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 Jervois were Australian, English and German.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Jervois - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Jervois in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Murray Bridge (RC) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Jervois, with comparison markers for Murray Bridge (RC).

Jervois
Murray Bridge (RC)

Australian

2021 count

125

% of total

24.8%

Change from 2016

+3.5pp

English

2021 count

116

% of total

23.0%

Change from 2016

-7.1pp

German

2021 count

26

% of total

5.2%

Change from 2016

-2.1pp

Italian

2021 count

25

% of total

5.0%

Change from 2016

-

Scottish

2021 count

21

% of total

4.2%

Change from 2016

-1.7pp

Irish

2021 count

12

% of total

2.4%

Change from 2016

-1.1pp

Data table

Ancestry for Jervois. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Murray Bridge (RC).

Ancestry for Jervois. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Murray Bridge (RC).
Ancestry for Jervois. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Murray Bridge (RC).
Category20212016Change
Count%Murray Bridge (RC)%Count%Murray Bridge (RC)%Countpp
Australian12524.8%19.0%9721.3%19.2%+28+3.5pp
English11623.0%20.3%13730.1%19.6%-21-7.1pp
German265.2%6.4%337.3%6.6%-7-2.1pp
Italian255.0%1.5%--1.4%--
Scottish214.2%4.1%275.9%4.0%-6-1.7pp
Irish122.4%3.1%163.5%3.2%-4-1.1pp
Total504100.0%100.0%455100.0%100.0%+490.0pp

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