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 Wacol were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Wacol - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Wacol in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Brisbane (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Wacol, with comparison markers for Brisbane (C).
Australian
2021 count
261
% of total
6.1%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
261
6.1%
-0.9pp
English
2021 count
252
% of total
5.9%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
252
5.9%
-0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
68
% of total
1.6%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
68
1.6%
+1.4pp
Scottish
2021 count
64
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
64
1.5%
-0.2pp
Irish
2021 count
60
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
60
1.4%
-0.4pp
German
2021 count
53
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
53
1.2%
-0.3pp
Samoan
2021 count
33
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
33
0.8%
+0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
32
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
32
0.8%
+0.2pp
Filipino
2021 count
30
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
30
0.7%
0.0pp
Chinese
2021 count
30
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
30
0.7%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-2
-0.9pp
English
+10
-0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
+60
+1.4pp
Scottish
-1
-0.2pp
Irish
-8
-0.4pp
German
-2
-0.3pp
Samoan
+10
+0.2pp
Italian
+10
+0.2pp
Filipino
+3
0.0pp
Chinese
+1
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Wacol. 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 | |
| Australian | 261 | 6.1% | 27.9% | 263 | 7.0% | 28.1% | -2 | -0.9pp |
| English | 252 | 5.9% | 33.3% | 242 | 6.4% | 33.6% | +10 | -0.5pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 68 | 1.6% | 1.7% | 8 | 0.2% | 0.2% | +60 | +1.4pp |
| Scottish | 64 | 1.5% | 10.2% | 65 | 1.7% | 10.3% | -1 | -0.2pp |
| Irish | 60 | 1.4% | 12.3% | 68 | 1.8% | 13.4% | -8 | -0.4pp |
| German | 53 | 1.2% | 5.2% | 55 | 1.5% | 5.3% | -2 | -0.3pp |
| Samoan | 33 | 0.8% | 0.6% | 23 | 0.6% | 0.5% | +10 | +0.2pp |
| Italian | 32 | 0.8% | 3.4% | 22 | 0.6% | 3.2% | +10 | +0.2pp |
| Filipino | 30 | 0.7% | 1.7% | 27 | 0.7% | 1.4% | +3 | 0.0pp |
| Chinese | 30 | 0.7% | 7.7% | 29 | 0.8% | 7.2% | +1 | -0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).