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 Townsville (C) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Townsville (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Townsville (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Townsville (C), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
English
2021 count
72,415
% of total
18.8%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
72,415
18.8%
-0.5pp
Australian
2021 count
71,437
% of total
18.5%
Change from 2016
-1.6pp
71,437
18.5%
-1.6pp
Irish
2021 count
21,775
% of total
5.6%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
21,775
5.6%
-1.0pp
Scottish
2021 count
20,158
% of total
5.2%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
20,158
5.2%
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
13,121
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
+3.0pp
13,121
3.4%
+3.0pp
German
2021 count
10,318
% of total
2.7%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
10,318
2.7%
-0.1pp
Italian
2021 count
9,325
% of total
2.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
9,325
2.4%
+0.1pp
Torres Strait Islander
2021 count
3,951
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
3,951
1.0%
+0.8pp
Filipino
2021 count
2,923
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
2,923
0.8%
+0.2pp
Dutch
2021 count
2,566
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
2,566
0.7%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+335
-0.5pp
Australian
-3,616
-1.6pp
Irish
-2,715
-1.0pp
Scottish
+414
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+11,503
+3.0pp
German
-247
-0.1pp
Italian
+728
+0.1pp
Torres Strait Islander
+3,199
+0.8pp
Filipino
+665
+0.2pp
Dutch
+113
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Townsville (C). 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 | 72,415 | 18.8% | 19.8% | 72,080 | 19.3% | 19.6% | +335 | -0.5pp |
| Australian | 71,437 | 18.5% | 17.7% | 75,053 | 20.1% | 18.8% | -3,616 | -1.6pp |
| Irish | 21,775 | 5.6% | 5.5% | 24,490 | 6.6% | 5.9% | -2,715 | -1.0pp |
| Scottish | 20,158 | 5.2% | 5.2% | 19,744 | 5.3% | 5.2% | +414 | -0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 13,121 | 3.4% | 2.6% | 1,618 | 0.4% | 0.6% | +11,503 | +3.0pp |
| German | 10,318 | 2.7% | 3.2% | 10,565 | 2.8% | 3.3% | -247 | -0.1pp |
| Italian | 9,325 | 2.4% | 1.6% | 8,597 | 2.3% | 1.5% | +728 | +0.1pp |
| Torres Strait Islander | 3,951 | 1.0% | 0.6% | 752 | 0.2% | 0.3% | +3,199 | +0.8pp |
| Filipino | 2,923 | 0.8% | 0.6% | 2,258 | 0.6% | 0.5% | +665 | +0.2pp |
| Dutch | 2,566 | 0.7% | 0.8% | 2,453 | 0.7% | 0.7% | +113 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 385,524 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 373,501 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +12,023 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).