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 Green Hill were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Green Hill - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Green Hill in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Green Hill, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).

Green Hill
Cairns (R)

English

2021 count

82

% of total

46.3%

Change from 2016

+7.9pp

Australian

2021 count

62

% of total

35.0%

Change from 2016

-4.6pp

Irish

2021 count

29

% of total

16.4%

Change from 2016

+3.8pp

Italian

2021 count

25

% of total

14.1%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

22

% of total

12.4%

Change from 2016

+5.5pp

German

2021 count

10

% of total

5.6%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Data table

Ancestry for Green Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).

Ancestry for Green Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Ancestry for Green Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Cairns (R)%Count%Cairns (R)%Countpp
English8246.3%34.4%6138.4%35.1%+21+7.9pp
Australian6235.0%30.0%6339.6%34.6%-1-4.6pp
Irish2916.4%10.5%2012.6%11.6%+9+3.8pp
Italian2514.1%5.0%2415.1%4.8%+1-1.0pp
Scottish2212.4%9.3%116.9%9.4%+11+5.5pp
German105.6%5.2%85.0%5.4%+2+0.6pp

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