Cultural diversity

Ancestry

About this topic

Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.

This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.

Interpretation notes

  • People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
  • ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
  • The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.

Key insight

In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Windorah were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Windorah - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Windorah in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Barcoo (S) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Windorah, with comparison markers for Barcoo (S).

Windorah
Barcoo (S)

Australian

2021 count

45

% of total

43.3%

Change from 2016

-5.4pp

English

2021 count

40

% of total

38.5%

Change from 2016

+4.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

16

% of total

15.4%

Change from 2016

+5.8pp

Irish

2021 count

15

% of total

14.4%

Change from 2016

+2.2pp

German

2021 count

13

% of total

12.5%

Change from 2016

-1.4pp

Data table

Ancestry for Windorah. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barcoo (S).

Ancestry for Windorah. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barcoo (S).
Ancestry for Windorah. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barcoo (S).
Category20212016Change
Count%Barcoo (S)%Count%Barcoo (S)%Countpp
Australian4543.3%38.0%5648.7%42.7%-11-5.4pp
English4038.5%42.9%3933.9%43.8%+1+4.6pp
Scottish1615.4%10.4%119.6%9.0%+5+5.8pp
Irish1514.4%13.6%1412.2%14.2%+1+2.2pp
German1312.5%10.7%1613.9%11.2%-3-1.4pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).