancestry (10.1% compared to 3.9%)
- A smaller percentage of people with English ancestry (25.3% compared to 37.3%)
- A smaller percentage of people with Australian ancestry (23.5% compared to 30.9%)
- A smaller percentage of people with German ancestry (2.5% compared to 6.8%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the reported ancestries of the population in this area between 2011 and 2016 were:
- Chinese (+130,023 persons)
- English (+88,035 persons)
- Indian (+65,613 persons)
- Irish (+51,157 persons)