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 Wingecarribee (A) were English, Australian and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Wingecarribee (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Wingecarribee (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Wingecarribee (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
English
2021 count
23,384
% of total
44.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
23,384
44.4%
0.0pp
Australian
2021 count
19,841
% of total
37.6%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
19,841
37.6%
-1.0pp
Irish
2021 count
7,263
% of total
13.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
7,263
13.8%
+0.1pp
Scottish
2021 count
7,006
% of total
13.3%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
7,006
13.3%
+0.5pp
German
2021 count
2,083
% of total
4.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
2,083
4.0%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
1,689
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
1,689
3.2%
+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
1,188
% of total
2.3%
Change from 2016
+2.1pp
1,188
2.3%
+2.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
878
% of total
1.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
878
1.7%
+0.1pp
Chinese
2021 count
545
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
545
1.0%
-0.1pp
Greek
2021 count
487
% of total
0.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
487
0.9%
+0.1pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
English
+2,123
0.0pp
Australian
+1,377
-1.0pp
Irish
+694
+0.1pp
Scottish
+898
+0.5pp
German
+181
0.0pp
Italian
+334
+0.4pp
Australian Aboriginal
+1,092
+2.1pp
Dutch
+113
+0.1pp
Chinese
+16
-0.1pp
Greek
+87
+0.1pp
Data table
Ancestry for Wingecarribee (A). 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 | |
| English | 23,384 | 44.4% | 40.9% | 21,261 | 44.4% | 40.8% | +2,123 | 0.0pp |
| Australian | 19,841 | 37.6% | 40.2% | 18,464 | 38.6% | 42.5% | +1,377 | -1.0pp |
| Irish | 7,263 | 13.8% | 11.8% | 6,569 | 13.7% | 12.3% | +694 | +0.1pp |
| Scottish | 7,006 | 13.3% | 10.7% | 6,108 | 12.8% | 10.5% | +898 | +0.5pp |
| German | 2,083 | 4.0% | 4.2% | 1,902 | 4.0% | 4.3% | +181 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 1,689 | 3.2% | 2.8% | 1,355 | 2.8% | 2.6% | +334 | +0.4pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 1,188 | 2.3% | 6.1% | 96 | 0.2% | 0.8% | +1,092 | +2.1pp |
| Dutch | 878 | 1.7% | 1.4% | 765 | 1.6% | 1.3% | +113 | +0.1pp |
| Chinese | 545 | 1.0% | 1.0% | 529 | 1.1% | 1.0% | +16 | -0.1pp |
| Greek | 487 | 0.9% | 0.6% | 400 | 0.8% | 0.6% | +87 | +0.1pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).