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 Burnie (C) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Burnie (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Burnie (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Tas. and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Burnie (C), with comparison markers for Regional Tas..
Australian
2021 count
9,186
% of total
46.1%
Change from 2016
-1.8pp
9,186
46.1%
-1.8pp
English
2021 count
8,552
% of total
42.9%
Change from 2016
-2.2pp
8,552
42.9%
-2.2pp
Irish
2021 count
1,868
% of total
9.4%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
1,868
9.4%
-0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,822
% of total
9.1%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
1,822
9.1%
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,517
% of total
7.6%
Change from 2016
+7.2pp
1,517
7.6%
+7.2pp
German
2021 count
686
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
686
3.4%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
307
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
307
1.5%
+0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
189
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
189
0.9%
0.0pp
Indian
2021 count
183
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
183
0.9%
+0.4pp
Italian
2021 count
168
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
168
0.8%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+132
-1.8pp
English
+36
-2.2pp
Irish
-82
-0.9pp
Scottish
+150
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+1,441
+7.2pp
German
+57
+0.1pp
Dutch
+62
+0.2pp
Chinese
+24
0.0pp
Indian
+83
+0.4pp
Italian
-2
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Burnie (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Tas..
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Tas.% | Count | % | Regional Tas.% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 9,186 | 46.1% | 42.7% | 9,054 | 47.9% | 45.0% | +132 | -1.8pp |
| English | 8,552 | 42.9% | 44.6% | 8,516 | 45.1% | 44.6% | +36 | -2.2pp |
| Irish | 1,868 | 9.4% | 9.7% | 1,950 | 10.3% | 10.2% | -82 | -0.9pp |
| Scottish | 1,822 | 9.1% | 9.5% | 1,672 | 8.8% | 9.2% | +150 | +0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,517 | 7.6% | 5.4% | 76 | 0.4% | 0.4% | +1,441 | +7.2pp |
| German | 686 | 3.4% | 3.5% | 629 | 3.3% | 3.4% | +57 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 307 | 1.5% | 2.2% | 245 | 1.3% | 2.1% | +62 | +0.2pp |
| Chinese | 189 | 0.9% | 1.0% | 165 | 0.9% | 0.8% | +24 | 0.0pp |
| Indian | 183 | 0.9% | 0.6% | 100 | 0.5% | 0.4% | +83 | +0.4pp |
| Italian | 168 | 0.8% | 1.2% | 170 | 0.9% | 1.2% | -2 | -0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).