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 Montecollum were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Montecollum - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Montecollum in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Byron (A) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Montecollum, with comparison markers for Byron (A).

Montecollum
Byron (A)

English

2021 count

25

% of total

21.9%

Change from 2016

+11.9pp

Australian

2021 count

18

% of total

15.8%

Change from 2016

-5.9pp

Irish

2021 count

13

% of total

11.4%

Change from 2016

-8.6pp

Data table

Ancestry for Montecollum. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Byron (A).

Ancestry for Montecollum. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Byron (A).
Ancestry for Montecollum. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Byron (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Byron (A)%Count%Byron (A)%Countpp
English2521.9%20.2%610.0%19.6%+19+11.9pp
Australian1815.8%15.0%1321.7%17.0%+5-5.9pp
Irish1311.4%7.6%1220.0%7.4%+1-8.6pp
Total114100.0%100.0%60100.0%100.0%+540.0pp

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