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 Sunshine Coast (R) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Sunshine Coast (R) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Sunshine Coast (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Sunshine Coast (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
English
2021 count
156,166
% of total
22.8%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
156,166
22.8%
+0.3pp
Australian
2021 count
121,519
% of total
17.7%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
121,519
17.7%
-0.8pp
Irish
2021 count
42,800
% of total
6.2%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
42,800
6.2%
-0.3pp
Scottish
2021 count
42,225
% of total
6.2%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
42,225
6.2%
+0.1pp
German
2021 count
22,539
% of total
3.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
22,539
3.3%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
8,971
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
8,971
1.3%
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
7,931
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
+1.1pp
7,931
1.2%
+1.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
6,942
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
6,942
1.0%
0.0pp
New Zealander
2021 count
4,913
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
4,913
0.7%
-0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
3,401
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
3,401
0.5%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+23,961
+0.3pp
Australian
+12,346
-0.8pp
Irish
+4,497
-0.3pp
Scottish
+6,411
+0.1pp
German
+2,847
0.0pp
Italian
+2,317
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+7,191
+1.1pp
Dutch
+1,323
0.0pp
New Zealander
-25
-0.1pp
Chinese
+895
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Sunshine Coast (R). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Qld.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | pp | |
| English | 156,166 | 22.8% | 19.8% | 132,205 | 22.5% | 19.6% | +23,961 | +0.3pp |
| Australian | 121,519 | 17.7% | 17.7% | 109,173 | 18.5% | 18.8% | +12,346 | -0.8pp |
| Irish | 42,800 | 6.2% | 5.5% | 38,303 | 6.5% | 5.9% | +4,497 | -0.3pp |
| Scottish | 42,225 | 6.2% | 5.2% | 35,814 | 6.1% | 5.2% | +6,411 | +0.1pp |
| German | 22,539 | 3.3% | 3.2% | 19,692 | 3.3% | 3.3% | +2,847 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 8,971 | 1.3% | 1.6% | 6,654 | 1.1% | 1.5% | +2,317 | +0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 7,931 | 1.2% | 2.6% | 740 | 0.1% | 0.6% | +7,191 | +1.1pp |
| Dutch | 6,942 | 1.0% | 0.8% | 5,619 | 1.0% | 0.7% | +1,323 | 0.0pp |
| New Zealander | 4,913 | 0.7% | 0.6% | 4,938 | 0.8% | 0.7% | -25 | -0.1pp |
| Chinese | 3,401 | 0.5% | 0.8% | 2,506 | 0.4% | 0.8% | +895 | +0.1pp |
| Total | 685,071 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 588,714 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +96,357 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).