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 Yanchep were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Yanchep - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

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

Yanchep
Wanneroo (C)

English

2021 count

5,443

% of total

49.4%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Australian

2021 count

3,185

% of total

28.9%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Scottish

2021 count

1,115

% of total

10.1%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

Irish

2021 count

1,081

% of total

9.8%

Change from 2016

+1.2pp

German

2021 count

374

% of total

3.4%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Maori

2021 count

341

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Italian

2021 count

324

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

323

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

+2.6pp

South African

2021 count

308

% of total

2.8%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

New Zealander

2021 count

224

% of total

2.0%

Change from 2016

+0.1pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Yanchep. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Ancestry for Yanchep. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Wanneroo (C)%Count%Wanneroo (C)%Countpp
English5,44349.4%39.7%4,29348.4%39.4%+1,150+1.0pp
Australian3,18528.9%26.3%2,68130.2%26.6%+504-1.3pp
Scottish1,11510.1%8.5%8019.0%8.3%+314+1.1pp
Irish1,0819.8%8.5%7648.6%8.3%+317+1.2pp
German3743.4%2.6%2843.2%2.5%+90+0.2pp
Maori3413.1%1.7%2302.6%1.7%+111+0.5pp
Italian3242.9%4.6%2202.5%4.5%+104+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal3232.9%1.8%280.3%0.2%+295+2.6pp
South African3082.8%2.4%1792.0%2.3%+129+0.8pp
New Zealander2242.0%1.4%1671.9%1.5%+57+0.1pp

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