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 Snowy Monaro Regional (A) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Snowy Monaro Regional (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Snowy Monaro Regional (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Snowy Monaro Regional (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
English
2021 count
8,629
% of total
19.9%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
8,629
19.9%
+0.3pp
Australian
2021 count
8,620
% of total
19.9%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
8,620
19.9%
-0.8pp
Irish
2021 count
2,780
% of total
6.4%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
2,780
6.4%
+0.2pp
Scottish
2021 count
2,716
% of total
6.3%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
2,716
6.3%
+0.8pp
German
2021 count
1,166
% of total
2.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
1,166
2.7%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
592
% of total
1.4%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
592
1.4%
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
569
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
+1.2pp
569
1.3%
+1.2pp
Dutch
2021 count
377
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
377
0.9%
0.0pp
Chinese
2021 count
249
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
249
0.6%
+0.1pp
Austrian
2021 count
153
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
153
0.4%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+705
+0.3pp
Australian
+272
-0.8pp
Irish
+286
+0.2pp
Scottish
+483
+0.8pp
German
+75
0.0pp
Italian
+136
+0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+537
+1.2pp
Dutch
+29
0.0pp
Chinese
+67
+0.1pp
Austrian
+10
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Snowy Monaro Regional (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 | |
| English | 8,629 | 19.9% | 20.5% | 7,924 | 19.6% | 20.4% | +705 | +0.3pp |
| Australian | 8,620 | 19.9% | 20.1% | 8,348 | 20.7% | 21.3% | +272 | -0.8pp |
| Irish | 2,780 | 6.4% | 5.9% | 2,494 | 6.2% | 6.1% | +286 | +0.2pp |
| Scottish | 2,716 | 6.3% | 5.4% | 2,233 | 5.5% | 5.3% | +483 | +0.8pp |
| German | 1,166 | 2.7% | 2.1% | 1,091 | 2.7% | 2.1% | +75 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 592 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 456 | 1.1% | 1.3% | +136 | +0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 569 | 1.3% | 3.1% | 32 | 0.1% | 0.4% | +537 | +1.2pp |
| Dutch | 377 | 0.9% | 0.7% | 348 | 0.9% | 0.6% | +29 | 0.0pp |
| Chinese | 249 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 182 | 0.5% | 0.5% | +67 | +0.1pp |
| Austrian | 153 | 0.4% | 0.1% | 143 | 0.4% | 0.1% | +10 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 43,323 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 40,396 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +2,927 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).