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 Gumma were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Gumma - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Gumma in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Nambucca (A) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Gumma, with comparison markers for Nambucca (A).

Gumma
Nambucca (A)

Australian

2021 count

219

% of total

23.0%

Change from 2016

+11.0pp

English

2021 count

218

% of total

22.9%

Change from 2016

+6.9pp

Scottish

2021 count

48

% of total

5.0%

Change from 2016

-

Irish

2021 count

47

% of total

4.9%

Change from 2016

-7.1pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

28

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

-

German

2021 count

12

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

-

Italian

2021 count

10

% of total

1.1%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

Ancestry for Gumma. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Nambucca (A).

Ancestry for Gumma. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Nambucca (A).
Ancestry for Gumma. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Nambucca (A).
Category20212016Change
Count%Nambucca (A)%Count%Nambucca (A)%Countpp
Australian21923.0%20.5%312.0%22.4%+216+11.0pp
English21822.9%21.6%416.0%21.5%+214+6.9pp
Scottish485.0%5.6%--5.2%--
Irish474.9%5.8%312.0%5.8%+44-7.1pp
Australian Aboriginal282.9%3.7%--0.9%--
German121.3%2.0%--2.0%--
Italian101.1%0.9%--0.8%--
Total952100.0%100.0%25100.0%100.0%+9270.0pp

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