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 Kealy were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Kealy - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Kealy, with comparison markers for Busselton (C).

Kealy
Busselton (C)

English

2021 count

537

% of total

48.0%

Change from 2016

+3.1pp

Australian

2021 count

482

% of total

43.1%

Change from 2016

-0.2pp

Scottish

2021 count

126

% of total

11.3%

Change from 2016

+3.2pp

Irish

2021 count

114

% of total

10.2%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Italian

2021 count

53

% of total

4.7%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

German

2021 count

33

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Dutch

2021 count

30

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

28

% of total

2.5%

Change from 2016

-

New Zealander

2021 count

17

% of total

1.5%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

French

2021 count

15

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Kealy. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Busselton (C).
Ancestry for Kealy. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Busselton (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Busselton (C)%Count%Busselton (C)%Countpp
English53748.0%48.8%17244.9%48.0%+365+3.1pp
Australian48243.1%39.5%16643.3%40.3%+316-0.2pp
Scottish12611.3%10.6%318.1%10.2%+95+3.2pp
Irish11410.2%10.7%4912.8%10.2%+65-2.6pp
Italian534.7%3.9%256.5%3.6%+28-1.8pp
German332.9%3.6%215.5%3.5%+12-2.6pp
Dutch302.7%2.2%123.1%2.1%+18-0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal282.5%2.0%--0.2%--
New Zealander171.5%1.2%61.6%1.3%+11-0.1pp
French151.3%0.8%61.6%0.7%+9-0.3pp

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