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 counts represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count, while percentages are shown against the total population.
- 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, Australian Aboriginal was the most common category among residents in Tara (NT), accounting for 100% (62 people). This share was higher than Barkly (R) (64.1%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in Australian Aboriginal, which decreased by 1 people, while its share rose by 29.2 percentage points.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Tara (NT) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Tara (NT) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Barkly (R) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Tara (NT), with comparison markers for Barkly (R).
Australian Aboriginal
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian Aboriginal
-1
+29.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Tara (NT). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Barkly (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Barkly (R)% | Count | % | Barkly (R)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian Aboriginal | 62 | 100.0% | 64.1% | 63 | 70.8% | 54.4% | -1 | +29.2pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).