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 Lachlan (A) were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Lachlan (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Lachlan (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Lachlan (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
2,537
% of total
20.9%
Change from 2016
-5.0pp
2,537
20.9%
-5.0pp
English
2021 count
2,043
% of total
16.8%
Change from 2016
-1.1pp
2,043
16.8%
-1.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,033
% of total
8.5%
Change from 2016
+7.6pp
1,033
8.5%
+7.6pp
Irish
2021 count
581
% of total
4.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
581
4.8%
+0.3pp
Scottish
2021 count
535
% of total
4.4%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
535
4.4%
+0.6pp
German
2021 count
173
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
173
1.4%
-0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
50
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
50
0.4%
+0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
38
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
38
0.3%
+0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
35
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
35
0.3%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
29
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
29
0.2%
0.0pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-668
-5.0pp
English
-174
-1.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+917
+7.6pp
Irish
+31
+0.3pp
Scottish
+70
+0.6pp
German
-14
-0.1pp
Filipino
+20
+0.2pp
Indian
+23
+0.2pp
Italian
+6
+0.1pp
Chinese
+7
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Lachlan (A). 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 | 2,537 | 20.9% | 20.1% | 3,205 | 25.9% | 21.3% | -668 | -5.0pp |
| English | 2,043 | 16.8% | 20.5% | 2,217 | 17.9% | 20.4% | -174 | -1.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,033 | 8.5% | 3.1% | 116 | 0.9% | 0.4% | +917 | +7.6pp |
| Irish | 581 | 4.8% | 5.9% | 550 | 4.5% | 6.1% | +31 | +0.3pp |
| Scottish | 535 | 4.4% | 5.4% | 465 | 3.8% | 5.3% | +70 | +0.6pp |
| German | 173 | 1.4% | 2.1% | 187 | 1.5% | 2.1% | -14 | -0.1pp |
| Filipino | 50 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 30 | 0.2% | 0.3% | +20 | +0.2pp |
| Indian | 38 | 0.3% | 0.4% | 15 | 0.1% | 0.3% | +23 | +0.2pp |
| Italian | 35 | 0.3% | 1.4% | 29 | 0.2% | 1.3% | +6 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 29 | 0.2% | 0.5% | 22 | 0.2% | 0.5% | +7 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 12,151 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 12,358 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -207 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).