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 Nindaroo were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Nindaroo - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Nindaroo in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mackay (R) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Nindaroo, with comparison markers for Mackay (R).

Nindaroo
Mackay (R)

English

2021 count

103

% of total

40.4%

Change from 2016

+3.6pp

Australian

2021 count

83

% of total

32.5%

Change from 2016

-5.6pp

Irish

2021 count

34

% of total

13.3%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

Maltese

2021 count

31

% of total

12.2%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Scottish

2021 count

29

% of total

11.4%

Change from 2016

-3.7pp

German

2021 count

21

% of total

8.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Italian

2021 count

18

% of total

7.1%

Change from 2016

+5.8pp

Data table

Ancestry for Nindaroo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).

Ancestry for Nindaroo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
Ancestry for Nindaroo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mackay (R)%Count%Mackay (R)%Countpp
English10340.4%38.0%8836.8%38.0%+15+3.6pp
Australian8332.5%38.3%9138.1%41.3%-8-5.6pp
Irish3413.3%10.4%3615.1%11.7%-2-1.8pp
Maltese3112.2%3.2%3113.0%3.1%0-0.8pp
Scottish2911.4%10.3%3615.1%10.9%-7-3.7pp
German218.2%6.2%197.9%6.6%+2+0.3pp
Italian187.1%3.2%31.3%3.0%+15+5.8pp

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