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 Upper Hunter Shire (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Upper Hunter Shire (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Upper Hunter Shire (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Upper Hunter Shire (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
6,445
% of total
22.6%
Change from 2016
-1.1pp
6,445
22.6%
-1.1pp
English
2021 count
6,075
% of total
21.3%
Change from 2016
+1.1pp
6,075
21.3%
+1.1pp
Irish
2021 count
1,671
% of total
5.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,671
5.9%
+0.1pp
Scottish
2021 count
1,498
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
1,498
5.3%
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
910
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+3.0pp
910
3.2%
+3.0pp
German
2021 count
528
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
528
1.9%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
219
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
219
0.8%
+0.2pp
Chinese
2021 count
165
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
165
0.6%
+0.3pp
Dutch
2021 count
152
% of total
0.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
152
0.5%
+0.1pp
Filipino
2021 count
118
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
118
0.4%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-230
-1.1pp
English
+370
+1.1pp
Irish
+40
+0.1pp
Scottish
+74
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+850
+3.0pp
German
+4
0.0pp
Italian
+52
+0.2pp
Chinese
+74
+0.3pp
Dutch
+28
+0.1pp
Filipino
+22
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Upper Hunter Shire (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 | 6,445 | 22.6% | 20.1% | 6,675 | 23.7% | 21.3% | -230 | -1.1pp |
| English | 6,075 | 21.3% | 20.5% | 5,705 | 20.2% | 20.4% | +370 | +1.1pp |
| Irish | 1,671 | 5.9% | 5.9% | 1,631 | 5.8% | 6.1% | +40 | +0.1pp |
| Scottish | 1,498 | 5.3% | 5.4% | 1,424 | 5.1% | 5.3% | +74 | +0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 910 | 3.2% | 3.1% | 60 | 0.2% | 0.4% | +850 | +3.0pp |
| German | 528 | 1.9% | 2.1% | 524 | 1.9% | 2.1% | +4 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 219 | 0.8% | 1.4% | 167 | 0.6% | 1.3% | +52 | +0.2pp |
| Chinese | 165 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 91 | 0.3% | 0.5% | +74 | +0.3pp |
| Dutch | 152 | 0.5% | 0.7% | 124 | 0.4% | 0.6% | +28 | +0.1pp |
| Filipino | 118 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 96 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +22 | +0.1pp |
| Total | 28,461 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 28,194 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +267 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).