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 Griffith (C) were Australian, English and Italian.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Griffith (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Griffith (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Griffith (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
7,692
% of total
14.2%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
7,692
14.2%
-0.9pp
English
2021 count
7,237
% of total
13.4%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
7,237
13.4%
-0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
6,558
% of total
12.1%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
6,558
12.1%
-0.4pp
Irish
2021 count
1,952
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,952
3.6%
-0.5pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,771
% of total
3.3%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
1,771
3.3%
-0.1pp
Indian
2021 count
1,354
% of total
2.5%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
1,354
2.5%
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,328
% of total
2.5%
Change from 2016
+2.2pp
1,328
2.5%
+2.2pp
German
2021 count
702
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
702
1.3%
-0.3pp
Punjabi
2021 count
457
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
457
0.8%
+0.4pp
Samoan
2021 count
446
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
446
0.8%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-37
-0.9pp
English
+222
-0.3pp
Italian
+134
-0.4pp
Irish
-162
-0.5pp
Scottish
+41
-0.1pp
Indian
+384
+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
+1,165
+2.2pp
German
-101
-0.3pp
Punjabi
+264
+0.4pp
Samoan
+158
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Griffith (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 7,692 | 14.2% | 20.1% | 7,729 | 15.1% | 21.3% | -37 | -0.9pp |
| English | 7,237 | 13.4% | 20.5% | 7,015 | 13.7% | 20.4% | +222 | -0.3pp |
| Italian | 6,558 | 12.1% | 1.4% | 6,424 | 12.5% | 1.3% | +134 | -0.4pp |
| Irish | 1,952 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 2,114 | 4.1% | 6.1% | -162 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 1,771 | 3.3% | 5.4% | 1,730 | 3.4% | 5.3% | +41 | -0.1pp |
| Indian | 1,354 | 2.5% | 0.4% | 970 | 1.9% | 0.3% | +384 | +0.6pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,328 | 2.5% | 3.1% | 163 | 0.3% | 0.4% | +1,165 | +2.2pp |
| German | 702 | 1.3% | 2.1% | 803 | 1.6% | 2.1% | -101 | -0.3pp |
| Punjabi | 457 | 0.8% | 0.1% | 193 | 0.4% | 0.0% | +264 | +0.4pp |
| Samoan | 446 | 0.8% | 0.1% | 288 | 0.6% | 0.0% | +158 | +0.2pp |
| Total | 54,133 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 51,268 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +2,865 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).