The now more than 100,000 people calling Ballarat home includes 16.3 per cent who were born overseas.

This is a 2.3 per cent rise from the previous census in 2011.

Leading the way were English migrants, who made up two per cent of the migrant population in Ballarat.

However there was strong diversity among the other top five cultures, with Asian, European and Antipodean nations represented among the top migrant groups.

India and New Zealand migrants made up eight percent each of the growth, while Chinese immigrants were close behind at seven per cent.

The Dutch have also arrived in numbers, to land at number five on the list with 537 migrants, or five per cent of the total population.

Cr Belinda Coates, who is also on council’s intercultural advisory committee, said there was a lot of work being done to make Ballarat a successful multicultural society.

“We have been keenly awaiting the census data on our cultural diversity, because we have a draft cultural diversity strategy waiting to go out for community consultation,” she said.

“It is not surprising to see there has been an increase – we know we have some really positive strategies in place to highlight the benefits of being a multicultural city.

“There was the recent inclusion of Ballarat as one of the intercultural cities, which is all about demonstrating the mutual benefits of a multicultural society.”