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 Davenport (NT) were Australian Aboriginal, Australian and English.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Davenport (NT) - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Davenport (NT) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Barkly (R) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Davenport (NT), with comparison markers for Barkly (R).

Davenport (NT)
Barkly (R)

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

84

% of total

28.9%

Change from 2016

-0.7pp

Australian

2021 count

22

% of total

7.6%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

English

2021 count

12

% of total

4.1%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Irish

2021 count

10

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Data table

Ancestry for Davenport (NT). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barkly (R).

Ancestry for Davenport (NT). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barkly (R).
Ancestry for Davenport (NT). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barkly (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Barkly (R)%Count%Barkly (R)%Countpp
Australian Aboriginal8428.9%32.2%10429.6%27.2%-20-0.7pp
Australian227.6%5.9%339.4%9.8%-11-1.8pp
English124.1%5.9%246.8%6.4%-12-2.7pp
Irish103.4%1.9%102.8%2.0%0+0.6pp
Total291100.0%100.0%351100.0%100.0%-600.0pp

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