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 Upper Lansdowne were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Upper Lansdowne - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Upper Lansdowne
Mid-Coast (A)

English

2021 count

254

% of total

47.7%

Change from 2016

+2.0pp

Australian

2021 count

221

% of total

41.5%

Change from 2016

-4.5pp

Irish

2021 count

81

% of total

15.2%

Change from 2016

+3.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

53

% of total

9.9%

Change from 2016

+1.4pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

29

% of total

5.4%

Change from 2016

+4.9pp

German

2021 count

24

% of total

4.5%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Italian

2021 count

18

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

+2.7pp

Dutch

2021 count

12

% of total

2.3%

Change from 2016

-2.1pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Upper Lansdowne. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid-Coast (A).
Ancestry for Upper Lansdowne. 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
English25447.7%43.9%25845.7%44.1%-4+2.0pp
Australian22141.5%42.4%26046.0%45.1%-39-4.5pp
Irish8115.2%11.0%6912.2%10.9%+12+3.0pp
Scottish539.9%10.8%488.5%10.6%+5+1.4pp
Australian Aboriginal295.4%6.7%30.5%1.0%+26+4.9pp
German244.5%3.8%264.6%3.9%-2-0.1pp
Italian183.4%1.7%40.7%1.5%+14+2.7pp
Dutch122.3%1.2%254.4%1.2%-13-2.1pp

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