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 Bapaume were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Bapaume - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Bapaume in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Southern Downs (R) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size change

Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.

2016
2021

Australian

-1,955

+7.0pp

English

-2,160

+3.6pp

Irish

-845

-2.5pp

Scottish

-613

-1.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Bapaume. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).

Ancestry for Bapaume. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Ancestry for Bapaume. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Southern Downs (R)%Count%Southern Downs (R)%Countpp
Australian5624.2%20.1%2,01117.2%21.1%-1,955+7.0pp
English5222.5%20.6%2,21218.9%20.5%-2,160+3.6pp
Irish114.8%6.7%8567.3%7.0%-845-2.5pp
Scottish104.3%5.7%6235.3%5.4%-613-1.0pp
Total231100.0%100.0%11,705100.0%100.0%-11,4740.0pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).