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 Bland (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Bland (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Bland (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Bland (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
2,453
% of total
22.1%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
2,453
22.1%
-0.4pp
English
2021 count
2,282
% of total
20.6%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
2,282
20.6%
+0.5pp
Irish
2021 count
620
% of total
5.6%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
620
5.6%
+0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
591
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
591
5.3%
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
314
% of total
2.8%
Change from 2016
+2.6pp
314
2.8%
+2.6pp
German
2021 count
307
% of total
2.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
307
2.8%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
48
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
48
0.4%
+0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
35
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
35
0.3%
0.0pp
Dutch
2021 count
33
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
33
0.3%
0.0pp
Chinese
2021 count
25
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
25
0.2%
-0.1pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-217
-0.4pp
English
-100
+0.5pp
Irish
-24
+0.2pp
Scottish
-28
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+292
+2.6pp
German
-10
+0.1pp
Filipino
+27
+0.2pp
Italian
+3
0.0pp
Dutch
+2
0.0pp
Chinese
-6
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Bland (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 2,453 | 22.1% | 20.1% | 2,670 | 22.5% | 21.3% | -217 | -0.4pp |
| English | 2,282 | 20.6% | 20.5% | 2,382 | 20.1% | 20.4% | -100 | +0.5pp |
| Irish | 620 | 5.6% | 5.9% | 644 | 5.4% | 6.1% | -24 | +0.2pp |
| Scottish | 591 | 5.3% | 5.4% | 619 | 5.2% | 5.3% | -28 | +0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 314 | 2.8% | 3.1% | 22 | 0.2% | 0.4% | +292 | +2.6pp |
| German | 307 | 2.8% | 2.1% | 317 | 2.7% | 2.1% | -10 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 48 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 21 | 0.2% | 0.3% | +27 | +0.2pp |
| Italian | 35 | 0.3% | 1.4% | 32 | 0.3% | 1.3% | +3 | 0.0pp |
| Dutch | 33 | 0.3% | 0.7% | 31 | 0.3% | 0.6% | +2 | 0.0pp |
| Chinese | 25 | 0.2% | 0.5% | 31 | 0.3% | 0.5% | -6 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 11,080 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 11,870 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -790 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).