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, Australian was the most common category among residents in Tonganah, accounting for 88% (22 people). This share was higher than Dorset (M) (45.5%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in English, which decreased by 8 people and 29.7 percentage points.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Tonganah - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Tonganah in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Dorset (M) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Tonganah, with comparison markers for Dorset (M).
Australian
2021 count
22
% of total
88.0%
Change from 2016
+22.6pp
22
88.0%
+22.6pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+5
+22.6pp
Data table
Ancestry for Tonganah. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Dorset (M).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Dorset (M)% | Count | % | Dorset (M)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 22 | 88.0% | 45.5% | 17 | 65.4% | 48.6% | +5 | +22.6pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).