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 Orange (C) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Orange (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Orange (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Orange (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
18,072
% of total
41.5%
Change from 2016
-1.6pp
18,072
41.5%
-1.6pp
English
2021 count
17,581
% of total
40.4%
Change from 2016
-1.2pp
17,581
40.4%
-1.2pp
Irish
2021 count
5,486
% of total
12.6%
Change from 2016
-1.2pp
5,486
12.6%
-1.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
4,359
% of total
10.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
4,359
10.0%
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
3,215
% of total
7.4%
Change from 2016
+6.7pp
3,215
7.4%
+6.7pp
German
2021 count
1,616
% of total
3.7%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
1,616
3.7%
-0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
1,000
% of total
2.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,000
2.3%
0.0pp
Dutch
2021 count
613
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
613
1.4%
+0.2pp
Indian
2021 count
589
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
589
1.4%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
521
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
521
1.2%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+693
-1.6pp
English
+778
-1.2pp
Irish
-79
-1.2pp
Scottish
+322
0.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
+2,943
+6.7pp
German
+56
-0.2pp
Italian
+86
0.0pp
Dutch
+123
+0.2pp
Indian
+50
+0.1pp
Chinese
+95
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Orange (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 18,072 | 41.5% | 40.2% | 17,379 | 43.1% | 42.5% | +693 | -1.6pp |
| English | 17,581 | 40.4% | 40.9% | 16,803 | 41.6% | 40.8% | +778 | -1.2pp |
| Irish | 5,486 | 12.6% | 11.8% | 5,565 | 13.8% | 12.3% | -79 | -1.2pp |
| Scottish | 4,359 | 10.0% | 10.7% | 4,037 | 10.0% | 10.5% | +322 | 0.0pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 3,215 | 7.4% | 6.1% | 272 | 0.7% | 0.8% | +2,943 | +6.7pp |
| German | 1,616 | 3.7% | 4.2% | 1,560 | 3.9% | 4.3% | +56 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 1,000 | 2.3% | 2.8% | 914 | 2.3% | 2.6% | +86 | 0.0pp |
| Dutch | 613 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 490 | 1.2% | 1.3% | +123 | +0.2pp |
| Indian | 589 | 1.4% | 0.8% | 539 | 1.3% | 0.7% | +50 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 521 | 1.2% | 1.0% | 426 | 1.1% | 1.0% | +95 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).