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 Flagstaff Hill were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Flagstaff Hill - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Flagstaff Hill in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Onkaparinga (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Flagstaff Hill, with comparison markers for Onkaparinga (C).

Flagstaff Hill
Onkaparinga (C)

English

2021 count

4,625

% of total

45.4%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Australian

2021 count

3,344

% of total

32.8%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Scottish

2021 count

993

% of total

9.8%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Irish

2021 count

879

% of total

8.6%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

German

2021 count

820

% of total

8.1%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Italian

2021 count

361

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Chinese

2021 count

325

% of total

3.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Dutch

2021 count

236

% of total

2.3%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Indian

2021 count

220

% of total

2.2%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Polish

2021 count

168

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Data table

Ancestry for Flagstaff Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Onkaparinga (C).

Ancestry for Flagstaff Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Onkaparinga (C).
Ancestry for Flagstaff Hill. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Onkaparinga (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Onkaparinga (C)%Count%Onkaparinga (C)%Countpp
English4,62545.4%48.5%4,52045.4%47.8%+1050.0pp
Australian3,34432.8%37.7%3,21232.3%37.5%+132+0.5pp
Scottish9939.8%10.0%1,02510.3%9.6%-32-0.5pp
Irish8798.6%8.5%8418.5%8.7%+38+0.1pp
German8208.1%7.4%7837.9%7.2%+37+0.2pp
Italian3613.5%2.9%3633.6%2.7%-2-0.1pp
Chinese3253.2%1.0%2892.9%1.0%+36+0.3pp
Dutch2362.3%2.4%2012.0%2.2%+35+0.3pp
Indian2202.2%0.9%1481.5%0.8%+72+0.7pp
Polish1681.6%1.2%1451.5%1.1%+23+0.1pp

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