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 South Bathurst were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

South Bathurst - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for South Bathurst in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Bathurst Regional (A) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for South Bathurst, with comparison markers for Bathurst Regional (A).

South Bathurst
Bathurst Regional (A)

Australian

2021 count

656

% of total

41.4%

Change from 2016

-3.8pp

English

2021 count

633

% of total

40.0%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Irish

2021 count

249

% of total

15.7%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

190

% of total

12.0%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

157

% of total

9.9%

Change from 2016

+8.7pp

German

2021 count

44

% of total

2.8%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Italian

2021 count

33

% of total

2.1%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Dutch

2021 count

28

% of total

1.8%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Filipino

2021 count

26

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Maltese

2021 count

21

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Data table

Ancestry for South Bathurst. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Bathurst Regional (A).

Ancestry for South Bathurst. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Bathurst Regional (A).
Ancestry for South Bathurst. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Bathurst Regional (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Bathurst Regional (A)%Count%Bathurst Regional (A)%Countpp
Australian65641.4%42.1%71545.2%43.3%-59-3.8pp
English63340.0%40.9%64340.6%40.6%-10-0.6pp
Irish24915.7%14.3%29018.3%15.2%-41-2.6pp
Scottish19012.0%10.6%18111.4%10.3%+9+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal1579.9%6.4%191.2%0.7%+138+8.7pp
German442.8%3.3%523.3%3.5%-8-0.5pp
Italian332.1%1.9%201.3%1.8%+13+0.8pp
Dutch281.8%1.4%201.3%1.3%+8+0.5pp
Filipino261.6%0.8%221.4%0.5%+4+0.2pp
Maltese211.3%0.6%130.8%0.5%+8+0.5pp

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