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 Cooroy were English, Australian and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Cooroy - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Cooroy in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Noosa (S) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cooroy, with comparison markers for Noosa (S).
English
2021 count
2,277
% of total
47.4%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
2,277
47.4%
-0.3pp
Australian
2021 count
1,880
% of total
39.2%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
1,880
39.2%
-0.5pp
Scottish
2021 count
589
% of total
12.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
589
12.3%
+0.2pp
Irish
2021 count
584
% of total
12.2%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
584
12.2%
+0.3pp
German
2021 count
308
% of total
6.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
308
6.4%
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
113
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
+2.0pp
113
2.4%
+2.0pp
Dutch
2021 count
98
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
98
2.0%
+0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
94
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
94
2.0%
+0.4pp
New Zealander
2021 count
51
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
51
1.1%
-0.1pp
Welsh
2021 count
45
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
45
0.9%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+470
-0.3pp
Australian
+376
-0.5pp
Scottish
+131
+0.2pp
Irish
+132
+0.3pp
German
+60
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+99
+2.0pp
Dutch
+33
+0.3pp
Italian
+34
+0.4pp
New Zealander
+7
-0.1pp
Welsh
+12
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Cooroy. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Noosa (S).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Noosa (S)% | Count | % | Noosa (S)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 2,277 | 47.4% | 46.3% | 1,807 | 47.7% | 46.3% | +470 | -0.3pp |
| Australian | 1,880 | 39.2% | 33.1% | 1,504 | 39.7% | 33.9% | +376 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 589 | 12.3% | 13.3% | 458 | 12.1% | 12.9% | +131 | +0.2pp |
| Irish | 584 | 12.2% | 13.5% | 452 | 11.9% | 13.7% | +132 | +0.3pp |
| German | 308 | 6.4% | 6.3% | 248 | 6.5% | 6.4% | +60 | -0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 113 | 2.4% | 1.5% | 14 | 0.4% | 0.2% | +99 | +2.0pp |
| Dutch | 98 | 2.0% | 2.0% | 65 | 1.7% | 2.0% | +33 | +0.3pp |
| Italian | 94 | 2.0% | 2.8% | 60 | 1.6% | 2.4% | +34 | +0.4pp |
| New Zealander | 51 | 1.1% | 1.2% | 44 | 1.2% | 1.2% | +7 | -0.1pp |
| Welsh | 45 | 0.9% | 0.9% | 33 | 0.9% | 0.9% | +12 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).