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 Parkes (A) were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Parkes (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Parkes (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Parkes (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
6,425
% of total
22.4%
Change from 2016
-1.5pp
6,425
22.4%
-1.5pp
English
2021 count
5,844
% of total
20.4%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
5,844
20.4%
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,788
% of total
6.2%
Change from 2016
+5.7pp
1,788
6.2%
+5.7pp
Irish
2021 count
1,533
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
-0.7pp
1,533
5.3%
-0.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,243
% of total
4.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,243
4.3%
0.0pp
German
2021 count
542
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
542
1.9%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
176
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
176
0.6%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
172
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
172
0.6%
0.0pp
Filipino
2021 count
121
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
121
0.4%
0.0pp
Chinese
2021 count
104
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
104
0.4%
+0.1pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-550
-1.5pp
English
+16
+0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal
+1,648
+5.7pp
Irish
-222
-0.7pp
Scottish
-25
0.0pp
German
-1
0.0pp
Italian
+44
+0.1pp
Dutch
+9
0.0pp
Filipino
+14
0.0pp
Chinese
+13
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Parkes (A). 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 | 6,425 | 22.4% | 20.1% | 6,975 | 23.9% | 21.3% | -550 | -1.5pp |
| English | 5,844 | 20.4% | 20.5% | 5,828 | 19.9% | 20.4% | +16 | +0.5pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,788 | 6.2% | 3.1% | 140 | 0.5% | 0.4% | +1,648 | +5.7pp |
| Irish | 1,533 | 5.3% | 5.9% | 1,755 | 6.0% | 6.1% | -222 | -0.7pp |
| Scottish | 1,243 | 4.3% | 5.4% | 1,268 | 4.3% | 5.3% | -25 | 0.0pp |
| German | 542 | 1.9% | 2.1% | 543 | 1.9% | 2.1% | -1 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 176 | 0.6% | 1.4% | 132 | 0.5% | 1.3% | +44 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 172 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 163 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +9 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 121 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 107 | 0.4% | 0.3% | +14 | 0.0pp |
| Chinese | 104 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 91 | 0.3% | 0.5% | +13 | +0.1pp |
| Total | 28,715 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 29,227 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -512 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).