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 Pioneer (Qld) were Australian Aboriginal, Australian and English.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Pioneer (Qld) - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Pioneer (Qld) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mount Isa (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Pioneer (Qld), with comparison markers for Mount Isa (C).

Pioneer (Qld)
Mount Isa (C)

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

977

% of total

41.6%

Change from 2016

+35.2pp

Australian

2021 count

643

% of total

27.4%

Change from 2016

-19.6pp

English

2021 count

505

% of total

21.5%

Change from 2016

-2.4pp

Irish

2021 count

126

% of total

5.4%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

87

% of total

3.7%

Change from 2016

-2.4pp

Filipino

2021 count

82

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Torres Strait Islander

2021 count

62

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

+2.1pp

German

2021 count

57

% of total

2.4%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Maori

2021 count

52

% of total

2.2%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Italian

2021 count

30

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Pioneer (Qld). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Isa (C).

Ancestry for Pioneer (Qld). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Isa (C).
Ancestry for Pioneer (Qld). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Isa (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mount Isa (C)%Count%Mount Isa (C)%Countpp
Australian Aboriginal97741.6%19.1%1406.4%3.2%+837+35.2pp
Australian64327.4%33.4%1,02347.0%41.0%-380-19.6pp
English50521.5%28.5%52123.9%30.3%-16-2.4pp
Irish1265.4%8.9%1738.0%10.9%-47-2.6pp
Scottish873.7%7.2%1326.1%8.4%-45-2.4pp
Filipino823.5%3.8%622.8%3.1%+20+0.7pp
Torres Strait Islander622.6%1.5%100.5%0.1%+52+2.1pp
German572.4%4.4%653.0%4.9%-8-0.6pp
Maori522.2%2.3%612.8%2.3%-9-0.6pp
Italian301.3%2.5%281.3%2.5%+20.0pp

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