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 Fraser Coast (R) were English, Australian and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Fraser Coast (R) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Fraser Coast (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Fraser Coast (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
English
2021 count
49,917
% of total
22.5%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
49,917
22.5%
+0.7pp
Australian
2021 count
42,822
% of total
19.3%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
42,822
19.3%
-0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
12,143
% of total
5.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
12,143
5.5%
+0.1pp
Irish
2021 count
11,515
% of total
5.2%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
11,515
5.2%
-0.3pp
German
2021 count
8,643
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
8,643
3.9%
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
4,953
% of total
2.2%
Change from 2016
+1.9pp
4,953
2.2%
+1.9pp
Italian
2021 count
1,937
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,937
0.9%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
1,683
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,683
0.8%
0.0pp
Filipino
2021 count
1,099
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,099
0.5%
+0.1pp
New Zealander
2021 count
953
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
953
0.4%
-0.1pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+5,684
+0.7pp
Australian
+2,134
-0.7pp
Scottish
+1,196
+0.1pp
Irish
+363
-0.3pp
German
+214
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+4,429
+1.9pp
Italian
+304
+0.1pp
Dutch
+142
0.0pp
Filipino
+350
+0.1pp
New Zealander
+3
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Fraser Coast (R). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Qld.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | pp | |
| English | 49,917 | 22.5% | 19.8% | 44,233 | 21.8% | 19.6% | +5,684 | +0.7pp |
| Australian | 42,822 | 19.3% | 17.7% | 40,688 | 20.0% | 18.8% | +2,134 | -0.7pp |
| Scottish | 12,143 | 5.5% | 5.2% | 10,947 | 5.4% | 5.2% | +1,196 | +0.1pp |
| Irish | 11,515 | 5.2% | 5.5% | 11,152 | 5.5% | 5.9% | +363 | -0.3pp |
| German | 8,643 | 3.9% | 3.2% | 8,429 | 4.2% | 3.3% | +214 | -0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 4,953 | 2.2% | 2.6% | 524 | 0.3% | 0.6% | +4,429 | +1.9pp |
| Italian | 1,937 | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1,633 | 0.8% | 1.5% | +304 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 1,683 | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1,541 | 0.8% | 0.7% | +142 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 1,099 | 0.5% | 0.6% | 749 | 0.4% | 0.5% | +350 | +0.1pp |
| New Zealander | 953 | 0.4% | 0.6% | 950 | 0.5% | 0.7% | +3 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 222,065 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 202,971 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +19,094 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).