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 counts represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count, while percentages are shown against the total population.
- 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 Cairns (R) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Cairns (R) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Cairns (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cairns (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
English
Australian
Irish
Scottish
Australian Aboriginal
German
Italian
Torres Strait Islander
Chinese
Filipino
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+2,322
-0.7pp
Australian
-4,237
-4.6pp
Irish
-705
-1.1pp
Scottish
+733
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+9,915
+5.9pp
German
+254
-0.2pp
Italian
+861
+0.2pp
Torres Strait Islander
+5,585
+3.3pp
Chinese
+89
-0.1pp
Filipino
+723
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Cairns (R). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Qld.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | pp | |
| English | 57,347 | 34.4% | 39.6% | 55,025 | 35.1% | 39.2% | +2,322 | -0.7pp |
| Australian | 50,126 | 30.0% | 35.3% | 54,363 | 34.6% | 37.7% | -4,237 | -4.6pp |
| Irish | 17,453 | 10.5% | 10.9% | 18,158 | 11.6% | 11.7% | -705 | -1.1pp |
| Scottish | 15,532 | 9.3% | 10.4% | 14,799 | 9.4% | 10.4% | +733 | -0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 11,773 | 7.1% | 5.1% | 1,858 | 1.2% | 1.2% | +9,915 | +5.9pp |
| German | 8,688 | 5.2% | 6.3% | 8,434 | 5.4% | 6.6% | +254 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 8,372 | 5.0% | 3.2% | 7,511 | 4.8% | 3.0% | +861 | +0.2pp |
| Torres Strait Islander | 7,214 | 4.3% | 1.3% | 1,629 | 1.0% | 0.5% | +5,585 | +3.3pp |
| Chinese | 3,418 | 2.0% | 1.6% | 3,329 | 2.1% | 1.5% | +89 | -0.1pp |
| Filipino | 3,231 | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2,508 | 1.6% | 1.0% | +723 | +0.3pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).