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 Blyth were Australian, English and German.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Blyth - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Blyth in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Wakefield (DC) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Blyth, with comparison markers for Wakefield (DC).
Australian
2021 count
238
% of total
23.5%
Change from 2016
-
238
23.5%
-
English
2021 count
197
% of total
19.4%
Change from 2016
-
197
19.4%
-
German
2021 count
71
% of total
7.0%
Change from 2016
-
71
7.0%
-
Scottish
2021 count
49
% of total
4.8%
Change from 2016
-
49
4.8%
-
Irish
2021 count
34
% of total
3.4%
Change from 2016
-
34
3.4%
-
Dutch
2021 count
15
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
-
15
1.5%
-
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
13
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
-
13
1.3%
-
Italian
2021 count
12
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
-
12
1.2%
-
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Data table
Ancestry for Blyth. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wakefield (DC).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Wakefield (DC)% | Count | % | Wakefield (DC)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 238 | 23.5% | 23.1% | - | - | 22.4% | - | - |
| English | 197 | 19.4% | 22.0% | - | - | 21.2% | - | - |
| German | 71 | 7.0% | 5.2% | - | - | 5.5% | - | - |
| Scottish | 49 | 4.8% | 4.6% | - | - | 5.0% | - | - |
| Irish | 34 | 3.4% | 3.8% | - | - | 3.8% | - | - |
| Dutch | 15 | 1.5% | 0.6% | - | - | 0.7% | - | - |
| Australian Aboriginal | 13 | 1.3% | 1.4% | - | - | 0.1% | - | - |
| Italian | 12 | 1.2% | 1.0% | - | - | 0.9% | - | - |
| Total | 1,014 | 100.0% | 100.0% | - | - | 100.0% | - | - |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).