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 Colebee were Indian, Filipino and Australian.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Colebee - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Colebee in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Blacktown (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Colebee, with comparison markers for Blacktown (C).

Colebee
Blacktown (C)

Indian

2021 count

893

% of total

18.2%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Filipino

2021 count

832

% of total

16.9%

Change from 2016

+1.7pp

Australian

2021 count

812

% of total

16.5%

Change from 2016

-2.9pp

English

2021 count

637

% of total

13.0%

Change from 2016

-3.4pp

Chinese

2021 count

295

% of total

6.0%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Irish

2021 count

158

% of total

3.2%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Italian

2021 count

109

% of total

2.2%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Maltese

2021 count

101

% of total

2.1%

Change from 2016

-1.2pp

Scottish

2021 count

92

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Punjabi

2021 count

85

% of total

1.7%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Data table

Ancestry for Colebee. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Blacktown (C).

Ancestry for Colebee. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Blacktown (C).
Ancestry for Colebee. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Blacktown (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Blacktown (C)%Count%Blacktown (C)%Countpp
Indian89318.2%13.5%33617.4%11.3%+557+0.8pp
Filipino83216.9%9.0%29315.2%8.9%+539+1.7pp
Australian81216.5%19.1%37519.4%22.8%+437-2.9pp
English63713.0%16.8%31716.4%20.7%+320-3.4pp
Chinese2956.0%4.5%1346.9%4.1%+161-0.9pp
Irish1583.2%4.2%824.2%5.7%+76-1.0pp
Italian1092.2%2.3%482.5%2.6%+61-0.3pp
Maltese1012.1%2.1%643.3%2.5%+37-1.2pp
Scottish921.9%3.5%623.2%4.4%+30-1.3pp
Punjabi851.7%2.6%251.3%0.8%+60+0.4pp

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