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 Tea Tree Gully (C) were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Tea Tree Gully (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Tea Tree Gully (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Adelaide and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Tea Tree Gully (C), with comparison markers for Greater Adelaide.

Tea Tree Gully (C)
Greater Adelaide

English

2021 count

42,522

% of total

21.0%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Australian

2021 count

33,895

% of total

16.8%

Change from 2016

-0.2pp

Scottish

2021 count

8,672

% of total

4.3%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

German

2021 count

7,909

% of total

3.9%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Italian

2021 count

7,612

% of total

3.8%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Irish

2021 count

7,559

% of total

3.7%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Indian

2021 count

2,887

% of total

1.4%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Chinese

2021 count

2,231

% of total

1.1%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Dutch

2021 count

2,081

% of total

1.0%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Polish

2021 count

1,633

% of total

0.8%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Data table

Ancestry for Tea Tree Gully (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.

Ancestry for Tea Tree Gully (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Ancestry for Tea Tree Gully (C). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Adelaide%Count%Greater Adelaide%Countpp
English42,52221.0%18.4%42,16921.6%18.6%+353-0.6pp
Australian33,89516.8%15.1%33,13317.0%15.5%+762-0.2pp
Scottish8,6724.3%4.1%8,6324.4%4.1%+40-0.1pp
German7,9093.9%3.4%7,8684.0%3.4%+41-0.1pp
Italian7,6123.8%3.4%6,9353.5%3.4%+677+0.3pp
Irish7,5593.7%3.8%7,8984.0%4.0%-339-0.3pp
Indian2,8871.4%1.5%1,8470.9%1.2%+1,040+0.5pp
Chinese2,2311.1%2.0%2,0901.1%1.9%+1410.0pp
Dutch2,0811.0%0.8%2,0041.0%0.8%+770.0pp
Polish1,6330.8%0.7%1,4720.8%0.6%+1610.0pp
Total202,309100.0%100.0%195,429100.0%100.0%+6,8800.0pp

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