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 Maitland (C) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Maitland (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Maitland (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Maitland (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
40,000
% of total
22.2%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
40,000
22.2%
-0.6pp
English
2021 count
38,863
% of total
21.5%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
38,863
21.5%
-0.4pp
Irish
2021 count
9,626
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
9,626
5.3%
-0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
9,437
% of total
5.2%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
9,437
5.2%
-0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
6,530
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
+3.3pp
6,530
3.6%
+3.3pp
German
2021 count
3,887
% of total
2.2%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
3,887
2.2%
-0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
1,429
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,429
0.8%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
1,144
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,144
0.6%
0.0pp
Indian
2021 count
990
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
990
0.5%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
937
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
937
0.5%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+4,758
-0.6pp
English
+4,959
-0.4pp
Irish
+84
-0.9pp
Scottish
+1,070
-0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+6,109
+3.3pp
German
+238
-0.2pp
Italian
+307
+0.1pp
Dutch
+209
0.0pp
Indian
+396
+0.1pp
Filipino
+411
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Maitland (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 | |
| Australian | 40,000 | 22.2% | 20.1% | 35,242 | 22.8% | 21.3% | +4,758 | -0.6pp |
| English | 38,863 | 21.5% | 20.5% | 33,904 | 21.9% | 20.4% | +4,959 | -0.4pp |
| Irish | 9,626 | 5.3% | 5.9% | 9,542 | 6.2% | 6.1% | +84 | -0.9pp |
| Scottish | 9,437 | 5.2% | 5.4% | 8,367 | 5.4% | 5.3% | +1,070 | -0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 6,530 | 3.6% | 3.1% | 421 | 0.3% | 0.4% | +6,109 | +3.3pp |
| German | 3,887 | 2.2% | 2.1% | 3,649 | 2.4% | 2.1% | +238 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 1,429 | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1,122 | 0.7% | 1.3% | +307 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 1,144 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 935 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +209 | 0.0pp |
| Indian | 990 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 594 | 0.4% | 0.3% | +396 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 937 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 526 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +411 | +0.2pp |
| Total | 180,432 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 154,541 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +25,891 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).