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 Tamworth Regional (A) were Australian, English and Australian Aboriginal.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Tamworth Regional (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Tamworth Regional (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Tamworth Regional (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
27,501
% of total
21.8%
Change from 2016
-2.3pp
27,501
21.8%
-2.3pp
English
2021 count
25,044
% of total
19.9%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
25,044
19.9%
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
7,461
% of total
5.9%
Change from 2016
+5.5pp
7,461
5.9%
+5.5pp
Irish
2021 count
6,738
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
6,738
5.3%
-0.5pp
Scottish
2021 count
6,127
% of total
4.9%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
6,127
4.9%
-0.1pp
German
2021 count
2,542
% of total
2.0%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
2,542
2.0%
-0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
763
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
763
0.6%
+0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
726
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
726
0.6%
0.0pp
Filipino
2021 count
622
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
622
0.5%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
540
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
540
0.4%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-1,251
-2.3pp
English
+931
-0.3pp
Australian Aboriginal
+6,941
+5.5pp
Irish
-157
-0.5pp
Scottish
+201
-0.1pp
German
-47
-0.2pp
Chinese
+146
+0.1pp
Italian
+49
0.0pp
Filipino
+184
+0.1pp
Dutch
+41
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Tamworth Regional (A). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 27,501 | 21.8% | 20.1% | 28,752 | 24.1% | 21.3% | -1,251 | -2.3pp |
| English | 25,044 | 19.9% | 20.5% | 24,113 | 20.2% | 20.4% | +931 | -0.3pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 7,461 | 5.9% | 3.1% | 520 | 0.4% | 0.4% | +6,941 | +5.5pp |
| Irish | 6,738 | 5.3% | 5.9% | 6,895 | 5.8% | 6.1% | -157 | -0.5pp |
| Scottish | 6,127 | 4.9% | 5.4% | 5,926 | 5.0% | 5.3% | +201 | -0.1pp |
| German | 2,542 | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2,589 | 2.2% | 2.1% | -47 | -0.2pp |
| Chinese | 763 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 617 | 0.5% | 0.5% | +146 | +0.1pp |
| Italian | 726 | 0.6% | 1.4% | 677 | 0.6% | 1.3% | +49 | 0.0pp |
| Filipino | 622 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 438 | 0.4% | 0.3% | +184 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 540 | 0.4% | 0.7% | 499 | 0.4% | 0.6% | +41 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 126,111 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 119,301 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +6,810 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).