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 Byron (A) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Byron (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Byron (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Byron (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
English
2021 count
14,550
% of total
20.2%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
14,550
20.2%
+0.6pp
Australian
2021 count
10,823
% of total
15.0%
Change from 2016
-2.0pp
10,823
15.0%
-2.0pp
Irish
2021 count
5,510
% of total
7.6%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
5,510
7.6%
+0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
4,329
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
4,329
6.0%
+0.4pp
German
2021 count
2,211
% of total
3.1%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
2,211
3.1%
+0.4pp
Italian
2021 count
1,516
% of total
2.1%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
1,516
2.1%
+0.7pp
Dutch
2021 count
706
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
706
1.0%
+0.1pp
French
2021 count
690
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
690
1.0%
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
638
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
638
0.9%
+0.8pp
Spanish
2021 count
413
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
413
0.6%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+2,175
+0.6pp
Australian
+110
-2.0pp
Irish
+846
+0.2pp
Scottish
+803
+0.4pp
German
+507
+0.4pp
Italian
+622
+0.7pp
Dutch
+129
+0.1pp
French
+264
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+546
+0.8pp
Spanish
+214
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Byron (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| English | 14,550 | 20.2% | 20.5% | 12,375 | 19.6% | 20.4% | +2,175 | +0.6pp |
| Australian | 10,823 | 15.0% | 20.1% | 10,713 | 17.0% | 21.3% | +110 | -2.0pp |
| Irish | 5,510 | 7.6% | 5.9% | 4,664 | 7.4% | 6.1% | +846 | +0.2pp |
| Scottish | 4,329 | 6.0% | 5.4% | 3,526 | 5.6% | 5.3% | +803 | +0.4pp |
| German | 2,211 | 3.1% | 2.1% | 1,704 | 2.7% | 2.1% | +507 | +0.4pp |
| Italian | 1,516 | 2.1% | 1.4% | 894 | 1.4% | 1.3% | +622 | +0.7pp |
| Dutch | 706 | 1.0% | 0.7% | 577 | 0.9% | 0.6% | +129 | +0.1pp |
| French | 690 | 1.0% | 0.3% | 426 | 0.7% | 0.2% | +264 | +0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 638 | 0.9% | 3.1% | 92 | 0.1% | 0.4% | +546 | +0.8pp |
| Spanish | 413 | 0.6% | 0.2% | 199 | 0.3% | 0.2% | +214 | +0.3pp |
| Total | 72,193 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 63,056 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +9,137 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).