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 Kent (S) were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Kent (S) - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

Australian

-4

+2.7pp

English

-8

+2.2pp

Scottish

-12

-0.5pp

Irish

-5

0.0pp

German

-1

+0.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for Kent (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.

Ancestry for Kent (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.
Ancestry for Kent (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.
Category20212016Change
Count%Regional WA%Count%Regional WA%Countpp
Australian23524.2%18.2%23921.5%19.9%-4+2.7pp
English21922.6%20.0%22720.4%19.7%-8+2.2pp
Scottish434.4%4.5%554.9%4.4%-12-0.5pp
Irish373.8%4.3%423.8%4.3%-50.0pp
German313.2%1.7%322.9%1.7%-1+0.3pp
Total970100.0%100.0%1,112100.0%100.0%-1420.0pp

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