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 Wooderson were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Wooderson - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Wooderson
Gladstone (R)

English

2021 count

113

% of total

26.1%

Change from 2016

+6.4pp

Australian

2021 count

75

% of total

17.3%

Change from 2016

-7.9pp

Irish

2021 count

36

% of total

8.3%

Change from 2016

+4.2pp

Scottish

2021 count

25

% of total

5.8%

Change from 2016

+3.1pp

German

2021 count

21

% of total

4.8%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Maori

2021 count

10

% of total

2.3%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

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

Ancestry for Wooderson. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).
Ancestry for Wooderson. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Gladstone (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Gladstone (R)%Count%Gladstone (R)%Countpp
English11326.1%20.0%2919.7%19.3%+84+6.4pp
Australian7517.3%20.7%3725.2%21.6%+38-7.9pp
Irish368.3%4.9%64.1%5.3%+30+4.2pp
Scottish255.8%5.0%42.7%5.0%+21+3.1pp
German214.8%3.4%117.5%3.3%+10-2.7pp
Maori102.3%0.6%--0.6%--
Total433100.0%100.0%147100.0%100.0%+2860.0pp

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