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 Ipswich (C) were English, Australian and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Ipswich (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Ipswich (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Brisbane and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Ipswich (C), with comparison markers for Greater Brisbane.
English
2021 count
83,430
% of total
18.2%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
83,430
18.2%
-0.8pp
Australian
2021 count
79,206
% of total
17.3%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
79,206
17.3%
-1.0pp
Scottish
2021 count
21,216
% of total
4.6%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
21,216
4.6%
-0.3pp
Irish
2021 count
20,571
% of total
4.5%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
20,571
4.5%
-0.8pp
German
2021 count
16,148
% of total
3.5%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
16,148
3.5%
-0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
11,482
% of total
2.5%
Change from 2016
+2.2pp
11,482
2.5%
+2.2pp
Samoan
2021 count
7,814
% of total
1.7%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
7,814
1.7%
+0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
6,068
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
6,068
1.3%
+0.5pp
Maori
2021 count
5,021
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
5,021
1.1%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
4,160
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
4,160
0.9%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+9,672
-0.8pp
Australian
+8,224
-1.0pp
Scottish
+2,103
-0.3pp
Irish
-36
-0.8pp
German
+438
-0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal
+10,436
+2.2pp
Samoan
+1,840
+0.2pp
Indian
+2,814
+0.5pp
Maori
+1,299
+0.1pp
Filipino
+1,660
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Ipswich (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Brisbane.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Brisbane% | Count | % | Greater Brisbane% | Count | pp | |
| English | 83,430 | 18.2% | 18.2% | 73,758 | 19.0% | 18.5% | +9,672 | -0.8pp |
| Australian | 79,206 | 17.3% | 15.8% | 70,982 | 18.3% | 16.2% | +8,224 | -1.0pp |
| Scottish | 21,216 | 4.6% | 5.0% | 19,113 | 4.9% | 5.2% | +2,103 | -0.3pp |
| Irish | 20,571 | 4.5% | 5.6% | 20,607 | 5.3% | 6.2% | -36 | -0.8pp |
| German | 16,148 | 3.5% | 2.8% | 15,710 | 4.1% | 3.0% | +438 | -0.6pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 11,482 | 2.5% | 1.4% | 1,046 | 0.3% | 0.2% | +10,436 | +2.2pp |
| Samoan | 7,814 | 1.7% | 0.6% | 5,974 | 1.5% | 0.5% | +1,840 | +0.2pp |
| Indian | 6,068 | 1.3% | 1.4% | 3,254 | 0.8% | 1.2% | +2,814 | +0.5pp |
| Maori | 5,021 | 1.1% | 0.8% | 3,722 | 1.0% | 0.7% | +1,299 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 4,160 | 0.9% | 0.8% | 2,500 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +1,660 | +0.3pp |
| Total | 458,369 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 387,434 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +70,935 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).