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 Wandering (S) were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Wandering (S) - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Wandering (S) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional WA and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Wandering (S), with comparison markers for Regional WA.

Wandering (S)
Regional WA

English

2021 count

221

% of total

41.3%

Change from 2016

-2.8pp

Australian

2021 count

197

% of total

36.8%

Change from 2016

-7.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

54

% of total

10.1%

Change from 2016

-3.6pp

Irish

2021 count

30

% of total

5.6%

Change from 2016

-2.5pp

German

2021 count

22

% of total

4.1%

Change from 2016

-1.1pp

Dutch

2021 count

14

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

-1.5pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

11

% of total

2.1%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

Ancestry for Wandering (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.

Ancestry for Wandering (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.
Ancestry for Wandering (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.
Category20212016Change
Count%Regional WA%Count%Regional WA%Countpp
English22141.3%40.0%19644.1%39.4%+25-2.8pp
Australian19736.8%36.3%19744.4%39.9%0-7.6pp
Scottish5410.1%9.0%6113.7%8.8%-7-3.6pp
Irish305.6%8.6%368.1%8.7%-6-2.5pp
German224.1%3.4%235.2%3.3%-1-1.1pp
Dutch142.6%1.9%184.1%1.8%-4-1.5pp
Australian Aboriginal112.1%7.8%--3.1%--

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