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 East Cannington were English, Australian and Chinese.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

East Cannington - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for East Cannington in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Canning (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for East Cannington, with comparison markers for Canning (C).

East Cannington
Canning (C)

English

2021 count

1,113

% of total

17.1%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Australian

2021 count

951

% of total

14.6%

Change from 2016

-3.6pp

Chinese

2021 count

862

% of total

13.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Indian

2021 count

703

% of total

10.8%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Punjabi

2021 count

321

% of total

4.9%

Change from 2016

+3.9pp

Filipino

2021 count

311

% of total

4.8%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Italian

2021 count

297

% of total

4.6%

Change from 2016

-1.1pp

Scottish

2021 count

217

% of total

3.3%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Irish

2021 count

195

% of total

3.0%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Turkish

2021 count

191

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for East Cannington. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Canning (C).

Ancestry for East Cannington. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Canning (C).
Ancestry for East Cannington. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Canning (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Canning (C)%Count%Canning (C)%Countpp
English1,11317.1%24.6%1,06119.7%26.4%+52-2.6pp
Australian95114.6%18.7%98018.2%20.2%-29-3.6pp
Chinese86213.2%18.5%69412.9%17.6%+168+0.3pp
Indian70310.8%8.2%5299.8%7.8%+174+1.0pp
Punjabi3214.9%1.7%541.0%0.5%+267+3.9pp
Filipino3114.8%2.0%2374.4%1.9%+74+0.4pp
Italian2974.6%3.3%3085.7%3.4%-11-1.1pp
Scottish2173.3%5.5%2284.2%6.0%-11-0.9pp
Irish1953.0%5.5%2073.8%6.3%-12-0.8pp
Turkish1912.9%0.6%1402.6%0.5%+51+0.3pp

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