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 Cobar (A) were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Cobar (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Cobar (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cobar (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
1,773
% of total
43.7%
Change from 2016
-7.8pp
1,773
43.7%
-7.8pp
English
2021 count
1,369
% of total
33.7%
Change from 2016
+3.0pp
1,369
33.7%
+3.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
523
% of total
12.9%
Change from 2016
+10.7pp
523
12.9%
+10.7pp
Irish
2021 count
375
% of total
9.2%
Change from 2016
-1.8pp
375
9.2%
-1.8pp
Scottish
2021 count
297
% of total
7.3%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
297
7.3%
-0.4pp
German
2021 count
120
% of total
3.0%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
120
3.0%
-0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
66
% of total
1.6%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
66
1.6%
+0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
40
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
40
1.0%
+0.3pp
Dutch
2021 count
36
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
36
0.9%
0.0pp
New Zealander
2021 count
34
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
34
0.8%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-620
-7.8pp
English
-59
+3.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
+420
+10.7pp
Irish
-136
-1.8pp
Scottish
-61
-0.4pp
German
-33
-0.3pp
Italian
+2
+0.2pp
Chinese
+8
+0.3pp
Dutch
-4
0.0pp
New Zealander
+5
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Cobar (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,773 | 43.7% | 40.2% | 2,393 | 51.5% | 42.5% | -620 | -7.8pp |
| English | 1,369 | 33.7% | 40.9% | 1,428 | 30.7% | 40.8% | -59 | +3.0pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 523 | 12.9% | 6.1% | 103 | 2.2% | 0.8% | +420 | +10.7pp |
| Irish | 375 | 9.2% | 11.8% | 511 | 11.0% | 12.3% | -136 | -1.8pp |
| Scottish | 297 | 7.3% | 10.7% | 358 | 7.7% | 10.5% | -61 | -0.4pp |
| German | 120 | 3.0% | 4.2% | 153 | 3.3% | 4.3% | -33 | -0.3pp |
| Italian | 66 | 1.6% | 2.8% | 64 | 1.4% | 2.6% | +2 | +0.2pp |
| Chinese | 40 | 1.0% | 1.0% | 32 | 0.7% | 1.0% | +8 | +0.3pp |
| Dutch | 36 | 0.9% | 1.4% | 40 | 0.9% | 1.3% | -4 | 0.0pp |
| New Zealander | 34 | 0.8% | 0.6% | 29 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +5 | +0.2pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).