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 Sunrise Beach were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Sunrise Beach - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Sunrise Beach in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Noosa (S) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Sunrise Beach, with comparison markers for Noosa (S).

Sunrise Beach
Noosa (S)

English

2021 count

1,666

% of total

45.2%

Change from 2016

-1.1pp

Australian

2021 count

1,100

% of total

29.8%

Change from 2016

-3.3pp

Irish

2021 count

504

% of total

13.7%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

497

% of total

13.5%

Change from 2016

+1.2pp

German

2021 count

232

% of total

6.3%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Italian

2021 count

127

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Dutch

2021 count

84

% of total

2.3%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

French

2021 count

60

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

New Zealander

2021 count

59

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Spanish

2021 count

49

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Data table

Ancestry for Sunrise Beach. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Noosa (S).

Ancestry for Sunrise Beach. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Noosa (S).
Ancestry for Sunrise Beach. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Noosa (S).
Category20212016Change
Count%Noosa (S)%Count%Noosa (S)%Countpp
English1,66645.2%46.3%1,58046.3%46.3%+86-1.1pp
Australian1,10029.8%33.1%1,13033.1%33.9%-30-3.3pp
Irish50413.7%13.5%46913.7%13.7%+350.0pp
Scottish49713.5%13.3%42112.3%12.9%+76+1.2pp
German2326.3%6.3%2487.3%6.4%-16-1.0pp
Italian1273.4%2.8%1073.1%2.4%+20+0.3pp
Dutch842.3%2.0%651.9%2.0%+19+0.4pp
French601.6%1.2%421.2%1.0%+18+0.4pp
New Zealander591.6%1.2%471.4%1.2%+12+0.2pp
Spanish491.3%0.6%170.5%0.4%+32+0.8pp

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