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 Cargo were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Cargo - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Cargo in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cabonne (A) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cargo, with comparison markers for Cabonne (A).
Australian
2021 count
264
% of total
47.0%
Change from 2016
-3.5pp
264
47.0%
-3.5pp
English
2021 count
246
% of total
43.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
246
43.8%
+0.3pp
Irish
2021 count
73
% of total
13.0%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
73
13.0%
+0.6pp
Scottish
2021 count
61
% of total
10.9%
Change from 2016
+1.3pp
61
10.9%
+1.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
32
% of total
5.7%
Change from 2016
-
32
5.7%
-
German
2021 count
21
% of total
3.7%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
21
3.7%
-0.2pp
Maori
2021 count
10
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
10
1.8%
+0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
10
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
10
1.8%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-37
-3.5pp
English
-13
+0.3pp
Irish
-1
+0.6pp
Scottish
+4
+1.3pp
German
-2
-0.2pp
Maori
+1
+0.3pp
Italian
0
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Cargo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cabonne (A).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cabonne (A)% | Count | % | Cabonne (A)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 264 | 47.0% | 46.5% | 301 | 50.5% | 48.0% | -37 | -3.5pp |
| English | 246 | 43.8% | 41.9% | 259 | 43.5% | 42.4% | -13 | +0.3pp |
| Irish | 73 | 13.0% | 12.6% | 74 | 12.4% | 12.7% | -1 | +0.6pp |
| Scottish | 61 | 10.9% | 10.8% | 57 | 9.6% | 10.1% | +4 | +1.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 32 | 5.7% | 4.7% | - | - | 0.3% | - | - |
| German | 21 | 3.7% | 4.0% | 23 | 3.9% | 3.4% | -2 | -0.2pp |
| Maori | 10 | 1.8% | 0.4% | 9 | 1.5% | 0.4% | +1 | +0.3pp |
| Italian | 10 | 1.8% | 1.8% | 10 | 1.7% | 1.6% | 0 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).