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 Gladstone (R) were Australian, English and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Gladstone (R) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Gladstone (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Gladstone (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
Australian
2021 count
26,232
% of total
20.7%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
26,232
20.7%
-0.9pp
English
2021 count
25,361
% of total
20.0%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
25,361
20.0%
+0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
6,392
% of total
5.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
6,392
5.0%
0.0pp
Irish
2021 count
6,217
% of total
4.9%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
6,217
4.9%
-0.4pp
German
2021 count
4,291
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
4,291
3.4%
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
3,670
% of total
2.9%
Change from 2016
+2.7pp
3,670
2.9%
+2.7pp
Italian
2021 count
1,262
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,262
1.0%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
1,150
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,150
0.9%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
946
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
946
0.7%
0.0pp
New Zealander
2021 count
709
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
709
0.6%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-377
-0.9pp
English
+1,563
+0.7pp
Scottish
+205
0.0pp
Irish
-316
-0.4pp
German
+172
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+3,403
+2.7pp
Italian
+99
+0.1pp
Filipino
+173
+0.1pp
Dutch
+88
0.0pp
New Zealander
-128
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Gladstone (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 | |
| Australian | 26,232 | 20.7% | 17.7% | 26,609 | 21.6% | 18.8% | -377 | -0.9pp |
| English | 25,361 | 20.0% | 19.8% | 23,798 | 19.3% | 19.6% | +1,563 | +0.7pp |
| Scottish | 6,392 | 5.0% | 5.2% | 6,187 | 5.0% | 5.2% | +205 | 0.0pp |
| Irish | 6,217 | 4.9% | 5.5% | 6,533 | 5.3% | 5.9% | -316 | -0.4pp |
| German | 4,291 | 3.4% | 3.2% | 4,119 | 3.3% | 3.3% | +172 | +0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 3,670 | 2.9% | 2.6% | 267 | 0.2% | 0.6% | +3,403 | +2.7pp |
| Italian | 1,262 | 1.0% | 1.6% | 1,163 | 0.9% | 1.5% | +99 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 1,150 | 0.9% | 0.6% | 977 | 0.8% | 0.5% | +173 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 946 | 0.7% | 0.8% | 858 | 0.7% | 0.7% | +88 | 0.0pp |
| New Zealander | 709 | 0.6% | 0.6% | 837 | 0.7% | 0.7% | -128 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 126,992 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 123,206 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +3,786 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).