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 Horseshoe Bend were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Horseshoe Bend - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Horseshoe Bend in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Maitland (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Horseshoe Bend, with comparison markers for Maitland (C).

Horseshoe Bend
Maitland (C)

Australian

2021 count

196

% of total

45.9%

Change from 2016

+3.6pp

English

2021 count

176

% of total

41.2%

Change from 2016

+6.7pp

Scottish

2021 count

44

% of total

10.3%

Change from 2016

-1.4pp

Irish

2021 count

42

% of total

9.8%

Change from 2016

-3.8pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

38

% of total

8.9%

Change from 2016

-

German

2021 count

22

% of total

5.2%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Horseshoe Bend. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Maitland (C).

Ancestry for Horseshoe Bend. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Maitland (C).
Ancestry for Horseshoe Bend. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Maitland (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Maitland (C)%Count%Maitland (C)%Countpp
Australian19645.9%44.3%16242.3%45.6%+34+3.6pp
English17641.2%43.1%13234.5%43.9%+44+6.7pp
Scottish4410.3%10.5%4511.7%10.8%-1-1.4pp
Irish429.8%10.7%5213.6%12.3%-10-3.8pp
Australian Aboriginal388.9%7.2%--0.5%--
German225.2%4.3%205.2%4.7%+20.0pp

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