Cultural diversity
Ancestry
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.
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 counts represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count, while percentages are shown against the total population.
- 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.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Penrith (C), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
Australian
English
Irish
Scottish
Australian Aboriginal
Maltese
Indian
Italian
Filipino
German
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+2,398
-2.4pp
English
+414
-3.1pp
Irish
-1,509
-1.6pp
Scottish
+140
-0.7pp
Australian Aboriginal
+8,974
+4.0pp
Maltese
+1,107
+0.1pp
Indian
+2,775
+0.9pp
Italian
+926
0.0pp
Filipino
+2,324
+0.8pp
German
-163
-0.4pp
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 | 33.3% | 22.3% | 70,042 | 35.7% | 23.5% | +2,398 | -2.4pp |
| English | 65,665 | 30.2% | 23.8% | 65,251 | 33.3% | 25.3% | +414 | -3.1pp |
| Irish | 17,767 | 8.2% | 7.7% | 19,276 | 9.8% | 8.6% | -1,509 | -1.6pp |
| Scottish | 14,682 | 6.7% | 6.0% | 14,542 | 7.4% | 6.4% | +140 | -0.7pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 10,057 | 4.6% | 1.6% | 1,083 | 0.6% | 0.2% | +8,974 | +4.0pp |
| Maltese | 8,692 | 4.0% | 1.2% | 7,585 | 3.9% | 1.2% | +1,107 | +0.1pp |
| Indian | 8,566 | 3.9% | 4.5% | 5,791 | 3.0% | 4.0% | +2,775 | +0.9pp |
| Italian | 8,127 | 3.7% | 4.3% | 7,201 | 3.7% | 4.2% | +926 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 7,772 | 3.6% | 2.5% | 5,448 | 2.8% | 2.1% | +2,324 | +0.8pp |
| German | 6,311 | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6,474 | 3.3% | 2.5% | -163 | -0.4pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).