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 Riverglades were English, Australian and German.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Riverglades - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Riverglades
Murray Bridge (RC)

English

2021 count

402

% of total

47.0%

Change from 2016

+1.9pp

Australian

2021 count

370

% of total

43.2%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

German

2021 count

149

% of total

17.4%

Change from 2016

+3.0pp

Irish

2021 count

66

% of total

7.7%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Scottish

2021 count

58

% of total

6.8%

Change from 2016

-1.1pp

Italian

2021 count

33

% of total

3.9%

Change from 2016

+1.6pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

31

% of total

3.6%

Change from 2016

+2.9pp

Dutch

2021 count

17

% of total

2.0%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Riverglades. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Murray Bridge (RC).
Ancestry for Riverglades. 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
English40247.0%40.6%37045.1%39.1%+32+1.9pp
Australian37043.2%38.0%35843.7%38.3%+12-0.5pp
German14917.4%12.9%11814.4%13.2%+31+3.0pp
Irish667.7%6.1%597.2%6.5%+7+0.5pp
Scottish586.8%8.1%657.9%7.9%-7-1.1pp
Italian333.9%2.9%192.3%2.7%+14+1.6pp
Australian Aboriginal313.6%5.0%60.7%0.8%+25+2.9pp
Dutch172.0%1.4%162.0%1.5%+10.0pp

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