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 Curban were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Curban - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Curban in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Gilgandra (A) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Curban, with comparison markers for Gilgandra (A).

Curban
Gilgandra (A)

Australian

2021 count

71

% of total

51.8%

Change from 2016

+7.5pp

English

2021 count

62

% of total

45.3%

Change from 2016

+5.6pp

Irish

2021 count

23

% of total

16.8%

Change from 2016

+6.9pp

Scottish

2021 count

17

% of total

12.4%

Change from 2016

+4.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Curban. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gilgandra (A).

Ancestry for Curban. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gilgandra (A).
Ancestry for Curban. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gilgandra (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Gilgandra (A)%Count%Gilgandra (A)%Countpp
Australian7151.8%43.9%5844.3%51.5%+13+7.5pp
English6245.3%38.3%5239.7%38.0%+10+5.6pp
Irish2316.8%10.8%139.9%10.6%+10+6.9pp
Scottish1712.4%9.4%118.4%8.5%+6+4.0pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).