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 West Gladstone were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
West Gladstone - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for West Gladstone in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Gladstone (R) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for West Gladstone, with comparison markers for Gladstone (R).
Australian
2021 count
1,871
% of total
19.4%
Change from 2016
+4.2pp
1,871
19.4%
+4.2pp
English
2021 count
1,863
% of total
19.3%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
1,863
19.3%
-0.9pp
Irish
2021 count
531
% of total
5.5%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
531
5.5%
+0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
471
% of total
4.9%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
471
4.9%
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
343
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
+3.5pp
343
3.6%
+3.5pp
German
2021 count
322
% of total
3.3%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
322
3.3%
+0.4pp
Filipino
2021 count
127
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
127
1.3%
+0.6pp
Italian
2021 count
78
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
78
0.8%
+0.1pp
Torres Strait Islander
2021 count
67
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
-
67
0.7%
-
Chinese
2021 count
61
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
61
0.6%
-0.7pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+212
+4.2pp
English
-342
-0.9pp
Irish
+27
+0.9pp
Scottish
+5
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
+334
+3.5pp
German
+1
+0.4pp
Filipino
+52
+0.6pp
Italian
+2
+0.1pp
Chinese
-82
-0.7pp
Indian
-83
-0.7pp
Data table
Ancestry for West Gladstone. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Gladstone (R)% | Count | % | Gladstone (R)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,871 | 19.4% | 20.7% | 1,659 | 15.2% | 21.6% | +212 | +4.2pp |
| English | 1,863 | 19.3% | 20.0% | 2,205 | 20.2% | 19.3% | -342 | -0.9pp |
| Irish | 531 | 5.5% | 4.9% | 504 | 4.6% | 5.3% | +27 | +0.9pp |
| Scottish | 471 | 4.9% | 5.0% | 466 | 4.3% | 5.0% | +5 | +0.6pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 343 | 3.6% | 2.9% | 9 | 0.1% | 0.2% | +334 | +3.5pp |
| German | 322 | 3.3% | 3.4% | 321 | 2.9% | 3.3% | +1 | +0.4pp |
| Filipino | 127 | 1.3% | 0.9% | 75 | 0.7% | 0.8% | +52 | +0.6pp |
| Italian | 78 | 0.8% | 1.0% | 76 | 0.7% | 0.9% | +2 | +0.1pp |
| Torres Strait Islander | 67 | 0.7% | 0.4% | - | - | 0.0% | - | - |
| Chinese | 61 | 0.6% | 0.4% | 143 | 1.3% | 0.5% | -82 | -0.7pp |
| Total | 9,658 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 10,919 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -1,261 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).