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 Wannanup were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Wannanup - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Wannanup, with comparison markers for Mandurah (C).

Wannanup
Mandurah (C)

English

2021 count

2,088

% of total

50.4%

Change from 2016

+3.7pp

Australian

2021 count

1,416

% of total

34.2%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Scottish

2021 count

495

% of total

12.0%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Irish

2021 count

457

% of total

11.0%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Italian

2021 count

175

% of total

4.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

German

2021 count

127

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

Dutch

2021 count

110

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

78

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

+1.7pp

Welsh

2021 count

69

% of total

1.7%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Maori

2021 count

66

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Data table

Ancestry for Wannanup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).

Ancestry for Wannanup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).
Ancestry for Wannanup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mandurah (C)%Count%Mandurah (C)%Countpp
English2,08850.4%48.1%1,69046.7%47.4%+398+3.7pp
Australian1,41634.2%35.1%1,21333.5%35.9%+203+0.7pp
Scottish49512.0%10.2%41211.4%10.2%+83+0.6pp
Irish45711.0%9.6%39610.9%9.8%+61+0.1pp
Italian1754.2%3.2%1423.9%3.1%+33+0.3pp
German1273.1%3.3%1273.5%3.3%0-0.4pp
Dutch1102.7%2.2%852.3%2.0%+25+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal781.9%2.8%60.2%0.3%+72+1.7pp
Welsh691.7%1.2%601.7%1.1%+90.0pp
Maori661.6%1.6%330.9%1.5%+33+0.7pp

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