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 Glen Aplin were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Glen Aplin - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Glen Aplin, with comparison markers for Southern Downs (R).

Glen Aplin
Southern Downs (R)

Australian

2021 count

251

% of total

44.3%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

English

2021 count

182

% of total

32.2%

Change from 2016

-4.8pp

Irish

2021 count

45

% of total

8.0%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Scottish

2021 count

44

% of total

7.8%

Change from 2016

-3.1pp

German

2021 count

33

% of total

5.8%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Italian

2021 count

29

% of total

5.1%

Change from 2016

-2.9pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

15

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Polish

2021 count

12

% of total

2.1%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Croatian

2021 count

11

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Glen Aplin. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Southern Downs (R).
Ancestry for Glen Aplin. 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
Australian25144.3%40.2%22143.9%42.3%+30+0.4pp
English18232.2%41.2%18637.0%41.1%-4-4.8pp
Irish458.0%13.3%5410.7%14.1%-9-2.7pp
Scottish447.8%11.4%5510.9%10.9%-11-3.1pp
German335.8%6.9%346.8%7.3%-1-1.0pp
Italian295.1%4.1%408.0%4.2%-11-2.9pp
Australian Aboriginal152.7%4.9%71.4%0.5%+8+1.3pp
Polish122.1%0.4%91.8%0.4%+3+0.3pp
Croatian111.9%0.2%91.8%0.2%+2+0.1pp

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