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 Lochinvar (part) were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Lochinvar (part) - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Lochinvar (part), with comparison markers for Maitland (C).

Lochinvar (part)
Maitland (C)

Australian

2021 count

531

% of total

48.5%

Change from 2016

+2.6pp

English

2021 count

413

% of total

37.7%

Change from 2016

-1.9pp

Scottish

2021 count

118

% of total

10.8%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Irish

2021 count

116

% of total

10.6%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

78

% of total

7.1%

Change from 2016

-

German

2021 count

58

% of total

5.3%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Italian

2021 count

26

% of total

2.4%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Polish

2021 count

15

% of total

1.4%

Change from 2016

-0.7pp

Dutch

2021 count

13

% of total

1.2%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Hungarian

2021 count

10

% of total

0.9%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

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

Ancestry for Lochinvar (part). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Maitland (C).
Ancestry for Lochinvar (part). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Maitland (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Maitland (C)%Count%Maitland (C)%Countpp
Australian53148.5%44.3%36645.9%45.6%+165+2.6pp
English41337.7%43.1%31539.6%43.9%+98-1.9pp
Scottish11810.8%10.5%9411.8%10.8%+24-1.0pp
Irish11610.6%10.7%9111.4%12.3%+25-0.8pp
Australian Aboriginal787.1%7.2%--0.5%--
German585.3%4.3%405.0%4.7%+18+0.3pp
Italian262.4%1.6%101.3%1.5%+16+1.1pp
Polish151.4%1.0%172.1%1.0%-2-0.7pp
Dutch131.2%1.3%60.8%1.2%+7+0.4pp
Hungarian100.9%0.2%--0.2%--

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