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 Leschenault were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Leschenault - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Leschenault in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Harvey (S) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Leschenault, with comparison markers for Harvey (S).

Leschenault
Harvey (S)

English

2021 count

1,486

% of total

48.6%

Change from 2016

-0.9pp

Australian

2021 count

1,306

% of total

42.7%

Change from 2016

+2.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

359

% of total

11.7%

Change from 2016

+2.1pp

Irish

2021 count

293

% of total

9.6%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Italian

2021 count

182

% of total

6.0%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

German

2021 count

113

% of total

3.7%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Dutch

2021 count

64

% of total

2.1%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

46

% of total

1.5%

Change from 2016

+1.4pp

South African

2021 count

41

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

New Zealander

2021 count

34

% of total

1.1%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for Leschenault. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).

Ancestry for Leschenault. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).
Ancestry for Leschenault. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).
Category20212016Change
Count%Harvey (S)%Count%Harvey (S)%Countpp
English1,48648.6%45.3%1,45049.5%43.9%+36-0.9pp
Australian1,30642.7%40.1%1,19240.7%39.6%+114+2.0pp
Scottish35911.7%9.4%2829.6%9.0%+77+2.1pp
Irish2939.6%9.0%2719.2%9.5%+22+0.4pp
Italian1826.0%7.7%1846.3%7.8%-2-0.3pp
German1133.7%3.2%893.0%3.0%+24+0.7pp
Dutch642.1%2.2%792.7%2.2%-15-0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal461.5%2.9%30.1%0.4%+43+1.4pp
South African411.3%1.1%291.0%1.0%+12+0.3pp
New Zealander341.1%1.3%411.4%1.5%-7-0.3pp

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