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 Wagga Wagga (C) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Wagga Wagga (C) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Wagga Wagga (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Wagga Wagga (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
27,052
% of total
20.0%
Change from 2016
-1.5pp
27,052
20.0%
-1.5pp
English
2021 count
26,656
% of total
19.7%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
26,656
19.7%
-0.2pp
Irish
2021 count
8,726
% of total
6.5%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
8,726
6.5%
-0.6pp
Scottish
2021 count
7,206
% of total
5.3%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
7,206
5.3%
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
4,296
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+2.8pp
4,296
3.2%
+2.8pp
German
2021 count
3,413
% of total
2.5%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
3,413
2.5%
-0.2pp
Italian
2021 count
1,292
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,292
1.0%
+0.1pp
Indian
2021 count
1,144
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,144
0.8%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
831
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
831
0.6%
0.0pp
Dutch
2021 count
801
% of total
0.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
801
0.6%
0.0pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+175
-1.5pp
English
+1,892
-0.2pp
Irish
-182
-0.6pp
Scottish
+522
-0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+3,845
+2.8pp
German
+85
-0.2pp
Italian
+178
+0.1pp
Indian
+289
+0.1pp
Chinese
+110
0.0pp
Dutch
+88
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Wagga Wagga (C). 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 | 27,052 | 20.0% | 20.1% | 26,877 | 21.5% | 21.3% | +175 | -1.5pp |
| English | 26,656 | 19.7% | 20.5% | 24,764 | 19.9% | 20.4% | +1,892 | -0.2pp |
| Irish | 8,726 | 6.5% | 5.9% | 8,908 | 7.1% | 6.1% | -182 | -0.6pp |
| Scottish | 7,206 | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6,684 | 5.4% | 5.3% | +522 | -0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 4,296 | 3.2% | 3.1% | 451 | 0.4% | 0.4% | +3,845 | +2.8pp |
| German | 3,413 | 2.5% | 2.1% | 3,328 | 2.7% | 2.1% | +85 | -0.2pp |
| Italian | 1,292 | 1.0% | 1.4% | 1,114 | 0.9% | 1.3% | +178 | +0.1pp |
| Indian | 1,144 | 0.8% | 0.4% | 855 | 0.7% | 0.3% | +289 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 831 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 721 | 0.6% | 0.5% | +110 | 0.0pp |
| Dutch | 801 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 713 | 0.6% | 0.6% | +88 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 135,146 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 124,724 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +10,422 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).