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 Murray River (A) were Australian, English and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Murray River (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Murray River (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Murray River (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
5,424
% of total
42.2%
Change from 2016
-1.9pp
5,424
42.2%
-1.9pp
English
2021 count
5,369
% of total
41.8%
Change from 2016
+1.7pp
5,369
41.8%
+1.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,535
% of total
11.9%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
1,535
11.9%
+0.5pp
Irish
2021 count
1,494
% of total
11.6%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
1,494
11.6%
+0.3pp
German
2021 count
475
% of total
3.7%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
475
3.7%
-0.5pp
Italian
2021 count
468
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
468
3.6%
+0.8pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
460
% of total
3.6%
Change from 2016
+2.7pp
460
3.6%
+2.7pp
Dutch
2021 count
171
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
171
1.3%
0.0pp
Filipino
2021 count
108
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
108
0.8%
+0.3pp
Chinese
2021 count
96
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
96
0.7%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+276
-1.9pp
English
+684
+1.7pp
Scottish
+207
+0.5pp
Irish
+175
+0.3pp
German
-11
-0.5pp
Italian
+141
+0.8pp
Australian Aboriginal
+356
+2.7pp
Dutch
+25
0.0pp
Filipino
+49
+0.3pp
Chinese
+41
+0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Murray River (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 | 5,424 | 42.2% | 40.2% | 5,148 | 44.1% | 42.5% | +276 | -1.9pp |
| English | 5,369 | 41.8% | 40.9% | 4,685 | 40.1% | 40.8% | +684 | +1.7pp |
| Scottish | 1,535 | 11.9% | 10.7% | 1,328 | 11.4% | 10.5% | +207 | +0.5pp |
| Irish | 1,494 | 11.6% | 11.8% | 1,319 | 11.3% | 12.3% | +175 | +0.3pp |
| German | 475 | 3.7% | 4.2% | 486 | 4.2% | 4.3% | -11 | -0.5pp |
| Italian | 468 | 3.6% | 2.8% | 327 | 2.8% | 2.6% | +141 | +0.8pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 460 | 3.6% | 6.1% | 104 | 0.9% | 0.8% | +356 | +2.7pp |
| Dutch | 171 | 1.3% | 1.4% | 146 | 1.3% | 1.3% | +25 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 108 | 0.8% | 0.8% | 59 | 0.5% | 0.6% | +49 | +0.3pp |
| Chinese | 96 | 0.7% | 1.0% | 55 | 0.5% | 1.0% | +41 | +0.2pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).