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 Echunga were English, Australian and German.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Echunga - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Echunga in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mount Barker (DC) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Echunga, with comparison markers for Mount Barker (DC).
English
2021 count
564
% of total
46.3%
Change from 2016
-2.5pp
564
46.3%
-2.5pp
Australian
2021 count
496
% of total
40.7%
Change from 2016
-1.5pp
496
40.7%
-1.5pp
German
2021 count
175
% of total
14.4%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
175
14.4%
+0.9pp
Scottish
2021 count
142
% of total
11.6%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
142
11.6%
-0.1pp
Irish
2021 count
128
% of total
10.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
128
10.5%
+0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
39
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
39
3.2%
+0.2pp
Welsh
2021 count
13
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
13
1.1%
+0.7pp
Dutch
2021 count
13
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
13
1.1%
-0.5pp
Polish
2021 count
11
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
11
0.9%
-0.4pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+23
-2.5pp
Australian
+28
-1.5pp
German
+25
+0.9pp
Scottish
+12
-0.1pp
Irish
+13
+0.1pp
Italian
+6
+0.2pp
Welsh
+9
+0.7pp
Dutch
-5
-0.5pp
Polish
-3
-0.4pp
Data table
Ancestry for Echunga. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Barker (DC).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Mount Barker (DC)% | Count | % | Mount Barker (DC)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 564 | 46.3% | 47.0% | 541 | 48.8% | 46.0% | +23 | -2.5pp |
| Australian | 496 | 40.7% | 40.3% | 468 | 42.2% | 41.3% | +28 | -1.5pp |
| German | 175 | 14.4% | 11.8% | 150 | 13.5% | 11.9% | +25 | +0.9pp |
| Scottish | 142 | 11.6% | 10.4% | 130 | 11.7% | 9.8% | +12 | -0.1pp |
| Irish | 128 | 10.5% | 9.0% | 115 | 10.4% | 8.4% | +13 | +0.1pp |
| Italian | 39 | 3.2% | 3.0% | 33 | 3.0% | 2.6% | +6 | +0.2pp |
| Welsh | 13 | 1.1% | 0.9% | 4 | 0.4% | 0.8% | +9 | +0.7pp |
| Dutch | 13 | 1.1% | 2.7% | 18 | 1.6% | 2.6% | -5 | -0.5pp |
| Polish | 11 | 0.9% | 0.9% | 14 | 1.3% | 0.8% | -3 | -0.4pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).