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 Penrith (C) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Penrith (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Penrith (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Penrith (C), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
Australian
2021 count
72,440
% of total
16.6%
Change from 2016
-1.3pp
72,440
16.6%
-1.3pp
English
2021 count
65,665
% of total
15.1%
Change from 2016
-1.5pp
65,665
15.1%
-1.5pp
Irish
2021 count
17,767
% of total
4.1%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
17,767
4.1%
-0.8pp
Scottish
2021 count
14,682
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
14,682
3.4%
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
10,057
% of total
2.3%
Change from 2016
+2.0pp
10,057
2.3%
+2.0pp
Maltese
2021 count
8,692
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
8,692
2.0%
+0.1pp
Indian
2021 count
8,566
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
8,566
2.0%
+0.5pp
Italian
2021 count
8,127
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
8,127
1.9%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
7,772
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
7,772
1.8%
+0.4pp
German
2021 count
6,311
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
6,311
1.4%
-0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+2,398
-1.3pp
English
+414
-1.5pp
Irish
-1,509
-0.8pp
Scottish
+140
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+8,974
+2.0pp
Maltese
+1,107
+0.1pp
Indian
+2,775
+0.5pp
Italian
+926
+0.1pp
Filipino
+2,324
+0.4pp
German
-163
-0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Penrith (C). 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 | |
| Australian | 72,440 | 16.6% | 11.2% | 70,042 | 17.9% | 11.8% | +2,398 | -1.3pp |
| English | 65,665 | 15.1% | 11.9% | 65,251 | 16.6% | 12.6% | +414 | -1.5pp |
| Irish | 17,767 | 4.1% | 3.8% | 19,276 | 4.9% | 4.3% | -1,509 | -0.8pp |
| Scottish | 14,682 | 3.4% | 3.0% | 14,542 | 3.7% | 3.2% | +140 | -0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 10,057 | 2.3% | 0.8% | 1,083 | 0.3% | 0.1% | +8,974 | +2.0pp |
| Maltese | 8,692 | 2.0% | 0.6% | 7,585 | 1.9% | 0.6% | +1,107 | +0.1pp |
| Indian | 8,566 | 2.0% | 2.3% | 5,791 | 1.5% | 2.0% | +2,775 | +0.5pp |
| Italian | 8,127 | 1.9% | 2.1% | 7,201 | 1.8% | 2.1% | +926 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 7,772 | 1.8% | 1.2% | 5,448 | 1.4% | 1.1% | +2,324 | +0.4pp |
| German | 6,311 | 1.4% | 1.2% | 6,474 | 1.7% | 1.3% | -163 | -0.3pp |
| Total | 435,290 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 392,101 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +43,189 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).