Where the South African community lives in Sydney
Dover Heights has the largest South African community: 14.3% of residents were born in South Africa and 12.7% reported South African ancestry. Rose Bay and Vaucluse follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 195 eligible Sydney suburbs.
This page ranks Sydney suburbs by where the South African community is most established, using the 2021 Census. Suburbs are ordered by the share of residents who were born in South Africa, and each one also shows the share who reported South African ancestry. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents are ranked.
No single number captures a community on its own — ancestry is the broadest (it includes Australian-born second and third generations), country of birth captures migrants, and language spoken at home tracks the actively speaking core. We show every angle the 2021 Census publishes for the South African community so you can see the full picture. Ancestry is a multiple-response question, so shares read as "residents who reported this ancestry" rather than an exclusive count. Percentile ranks are computed within Sydney's pool. This is descriptive demographic information, not a recommendation. Measured on the metro pools, South Africa-born is both wider (729 suburbs against 589) and more concentrated (peaking at 14.3% against 12.7%) than South African ancestry, which many second-generation residents report as English instead.
Where the South African community lives in Sydney
Ranked by the share of residents who were born in South Africa in the 2021 Census, among suburbs with at least 2,000 residents. Each suburb also shows the share who reported South African ancestry — the other angle the census publishes on where the South African community is established.
Dover Heights
NSW 2030 · 4,044 residents14% born in South Africa · 13% South African ancestry
Rose Bay
NSW 2029 · 9,911 residents9% born in South Africa · 7% South African ancestry
Vaucluse
NSW 2030 · 9,510 residents8% born in South Africa · 6% South African ancestry
St Ives Chase
NSW 2075 · 3,283 residents8% born in South Africa · 5% South African ancestry
St Ives
NSW 2075 · 18,384 residents7% born in South Africa · 5% South African ancestry
North Bondi
NSW 2026 · 9,290 residents6% born in South Africa · 5% South African ancestry
Bellevue Hill
NSW 2023 · 10,590 residents6% born in South Africa · 4% South African ancestry
North Wahroonga
NSW 2076 · 2,100 residents5% born in South Africa · 4% South African ancestry
Double Bay
NSW 2028 · 4,709 residents4% born in South Africa · 3% South African ancestry
North Turramurra
NSW 2074 · 4,194 residents3% born in South Africa · 2% South African ancestry
Darling Point
NSW 2027 · 3,977 residents3% born in South Africa · 2% South African ancestry
North Balgowlah
NSW 2093 · 3,816 residents3% born in South Africa · 4% South African ancestry
Beaumont Hills
NSW 2155 · 9,041 residents3% born in South Africa · 2% South African ancestry
Warrawee
NSW 2074 · 3,170 residents3% born in South Africa · 2% South African ancestry
Bondi
NSW 2026 · 10,411 residents3% born in South Africa · 2% South African ancestry
Ranked from 195 qualifying suburbs.
Ranked on the share of residents born in the relevant country (ancestry fragments across sub-groups, so birthplace is the more reliable signal here) in the 2021 Census, percentile-ranked within Sydney's candidate pool. Every suburb also shows all three census angles — ancestry, country of birth, and language spoken at home — because no single number captures a community on its own. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents qualify. Ancestry is a multiple-response question, so shares read as "residents who reported this ancestry", not an exclusive count. Descriptive ABS Census data, not a recommendation. See how we calculate for the full methodology.
Common questions about this ranking
Where does the South African community live in Sydney?
Dover Heights has the largest South African community: 14.3% of residents were born in South Africa and 12.7% reported South African ancestry. Rose Bay and Vaucluse follow. These 15 suburbs came from a field of 195 eligible Sydney suburbs. In Sydney suburbs of 2,000+ residents, 0.8% of people were born in South Africa (2021 Census).
How is this ranking put together?
Suburbs are ordered by the share of residents who were born in South Africa. Measured on the metro pools, South Africa-born is both wider (729 suburbs against 589) and more concentrated (peaking at 14.3% against 12.7%) than South African ancestry, which many second-generation residents report as English instead. Only suburbs with at least 2,000 residents are included, and percentile ranks are computed within Sydney's pool, so the list reflects concentration relative to other metro suburbs.
What do the percentages on each suburb mean?
They are different census angles on the South African community: country of birth counts only those who migrated and ancestry is the broadest, since it includes people born here. They rarely match, and seeing them together tells you whether a suburb's community is long-established, newly-arrived, or somewhere in between.
Why don't the percentages add up?
They measure different things and come from different census questions. Ancestry is a multiple-response question (a person can report up to two), so it isn't a clean share of population; birthplace counts only people born overseas; and language counts only those who still speak it at home. This is descriptive demographic data, not a recommendation to seek out or avoid anywhere.
How current is it?
The figures are from the 2021 Census, the most recent available until results from the August 2026 Census are released in 2027. The top 15 is recomputed whenever we refresh the census data.
Same list in other cities
- Where the South African community lives in Melbourne
- Where the South African community lives in Brisbane
- Where the South African community lives in Perth
- Where the South African community lives in Adelaide
- Where the South African community lives in Hobart
- Where the South African community lives in Darwin
- Where the South African community lives in Canberra
- Where the South African community lives in Newcastle
- Where the South African community lives in Central Coast
- Where the South African community lives in Sunshine Coast
- Where the South African community lives in Gold Coast
- Where the South African community lives in Wollongong
- Where the South African community lives in Geelong
- Where the South African community lives in Townsville
- Where the South African community lives in Toowoomba
- Where the South African community lives in Busselton
- Where the South African community lives in Ballarat
- Where the South African community lives in Cairns
- Where the South African community lives in Albany
- Where the South African community lives in Ballina
- Where the South African community lives in Geraldton
- Where the South African community lives in Warragul
- Where the South African community lives in Bundaberg
- Where the South African community lives in Launceston
- Where the South African community lives in Bendigo
- Where the South African community lives in Rockhampton
- Where the South African community lives in Mackay
- Where the South African community lives in Albury – Wodonga
- Where the South African community lives in Camden Haven
- Where the South African community lives in Burnie
- Where the South African community lives in Wagga Wagga
- Where the South African community lives in Coffs Harbour
- Where the South African community lives in Alice Springs
- Where the South African community lives in Mount Isa
Related
Rankings last computed 28 September 2026. Recomputed after each ACARA schools data refresh.
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