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 Ravenshoe were English, Australian and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Ravenshoe - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Ravenshoe in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Tablelands (R) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Ravenshoe, with comparison markers for Tablelands (R).
English
2021 count
463
% of total
17.5%
Change from 2016
-7.5pp
463
17.5%
-7.5pp
Australian
2021 count
437
% of total
16.5%
Change from 2016
+7.8pp
437
16.5%
+7.8pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
238
% of total
9.0%
Change from 2016
-
238
9.0%
-
Irish
2021 count
159
% of total
6.0%
Change from 2016
-6.0pp
159
6.0%
-6.0pp
Scottish
2021 count
137
% of total
5.2%
Change from 2016
+0.9pp
137
5.2%
+0.9pp
German
2021 count
75
% of total
2.8%
Change from 2016
-
75
2.8%
-
Italian
2021 count
48
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
-
48
1.8%
-
Torres Strait Islander
2021 count
29
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
-
29
1.1%
-
Chinese
2021 count
24
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
-
24
0.9%
-
Dutch
2021 count
13
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
-
13
0.5%
-
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+440
-7.5pp
Australian
+429
+7.8pp
Irish
+148
-6.0pp
Scottish
+133
+0.9pp
Data table
Ancestry for Ravenshoe. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Tablelands (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Tablelands (R)% | Count | % | Tablelands (R)% | Count | pp | |
| English | 463 | 17.5% | 19.1% | 23 | 25.0% | 19.3% | +440 | -7.5pp |
| Australian | 437 | 16.5% | 18.6% | 8 | 8.7% | 20.6% | +429 | +7.8pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 238 | 9.0% | 3.4% | - | - | 0.5% | - | - |
| Irish | 159 | 6.0% | 6.2% | 11 | 12.0% | 6.4% | +148 | -6.0pp |
| Scottish | 137 | 5.2% | 5.4% | 4 | 4.3% | 5.5% | +133 | +0.9pp |
| German | 75 | 2.8% | 3.0% | - | - | 3.0% | - | - |
| Italian | 48 | 1.8% | 2.9% | - | - | 3.0% | - | - |
| Torres Strait Islander | 29 | 1.1% | 0.8% | - | - | 0.1% | - | - |
| Chinese | 24 | 0.9% | 0.4% | - | - | 0.4% | - | - |
| Dutch | 13 | 0.5% | 0.7% | - | - | 0.8% | - | - |
| Total | 2,648 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 92 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +2,556 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).