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 Ocean Vista were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Ocean Vista - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Ocean Vista in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Burnie (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Ocean Vista, with comparison markers for Burnie (C).

Ocean Vista
Burnie (C)

Australian

2021 count

159

% of total

49.4%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

English

2021 count

121

% of total

37.6%

Change from 2016

-9.5pp

Scottish

2021 count

41

% of total

12.7%

Change from 2016

+3.2pp

Irish

2021 count

26

% of total

8.1%

Change from 2016

-2.0pp

German

2021 count

17

% of total

5.3%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

14

% of total

4.3%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

Ancestry for Ocean Vista. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Burnie (C).

Ancestry for Ocean Vista. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Burnie (C).
Ancestry for Ocean Vista. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Burnie (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Burnie (C)%Count%Burnie (C)%Countpp
Australian15949.4%46.1%15149.3%47.9%+8+0.1pp
English12137.6%42.9%14447.1%45.1%-23-9.5pp
Scottish4112.7%9.1%299.5%8.8%+12+3.2pp
Irish268.1%9.4%3110.1%10.3%-5-2.0pp
German175.3%3.4%154.9%3.3%+2+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal144.3%7.6%--0.4%--

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).