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 Northern Beaches (A) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Northern Beaches (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Northern Beaches (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Northern Beaches (A), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
English
2021 count
108,673
% of total
20.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
108,673
20.6%
+0.1pp
Australian
2021 count
81,886
% of total
15.5%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
81,886
15.5%
-0.1pp
Irish
2021 count
32,971
% of total
6.3%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
32,971
6.3%
-0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
28,545
% of total
5.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
28,545
5.4%
+0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
14,565
% of total
2.8%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
14,565
2.8%
+0.4pp
German
2021 count
10,906
% of total
2.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
10,906
2.1%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
9,028
% of total
1.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
9,028
1.7%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
5,303
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
5,303
1.0%
+0.1pp
French
2021 count
3,930
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
3,930
0.7%
+0.1pp
New Zealander
2021 count
3,378
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
3,378
0.6%
-0.1pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+5,224
+0.1pp
Australian
+2,977
-0.1pp
Irish
+222
-0.2pp
Scottish
+1,966
+0.1pp
Italian
+2,274
+0.4pp
German
+918
+0.1pp
Chinese
+964
+0.1pp
Dutch
+523
+0.1pp
French
+679
+0.1pp
New Zealander
-258
-0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Northern Beaches (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | pp | |
| English | 108,673 | 20.6% | 11.9% | 103,449 | 20.5% | 12.6% | +5,224 | +0.1pp |
| Australian | 81,886 | 15.5% | 11.2% | 78,909 | 15.6% | 11.8% | +2,977 | -0.1pp |
| Irish | 32,971 | 6.3% | 3.8% | 32,749 | 6.5% | 4.3% | +222 | -0.2pp |
| Scottish | 28,545 | 5.4% | 3.0% | 26,579 | 5.3% | 3.2% | +1,966 | +0.1pp |
| Italian | 14,565 | 2.8% | 2.1% | 12,291 | 2.4% | 2.1% | +2,274 | +0.4pp |
| German | 10,906 | 2.1% | 1.2% | 9,988 | 2.0% | 1.3% | +918 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 9,028 | 1.7% | 5.3% | 8,064 | 1.6% | 5.1% | +964 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 5,303 | 1.0% | 0.5% | 4,780 | 0.9% | 0.5% | +523 | +0.1pp |
| French | 3,930 | 0.7% | 0.3% | 3,251 | 0.6% | 0.3% | +679 | +0.1pp |
| New Zealander | 3,378 | 0.6% | 0.3% | 3,636 | 0.7% | 0.4% | -258 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 527,084 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 505,765 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +21,319 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).