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 Robertson (Qld) were Chinese, English and Australian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Robertson (Qld) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Robertson (Qld) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Brisbane (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Robertson (Qld), with comparison markers for Brisbane (C).
Chinese
2021 count
1,707
% of total
35.9%
Change from 2016
-3.3pp
1,707
35.9%
-3.3pp
English
2021 count
724
% of total
15.2%
Change from 2016
+1.8pp
724
15.2%
+1.8pp
Australian
2021 count
523
% of total
11.0%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
523
11.0%
-0.3pp
Indian
2021 count
379
% of total
8.0%
Change from 2016
+1.3pp
379
8.0%
+1.3pp
Irish
2021 count
269
% of total
5.7%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
269
5.7%
+0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
211
% of total
4.4%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
211
4.4%
+0.8pp
Taiwanese
2021 count
169
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
169
3.6%
+0.9pp
Italian
2021 count
116
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
116
2.4%
+0.4pp
Korean
2021 count
105
% of total
2.2%
Change from 2016
-1.1pp
105
2.2%
-1.1pp
German
2021 count
99
% of total
2.1%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
99
2.1%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Chinese
-242
-3.3pp
English
+59
+1.8pp
Australian
-37
-0.3pp
Indian
+45
+1.3pp
Irish
+18
+0.7pp
Scottish
+31
+0.8pp
Taiwanese
+33
+0.9pp
Italian
+17
+0.4pp
Korean
-58
-1.1pp
German
-5
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Robertson (Qld). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Brisbane (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Brisbane (C)% | Count | % | Brisbane (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Chinese | 1,707 | 35.9% | 7.7% | 1,949 | 39.2% | 7.2% | -242 | -3.3pp |
| English | 724 | 15.2% | 33.3% | 665 | 13.4% | 33.6% | +59 | +1.8pp |
| Australian | 523 | 11.0% | 27.9% | 560 | 11.3% | 28.1% | -37 | -0.3pp |
| Indian | 379 | 8.0% | 3.7% | 334 | 6.7% | 3.5% | +45 | +1.3pp |
| Irish | 269 | 5.7% | 12.3% | 251 | 5.0% | 13.4% | +18 | +0.7pp |
| Scottish | 211 | 4.4% | 10.2% | 180 | 3.6% | 10.3% | +31 | +0.8pp |
| Taiwanese | 169 | 3.6% | 0.4% | 136 | 2.7% | 0.3% | +33 | +0.9pp |
| Italian | 116 | 2.4% | 3.4% | 99 | 2.0% | 3.2% | +17 | +0.4pp |
| Korean | 105 | 2.2% | 1.1% | 163 | 3.3% | 1.1% | -58 | -1.1pp |
| German | 99 | 2.1% | 5.2% | 104 | 2.1% | 5.3% | -5 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).