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 Romaine were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Romaine - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Romaine
Burnie (C)

Australian

2021 count

868

% of total

46.9%

Change from 2016

-3.3pp

English

2021 count

812

% of total

43.9%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

Irish

2021 count

184

% of total

9.9%

Change from 2016

-0.7pp

Scottish

2021 count

181

% of total

9.8%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

137

% of total

7.4%

Change from 2016

+6.9pp

German

2021 count

57

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Dutch

2021 count

23

% of total

1.2%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

New Zealander

2021 count

15

% of total

0.8%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Filipino

2021 count

15

% of total

0.8%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Italian

2021 count

14

% of total

0.8%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Romaine. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Burnie (C).
Ancestry for Romaine. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Burnie (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Burnie (C)%Count%Burnie (C)%Countpp
Australian86846.9%46.1%86050.2%47.9%+8-3.3pp
English81243.9%42.9%78245.7%45.1%+30-1.8pp
Irish1849.9%9.4%18110.6%10.3%+3-0.7pp
Scottish1819.8%9.1%1589.2%8.8%+23+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal1377.4%7.6%80.5%0.4%+129+6.9pp
German573.1%3.4%593.4%3.3%-2-0.3pp
Dutch231.2%1.5%130.8%1.3%+10+0.4pp
New Zealander150.8%0.6%100.6%0.5%+5+0.2pp
Filipino150.8%0.6%140.8%0.5%+10.0pp
Italian140.8%0.8%140.8%0.9%00.0pp

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