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 Nowergup were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Nowergup - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Nowergup in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Wanneroo (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Nowergup, with comparison markers for Wanneroo (C).

Nowergup
Wanneroo (C)

English

2021 count

67

% of total

35.4%

Change from 2016

-2.5pp

Australian

2021 count

62

% of total

32.8%

Change from 2016

-6.7pp

Irish

2021 count

18

% of total

9.5%

Change from 2016

+4.9pp

Scottish

2021 count

13

% of total

6.9%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for Nowergup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).

Ancestry for Nowergup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Ancestry for Nowergup. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Wanneroo (C)%Count%Wanneroo (C)%Countpp
English6735.4%39.7%7437.9%39.4%-7-2.5pp
Australian6232.8%26.3%7739.5%26.6%-15-6.7pp
Irish189.5%8.5%94.6%8.3%+9+4.9pp
Scottish136.9%8.5%168.2%8.3%-3-1.3pp

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