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 Cowra (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Cowra (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Cowra (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cowra (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
5,445
% of total
42.8%
Change from 2016
-4.7pp
5,445
42.8%
-4.7pp
English
2021 count
5,323
% of total
41.8%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
5,323
41.8%
0.0pp
Irish
2021 count
1,573
% of total
12.4%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
1,573
12.4%
+0.8pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,267
% of total
10.0%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
1,267
10.0%
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,059
% of total
8.3%
Change from 2016
+7.1pp
1,059
8.3%
+7.1pp
German
2021 count
449
% of total
3.5%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
449
3.5%
-0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
158
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
158
1.2%
0.0pp
Dutch
2021 count
124
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
124
1.0%
+0.1pp
Maltese
2021 count
99
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
99
0.8%
+0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
70
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
70
0.6%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-470
-4.7pp
English
+109
0.0pp
Irish
+124
+0.8pp
Scottish
+83
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
+912
+7.1pp
German
+3
-0.1pp
Italian
+12
0.0pp
Dutch
+11
+0.1pp
Maltese
+29
+0.2pp
Chinese
0
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Cowra (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 | 5,445 | 42.8% | 40.2% | 5,915 | 47.5% | 42.5% | -470 | -4.7pp |
| English | 5,323 | 41.8% | 40.9% | 5,214 | 41.8% | 40.8% | +109 | 0.0pp |
| Irish | 1,573 | 12.4% | 11.8% | 1,449 | 11.6% | 12.3% | +124 | +0.8pp |
| Scottish | 1,267 | 10.0% | 10.7% | 1,184 | 9.5% | 10.5% | +83 | +0.5pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,059 | 8.3% | 6.1% | 147 | 1.2% | 0.8% | +912 | +7.1pp |
| German | 449 | 3.5% | 4.2% | 446 | 3.6% | 4.3% | +3 | -0.1pp |
| Italian | 158 | 1.2% | 2.8% | 146 | 1.2% | 2.6% | +12 | 0.0pp |
| Dutch | 124 | 1.0% | 1.4% | 113 | 0.9% | 1.3% | +11 | +0.1pp |
| Maltese | 99 | 0.8% | 0.5% | 70 | 0.6% | 0.5% | +29 | +0.2pp |
| Chinese | 70 | 0.6% | 1.0% | 70 | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).