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 Parklea were Indian, Australian and English.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Parklea - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Parklea
Blacktown (C)

Indian

2021 count

585

% of total

15.9%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Australian

2021 count

349

% of total

9.5%

Change from 2016

-2.0pp

English

2021 count

298

% of total

8.1%

Change from 2016

-3.0pp

Filipino

2021 count

180

% of total

4.9%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Chinese

2021 count

142

% of total

3.9%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Punjabi

2021 count

102

% of total

2.8%

Change from 2016

+1.8pp

Sikh

2021 count

73

% of total

2.0%

Change from 2016

+1.5pp

Italian

2021 count

66

% of total

1.8%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Irish

2021 count

58

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Fijian

2021 count

54

% of total

1.5%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Parklea. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Blacktown (C).
Ancestry for Parklea. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Blacktown (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Blacktown (C)%Count%Blacktown (C)%Countpp
Indian58515.9%13.5%58116.8%11.3%+4-0.9pp
Australian3499.5%19.1%39811.5%22.8%-49-2.0pp
English2988.1%16.8%38511.1%20.7%-87-3.0pp
Filipino1804.9%9.0%2146.2%8.9%-34-1.3pp
Chinese1423.9%4.5%1384.0%4.1%+4-0.1pp
Punjabi1022.8%2.6%351.0%0.8%+67+1.8pp
Sikh732.0%1.4%190.5%0.3%+54+1.5pp
Italian661.8%2.3%541.6%2.6%+12+0.2pp
Irish581.6%4.2%762.2%5.7%-18-0.6pp
Fijian541.5%1.0%431.2%1.0%+11+0.3pp

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