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 Streaky Bay (DC) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Streaky Bay (DC) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Streaky Bay (DC) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional SA and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Streaky Bay (DC), with comparison markers for Regional SA.
Australian
2021 count
1,003
% of total
23.2%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,003
23.2%
+0.1pp
English
2021 count
855
% of total
19.8%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
855
19.8%
-0.8pp
Irish
2021 count
245
% of total
5.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
245
5.7%
0.0pp
German
2021 count
198
% of total
4.6%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
198
4.6%
+0.6pp
Scottish
2021 count
170
% of total
3.9%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
170
3.9%
-0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
36
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
36
0.8%
+0.7pp
Italian
2021 count
33
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
33
0.8%
+0.5pp
Dutch
2021 count
16
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
16
0.4%
-0.1pp
New Zealander
2021 count
10
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
10
0.2%
0.0pp
Greek
2021 count
10
% of total
0.2%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
10
0.2%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+50
+0.1pp
English
+3
-0.8pp
Irish
+10
0.0pp
German
+34
+0.6pp
Scottish
-6
-0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
+32
+0.7pp
Italian
+21
+0.5pp
Dutch
-3
-0.1pp
New Zealander
+2
0.0pp
Greek
+2
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Streaky Bay (DC). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional SA.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | % | Regional SA% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 1,003 | 23.2% | 20.3% | 953 | 23.1% | 21.0% | +50 | +0.1pp |
| English | 855 | 19.8% | 21.0% | 852 | 20.6% | 20.5% | +3 | -0.8pp |
| Irish | 245 | 5.7% | 3.8% | 235 | 5.7% | 3.9% | +10 | 0.0pp |
| German | 198 | 4.6% | 5.3% | 164 | 4.0% | 5.4% | +34 | +0.6pp |
| Scottish | 170 | 3.9% | 4.6% | 176 | 4.3% | 4.5% | -6 | -0.4pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 36 | 0.8% | 2.2% | 4 | 0.1% | 0.6% | +32 | +0.7pp |
| Italian | 33 | 0.8% | 1.1% | 12 | 0.3% | 1.1% | +21 | +0.5pp |
| Dutch | 16 | 0.4% | 0.8% | 19 | 0.5% | 0.8% | -3 | -0.1pp |
| New Zealander | 10 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 8 | 0.2% | 0.2% | +2 | 0.0pp |
| Greek | 10 | 0.2% | 0.4% | 8 | 0.2% | 0.4% | +2 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 4,319 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4,132 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +187 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).