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 Ceduna (DC) were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Ceduna (DC) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Ceduna (DC) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional SA and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Ceduna (DC), with comparison markers for Regional SA.
Australian
2021 count
1,201
% of total
17.2%
Change from 2016
-4.2pp
1,201
17.2%
-4.2pp
English
2021 count
1,199
% of total
17.2%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
1,199
17.2%
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
817
% of total
11.7%
Change from 2016
+7.1pp
817
11.7%
+7.1pp
German
2021 count
290
% of total
4.2%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
290
4.2%
+0.3pp
Irish
2021 count
229
% of total
3.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
229
3.3%
+0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
209
% of total
3.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
209
3.0%
+0.1pp
Greek
2021 count
78
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
78
1.1%
-0.1pp
Indian
2021 count
52
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
52
0.7%
+0.4pp
Italian
2021 count
41
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
41
0.6%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
34
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
34
0.5%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-255
-4.2pp
English
+72
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
+506
+7.1pp
German
+26
+0.3pp
Irish
+16
+0.2pp
Scottish
+13
+0.1pp
Greek
-3
-0.1pp
Indian
+29
+0.4pp
Italian
+5
+0.1pp
Dutch
-1
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Ceduna (DC). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,201 | 17.2% | 20.3% | 1,456 | 21.4% | 21.0% | -255 | -4.2pp |
| English | 1,199 | 17.2% | 21.0% | 1,127 | 16.6% | 20.5% | +72 | +0.6pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 817 | 11.7% | 2.2% | 311 | 4.6% | 0.6% | +506 | +7.1pp |
| German | 290 | 4.2% | 5.3% | 264 | 3.9% | 5.4% | +26 | +0.3pp |
| Irish | 229 | 3.3% | 3.8% | 213 | 3.1% | 3.9% | +16 | +0.2pp |
| Scottish | 209 | 3.0% | 4.6% | 196 | 2.9% | 4.5% | +13 | +0.1pp |
| Greek | 78 | 1.1% | 0.4% | 81 | 1.2% | 0.4% | -3 | -0.1pp |
| Indian | 52 | 0.7% | 0.2% | 23 | 0.3% | 0.2% | +29 | +0.4pp |
| Italian | 41 | 0.6% | 1.1% | 36 | 0.5% | 1.1% | +5 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 34 | 0.5% | 0.8% | 35 | 0.5% | 0.8% | -1 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 6,984 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 6,800 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +184 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).