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 Ghan were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Ghan - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Ghan in 2021 for persons, with comparison against MacDonnell (R) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Ghan, with comparison markers for MacDonnell (R).
Australian
2021 count
45
% of total
17.4%
Change from 2016
+6.4pp
45
17.4%
+6.4pp
English
2021 count
35
% of total
13.5%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
35
13.5%
-0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
18
% of total
6.9%
Change from 2016
-1.4pp
18
6.9%
-1.4pp
Spanish
2021 count
11
% of total
4.2%
Change from 2016
-
11
4.2%
-
Italian
2021 count
10
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
-
10
3.9%
-
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+20
+6.4pp
English
+3
-0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
-1
-1.4pp
Data table
Ancestry for Ghan. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with MacDonnell (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | MacDonnell (R)% | Count | % | MacDonnell (R)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 45 | 17.4% | 2.2% | 25 | 11.0% | 4.5% | +20 | +6.4pp |
| English | 35 | 13.5% | 2.2% | 32 | 14.0% | 2.5% | +3 | -0.5pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 18 | 6.9% | 37.4% | 19 | 8.3% | 29.4% | -1 | -1.4pp |
| Spanish | 11 | 4.2% | 0.1% | - | - | 0.0% | - | - |
| Italian | 10 | 3.9% | 0.2% | - | - | 0.2% | - | - |
| Total | 259 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 228 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +31 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).