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 Barossa (DC) were English, Australian and German.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Barossa (DC) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Barossa (DC) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional SA and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Barossa (DC), with comparison markers for Regional SA.
English
2021 count
10,687
% of total
21.3%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
10,687
21.3%
+0.7pp
Australian
2021 count
10,234
% of total
20.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
10,234
20.4%
-0.1pp
German
2021 count
5,452
% of total
10.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
5,452
10.9%
0.0pp
Scottish
2021 count
2,327
% of total
4.6%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
2,327
4.6%
+0.4pp
Irish
2021 count
1,994
% of total
4.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
1,994
4.0%
+0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
547
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
547
1.1%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
478
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
478
1.0%
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
299
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
299
0.6%
+0.6pp
Welsh
2021 count
185
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
185
0.4%
+0.1pp
Polish
2021 count
167
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
167
0.3%
0.0pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+988
+0.7pp
Australian
+576
-0.1pp
German
+312
0.0pp
Scottish
+363
+0.4pp
Irish
+272
+0.3pp
Italian
+96
+0.1pp
Dutch
+65
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+277
+0.6pp
Welsh
+46
+0.1pp
Polish
+11
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Barossa (DC). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | pp | |
| English | 10,687 | 21.3% | 21.0% | 9,699 | 20.6% | 20.5% | +988 | +0.7pp |
| Australian | 10,234 | 20.4% | 20.3% | 9,658 | 20.5% | 21.0% | +576 | -0.1pp |
| German | 5,452 | 10.9% | 5.3% | 5,140 | 10.9% | 5.4% | +312 | 0.0pp |
| Scottish | 2,327 | 4.6% | 4.6% | 1,964 | 4.2% | 4.5% | +363 | +0.4pp |
| Irish | 1,994 | 4.0% | 3.8% | 1,722 | 3.7% | 3.9% | +272 | +0.3pp |
| Italian | 547 | 1.1% | 1.1% | 451 | 1.0% | 1.1% | +96 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 478 | 1.0% | 0.8% | 413 | 0.9% | 0.8% | +65 | +0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 299 | 0.6% | 2.2% | 22 | 0.0% | 0.6% | +277 | +0.6pp |
| Welsh | 185 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 139 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +46 | +0.1pp |
| Polish | 167 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 156 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +11 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 50,134 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 47,084 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +3,050 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).