36.9% ▲ +12.8%
Higher than 99% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 32.7%
- 2016: 35.1%
- 2021: 36.9%
Share of people born outside Australia (birthplace-not-stated excluded).
Melbourne · Urban Centre
Ancestry & Birthplace in Melbourne
Where people and their families come from — the ancestries they identify with and where they were born.
English ancestry is the most common background in Melbourne, where 24.8% of people claim this heritage. The city is a diverse hub with a very high proportion of overseas-born residents, which is well above the figures for both Victoria and Australia.
Ancestry
The ancestries people most identify with.
Along with English ancestry, 22.5% of people identify as Australian. Other common backgrounds include Chinese at 8.8%, Irish at 8.2%, and Scottish at 6.9%.
Country of birth
Australia and the largest overseas communities.
More than a third of residents were born overseas, a figure that is well above the national average and has risen by 4.2 percentage points since 2011. While 58.8% were born in Australia, the most common overseas birthplaces are India (5.1%), China (3.6%), England (2.7%), and Vietnam (2.0%).
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Ancestry & Birthplace in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL201001/melbourne/topic/ancestry-heritage