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 Catherine Field were Australian, English and Italian.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Catherine Field - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Catherine Field, with comparison markers for Camden (A).

Catherine Field
Camden (A)

Australian

2021 count

576

% of total

22.1%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

English

2021 count

475

% of total

18.2%

Change from 2016

-0.7pp

Italian

2021 count

443

% of total

17.0%

Change from 2016

-5.4pp

Maltese

2021 count

201

% of total

7.7%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Chinese

2021 count

168

% of total

6.4%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Irish

2021 count

130

% of total

5.0%

Change from 2016

-1.5pp

Scottish

2021 count

114

% of total

4.4%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Lebanese

2021 count

104

% of total

4.0%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Nepalese

2021 count

91

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

+3.5pp

Greek

2021 count

68

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Catherine Field. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Camden (A).

Ancestry for Catherine Field. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Camden (A).
Ancestry for Catherine Field. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Camden (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Camden (A)%Count%Camden (A)%Countpp
Australian57622.1%32.7%39623.9%37.2%+180-1.8pp
English47518.2%28.9%31318.9%34.7%+162-0.7pp
Italian44317.0%7.4%37122.4%6.9%+72-5.4pp
Maltese2017.7%2.8%1499.0%2.8%+52-1.3pp
Chinese1686.4%2.4%855.1%2.1%+83+1.3pp
Irish1305.0%7.6%1076.5%10.2%+23-1.5pp
Scottish1144.4%6.7%553.3%8.2%+59+1.1pp
Lebanese1044.0%1.9%583.5%1.4%+46+0.5pp
Nepalese913.5%0.9%00.0%0.1%+91+3.5pp
Greek682.6%1.5%261.6%1.3%+42+1.0pp

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