38.6% —
Higher than 99% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 36.8%
- 2021: 38.6%
Share of people born outside Australia (birthplace-not-stated excluded).
Greater Sydney · Capital City
Ancestry & Birthplace in Greater Sydney
Where people and their families come from — the ancestries they identify with and where they were born.
A growing proportion of people in Greater Sydney were born overseas, with the share rising to 38.6% in 2021. This makes the region one of the most diverse in the country, far exceeding both the state and national figures. English and Australian remain the most common ancestries, but Chinese ancestry is also very prominent at 10.6%.
Ancestry
The ancestries people most identify with.
English ancestry is the most common at 23.8%, followed closely by Australian at 22.3%. Other significant ancestral groups include Chinese at 10.6%, Irish at 7.7%, and Scottish at 6.0%.
Country of birth
Australia and the largest overseas communities.
More people were born overseas here than in any other similar area, with the figure rising 1.9 percentage points since 2016 to 38.6%. This is far above the national figure of 27.7% and well above the New South Wales average of 29.3%.
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Greater Sydney
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Ancestry & Birthplace in Greater Sydney [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/gccsa/1GSYD/greater-sydney/topic/ancestry-heritage