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 Blue Knob were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Blue Knob - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Blue Knob in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Lismore (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Blue Knob, with comparison markers for Lismore (C).

Blue Knob
Lismore (C)

English

2021 count

82

% of total

39.0%

Change from 2016

+2.8pp

Australian

2021 count

46

% of total

21.9%

Change from 2016

-3.9pp

Irish

2021 count

34

% of total

16.2%

Change from 2016

+5.8pp

Scottish

2021 count

30

% of total

14.3%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

German

2021 count

25

% of total

11.9%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

11

% of total

5.2%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

Ancestry for Blue Knob. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).

Ancestry for Blue Knob. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).
Ancestry for Blue Knob. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Lismore (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Lismore (C)%Count%Lismore (C)%Countpp
English8239.0%41.2%8036.2%41.3%+2+2.8pp
Australian4621.9%39.6%5725.8%41.3%-11-3.9pp
Irish3416.2%14.3%2310.4%15.2%+11+5.8pp
Scottish3014.3%12.1%3314.9%11.7%-3-0.6pp
German2511.9%4.8%2712.2%4.7%-2-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal115.2%5.6%--0.9%--

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