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 Lismore (C) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Lismore (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Lismore (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Lismore (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
English
2021 count
18,274
% of total
41.2%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
18,274
41.2%
-0.1pp
Australian
2021 count
17,543
% of total
39.6%
Change from 2016
-1.7pp
17,543
39.6%
-1.7pp
Irish
2021 count
6,360
% of total
14.3%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
6,360
14.3%
-0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
5,383
% of total
12.1%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
5,383
12.1%
+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
2,487
% of total
5.6%
Change from 2016
+4.7pp
2,487
5.6%
+4.7pp
German
2021 count
2,116
% of total
4.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
2,116
4.8%
+0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
1,898
% of total
4.3%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
1,898
4.3%
-0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
538
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
538
1.2%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
350
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
350
0.8%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
313
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
313
0.7%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+479
-0.1pp
Australian
-269
-1.7pp
Irish
-186
-0.9pp
Scottish
+345
+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
+2,082
+4.7pp
German
+79
+0.1pp
Italian
-8
-0.1pp
Dutch
+65
+0.1pp
Chinese
+57
+0.1pp
Filipino
+85
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Lismore (C). 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 | |
| English | 18,274 | 41.2% | 40.9% | 17,795 | 41.3% | 40.8% | +479 | -0.1pp |
| Australian | 17,543 | 39.6% | 40.2% | 17,812 | 41.3% | 42.5% | -269 | -1.7pp |
| Irish | 6,360 | 14.3% | 11.8% | 6,546 | 15.2% | 12.3% | -186 | -0.9pp |
| Scottish | 5,383 | 12.1% | 10.7% | 5,038 | 11.7% | 10.5% | +345 | +0.4pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 2,487 | 5.6% | 6.1% | 405 | 0.9% | 0.8% | +2,082 | +4.7pp |
| German | 2,116 | 4.8% | 4.2% | 2,037 | 4.7% | 4.3% | +79 | +0.1pp |
| Italian | 1,898 | 4.3% | 2.8% | 1,906 | 4.4% | 2.6% | -8 | -0.1pp |
| Dutch | 538 | 1.2% | 1.4% | 473 | 1.1% | 1.3% | +65 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 350 | 0.8% | 1.0% | 293 | 0.7% | 1.0% | +57 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 313 | 0.7% | 0.8% | 228 | 0.5% | 0.6% | +85 | +0.2pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).