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 counts represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count, while percentages are shown against the total population.
- 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 Mays Hill (part) were Indian, English and Australian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Mays Hill (part) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Mays Hill (part) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cumberland (A) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Mays Hill (part), with comparison markers for Cumberland (A).
Indian
English
Australian
Chinese
Lebanese
Tamil, nfd
Afghan
Filipino
Telugu
Southern Asian, nfd
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Indian
+419
+13.1pp
English
+81
-1.9pp
Australian
+69
-2.5pp
Chinese
+61
-1.9pp
Lebanese
+28
-6.0pp
Tamil, nfd
+67
+2.2pp
Afghan
+55
+2.5pp
Filipino
+33
0.0pp
Iranian
+6
-1.9pp
Pakistani
+30
+1.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Mays Hill (part). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cumberland (A).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cumberland (A)% | Count | % | Cumberland (A)% | Count | pp | |
| Indian | 534 | 28.1% | 8.7% | 115 | 15.0% | 8.4% | +419 | +13.1pp |
| English | 161 | 8.5% | 9.2% | 80 | 10.4% | 10.3% | +81 | -1.9pp |
| Australian | 147 | 7.7% | 10.6% | 78 | 10.2% | 11.9% | +69 | -2.5pp |
| Chinese | 126 | 6.6% | 12.6% | 65 | 8.5% | 12.7% | +61 | -1.9pp |
| Lebanese | 124 | 6.5% | 11.9% | 96 | 12.5% | 13.3% | +28 | -6.0pp |
| Tamil, nfd | 84 | 4.4% | 2.2% | 17 | 2.2% | 1.0% | +67 | +2.2pp |
| Afghan | 60 | 3.2% | 2.2% | 5 | 0.7% | 2.8% | +55 | +2.5pp |
| Filipino | 55 | 2.9% | 2.5% | 22 | 2.9% | 2.4% | +33 | 0.0pp |
| Telugu | 54 | 2.8% | 0.5% | - | - | 0.0% | - | - |
| Southern Asian, nfd | 49 | 2.6% | 0.8% | - | - | 0.4% | - | - |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).