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 East Arnhem (R) were Australian Aboriginal, English and Australian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
East Arnhem (R) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for East Arnhem (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NT and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for East Arnhem (R), with comparison markers for Regional NT.
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
7,852
% of total
89.5%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
7,852
89.5%
+1.4pp
English
2021 count
251
% of total
2.9%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
251
2.9%
+0.6pp
Australian
2021 count
210
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
-1.2pp
210
2.4%
-1.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
79
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
79
0.9%
+0.2pp
Irish
2021 count
70
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
70
0.8%
-0.1pp
Torres Strait Islander
2021 count
61
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
61
0.7%
+0.1pp
German
2021 count
31
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
31
0.4%
+0.1pp
Fijian
2021 count
23
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
23
0.3%
+0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
19
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
19
0.2%
0.0pp
Papua New Guinean
2021 count
18
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
18
0.2%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian Aboriginal
-100
+1.4pp
English
+46
+0.6pp
Australian
-112
-1.2pp
Scottish
+19
+0.2pp
Irish
-11
-0.1pp
Torres Strait Islander
+6
+0.1pp
German
+4
+0.1pp
Fijian
+14
+0.2pp
Italian
+4
0.0pp
Papua New Guinean
+15
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for East Arnhem (R). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NT.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NT% | Count | % | Regional NT% | Count | pp | |
| Australian Aboriginal | 7,852 | 89.5% | 49.1% | 7,952 | 88.1% | 39.6% | -100 | +1.4pp |
| English | 251 | 2.9% | 16.1% | 205 | 2.3% | 16.9% | +46 | +0.6pp |
| Australian | 210 | 2.4% | 16.8% | 322 | 3.6% | 22.0% | -112 | -1.2pp |
| Scottish | 79 | 0.9% | 4.5% | 60 | 0.7% | 4.7% | +19 | +0.2pp |
| Irish | 70 | 0.8% | 5.4% | 81 | 0.9% | 5.6% | -11 | -0.1pp |
| Torres Strait Islander | 61 | 0.7% | 0.7% | 55 | 0.6% | 0.2% | +6 | +0.1pp |
| German | 31 | 0.4% | 2.8% | 27 | 0.3% | 2.9% | +4 | +0.1pp |
| Fijian | 23 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 9 | 0.1% | 0.2% | +14 | +0.2pp |
| Italian | 19 | 0.2% | 1.2% | 15 | 0.2% | 1.1% | +4 | 0.0pp |
| Papua New Guinean | 18 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3 | 0.0% | 0.2% | +15 | +0.2pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).