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 Blayney (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Blayney (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Blayney (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Blayney (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
3,466
% of total
46.2%
Change from 2016
-1.3pp
3,466
46.2%
-1.3pp
English
2021 count
3,269
% of total
43.6%
Change from 2016
+1.9pp
3,269
43.6%
+1.9pp
Irish
2021 count
1,043
% of total
13.9%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
1,043
13.9%
-0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
814
% of total
10.9%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
814
10.9%
+0.9pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
420
% of total
5.6%
Change from 2016
+5.3pp
420
5.6%
+5.3pp
German
2021 count
232
% of total
3.1%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
232
3.1%
-0.2pp
Dutch
2021 count
106
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
106
1.4%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
99
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
99
1.3%
-0.1pp
New Zealander
2021 count
49
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
49
0.7%
0.0pp
Welsh
2021 count
48
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
48
0.6%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+16
-1.3pp
English
+242
+1.9pp
Irish
-19
-0.7pp
Scottish
+85
+0.9pp
Australian Aboriginal
+396
+5.3pp
German
-9
-0.2pp
Dutch
+4
0.0pp
Italian
-1
-0.1pp
New Zealander
-4
0.0pp
Welsh
+12
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Blayney (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 | 3,466 | 46.2% | 40.2% | 3,450 | 47.5% | 42.5% | +16 | -1.3pp |
| English | 3,269 | 43.6% | 40.9% | 3,027 | 41.7% | 40.8% | +242 | +1.9pp |
| Irish | 1,043 | 13.9% | 11.8% | 1,062 | 14.6% | 12.3% | -19 | -0.7pp |
| Scottish | 814 | 10.9% | 10.7% | 729 | 10.0% | 10.5% | +85 | +0.9pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 420 | 5.6% | 6.1% | 24 | 0.3% | 0.8% | +396 | +5.3pp |
| German | 232 | 3.1% | 4.2% | 241 | 3.3% | 4.3% | -9 | -0.2pp |
| Dutch | 106 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 102 | 1.4% | 1.3% | +4 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 99 | 1.3% | 2.8% | 100 | 1.4% | 2.6% | -1 | -0.1pp |
| New Zealander | 49 | 0.7% | 0.6% | 53 | 0.7% | 0.6% | -4 | 0.0pp |
| Welsh | 48 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 36 | 0.5% | 0.7% | +12 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).