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 Mid-Western Regional (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Mid-Western Regional (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Mid-Western Regional (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Mid-Western Regional (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
11,276
% of total
21.9%
Change from 2016
-1.8pp
11,276
21.9%
-1.8pp
English
2021 count
11,039
% of total
21.5%
Change from 2016
+1.5pp
11,039
21.5%
+1.5pp
Irish
2021 count
3,076
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
3,076
6.0%
+0.3pp
Scottish
2021 count
2,515
% of total
4.9%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
2,515
4.9%
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,636
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+3.0pp
1,636
3.2%
+3.0pp
German
2021 count
1,012
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,012
2.0%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
416
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
416
0.8%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
374
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
374
0.7%
+0.1pp
Maltese
2021 count
219
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
219
0.4%
+0.1pp
New Zealander
2021 count
158
% of total
0.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
158
0.3%
0.0pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-139
-1.8pp
English
+1,432
+1.5pp
Irish
+345
+0.3pp
Scottish
+403
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
+1,544
+3.0pp
German
+53
0.0pp
Italian
+57
+0.1pp
Dutch
+74
+0.1pp
Maltese
+72
+0.1pp
New Zealander
+6
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Mid-Western Regional (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 11,276 | 21.9% | 20.1% | 11,415 | 23.7% | 21.3% | -139 | -1.8pp |
| English | 11,039 | 21.5% | 20.5% | 9,607 | 20.0% | 20.4% | +1,432 | +1.5pp |
| Irish | 3,076 | 6.0% | 5.9% | 2,731 | 5.7% | 6.1% | +345 | +0.3pp |
| Scottish | 2,515 | 4.9% | 5.4% | 2,112 | 4.4% | 5.3% | +403 | +0.5pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,636 | 3.2% | 3.1% | 92 | 0.2% | 0.4% | +1,544 | +3.0pp |
| German | 1,012 | 2.0% | 2.1% | 959 | 2.0% | 2.1% | +53 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 416 | 0.8% | 1.4% | 359 | 0.7% | 1.3% | +57 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 374 | 0.7% | 0.7% | 300 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +74 | +0.1pp |
| Maltese | 219 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 147 | 0.3% | 0.2% | +72 | +0.1pp |
| New Zealander | 158 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 152 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +6 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 51,441 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 48,137 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +3,304 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).