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 Copper Coast (DC) were English, Australian and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Copper Coast (DC) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Copper Coast (DC) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional SA and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Copper Coast (DC), with comparison markers for Regional SA.
English
2021 count
6,844
% of total
22.7%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
6,844
22.7%
+0.9pp
Australian
2021 count
6,650
% of total
22.1%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
6,650
22.1%
-0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,254
% of total
4.2%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
1,254
4.2%
+0.4pp
German
2021 count
1,235
% of total
4.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,235
4.1%
+0.1pp
Irish
2021 count
1,020
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,020
3.4%
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
485
% of total
1.6%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
485
1.6%
+1.4pp
Italian
2021 count
292
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
292
1.0%
+0.2pp
Dutch
2021 count
260
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
260
0.9%
+0.2pp
Greek
2021 count
100
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
100
0.3%
0.0pp
British, nec
2021 count
83
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
-
83
0.3%
-
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+680
+0.9pp
Australian
+153
-0.9pp
Scottish
+194
+0.4pp
German
+109
+0.1pp
Irish
+73
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
+426
+1.4pp
Italian
+69
+0.2pp
Dutch
+57
+0.2pp
Greek
+18
0.0pp
Polish
+15
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Copper Coast (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 | |
| English | 6,844 | 22.7% | 21.0% | 6,164 | 21.8% | 20.5% | +680 | +0.9pp |
| Australian | 6,650 | 22.1% | 20.3% | 6,497 | 23.0% | 21.0% | +153 | -0.9pp |
| Scottish | 1,254 | 4.2% | 4.6% | 1,060 | 3.8% | 4.5% | +194 | +0.4pp |
| German | 1,235 | 4.1% | 5.3% | 1,126 | 4.0% | 5.4% | +109 | +0.1pp |
| Irish | 1,020 | 3.4% | 3.8% | 947 | 3.4% | 3.9% | +73 | 0.0pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 485 | 1.6% | 2.2% | 59 | 0.2% | 0.6% | +426 | +1.4pp |
| Italian | 292 | 1.0% | 1.1% | 223 | 0.8% | 1.1% | +69 | +0.2pp |
| Dutch | 260 | 0.9% | 0.8% | 203 | 0.7% | 0.8% | +57 | +0.2pp |
| Greek | 100 | 0.3% | 0.4% | 82 | 0.3% | 0.4% | +18 | 0.0pp |
| British, nec | 83 | 0.3% | 0.0% | - | - | 0.0% | - | - |
| Total | 30,094 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 28,255 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +1,839 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).