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 Yalboroo were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Yalboroo - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Yalboroo
Mackay (R)

Australian

2021 count

56

% of total

38.4%

Change from 2016

-11.0pp

English

2021 count

55

% of total

37.7%

Change from 2016

+7.1pp

Scottish

2021 count

23

% of total

15.8%

Change from 2016

-1.8pp

Irish

2021 count

19

% of total

13.0%

Change from 2016

+1.8pp

Maltese

2021 count

14

% of total

9.6%

Change from 2016

+3.1pp

German

2021 count

12

% of total

8.2%

Change from 2016

+1.7pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Yalboroo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
Ancestry for Yalboroo. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mackay (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mackay (R)%Count%Mackay (R)%Countpp
Australian5638.4%38.3%8449.4%41.3%-28-11.0pp
English5537.7%38.0%5230.6%38.0%+3+7.1pp
Scottish2315.8%10.3%3017.6%10.9%-7-1.8pp
Irish1913.0%10.4%1911.2%11.7%0+1.8pp
Maltese149.6%3.2%116.5%3.1%+3+3.1pp
German128.2%6.2%116.5%6.6%+1+1.7pp

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