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 Sedan were Australian, English and German.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Sedan - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Sedan in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mid Murray (DC) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Sedan, with comparison markers for Mid Murray (DC).

Sedan
Mid Murray (DC)

Australian

2021 count

88

% of total

20.7%

Change from 2016

-10.3pp

English

2021 count

85

% of total

20.0%

Change from 2016

+6.2pp

German

2021 count

45

% of total

10.6%

Change from 2016

+3.7pp

Irish

2021 count

24

% of total

5.6%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Scottish

2021 count

10

% of total

2.4%

Change from 2016

-6.2pp

Data table

Ancestry for Sedan. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid Murray (DC).

Ancestry for Sedan. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid Murray (DC).
Ancestry for Sedan. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mid Murray (DC).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mid Murray (DC)%Count%Mid Murray (DC)%Countpp
Australian8820.7%19.5%1831.0%19.8%+70-10.3pp
English8520.0%21.0%813.8%20.3%+77+6.2pp
German4510.6%7.9%46.9%8.9%+41+3.7pp
Irish245.6%3.3%35.2%3.3%+21+0.4pp
Scottish102.4%4.2%58.6%4.1%+5-6.2pp
Total425100.0%100.0%58100.0%100.0%+3670.0pp

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