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 Central were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Gladstone Central - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Gladstone Central in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Gladstone (R) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Gladstone Central, with comparison markers for Gladstone (R).

Gladstone Central
Gladstone (R)

English

2021 count

578

% of total

37.3%

Change from 2016

+5.4pp

Australian

2021 count

432

% of total

27.9%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Irish

2021 count

164

% of total

10.6%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Scottish

2021 count

113

% of total

7.3%

Change from 2016

-1.4pp

German

2021 count

85

% of total

5.5%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

83

% of total

5.4%

Change from 2016

-

Italian

2021 count

54

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Indian

2021 count

48

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Filipino

2021 count

45

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Chinese

2021 count

40

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Data table

Ancestry for Gladstone Central. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).

Ancestry for Gladstone Central. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).
Ancestry for Gladstone Central. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Gladstone (R)%Count%Gladstone (R)%Countpp
English57837.3%39.9%49331.9%38.6%+85+5.4pp
Australian43227.9%41.3%43928.4%43.2%-7-0.5pp
Irish16410.6%9.8%1529.8%10.6%+12+0.8pp
Scottish1137.3%10.1%1348.7%10.0%-21-1.4pp
German855.5%6.8%825.3%6.7%+3+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal835.4%5.8%--0.4%--
Italian543.5%2.0%382.5%1.9%+16+1.0pp
Indian483.1%0.9%603.9%1.0%-12-0.8pp
Filipino452.9%1.8%603.9%1.6%-15-1.0pp
Chinese402.6%0.9%231.5%1.0%+17+1.1pp

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