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 Hillville were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Hillville - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Hillville in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mid-Coast (A) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Hillville, with comparison markers for Mid-Coast (A).

Hillville
Mid-Coast (A)

Australian

2021 count

137

% of total

23.1%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

English

2021 count

119

% of total

20.0%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Scottish

2021 count

32

% of total

5.4%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Irish

2021 count

30

% of total

5.1%

Change from 2016

-0.2pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

20

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

+3.2pp

Dutch

2021 count

15

% of total

2.5%

Change from 2016

+1.9pp

German

2021 count

10

% of total

1.7%

Change from 2016

-0.8pp

Data table

Ancestry for Hillville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).

Ancestry for Hillville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
Ancestry for Hillville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mid-Coast (A)%Count%Mid-Coast (A)%Countpp
Australian13723.1%21.2%76522.4%22.6%-628+0.7pp
English11920.0%22.0%67119.7%22.1%-552+0.3pp
Scottish325.4%5.4%1785.2%5.3%-146+0.2pp
Irish305.1%5.5%1825.3%5.4%-152-0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal203.4%3.4%80.2%0.5%+12+3.2pp
Dutch152.5%0.6%190.6%0.6%-4+1.9pp
German101.7%1.9%872.5%2.0%-77-0.8pp
Total594100.0%100.0%3,412100.0%100.0%-2,8180.0pp

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