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 Leneva were Australian, English and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Leneva - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Leneva, with comparison markers for Wodonga (C).

Leneva
Wodonga (C)

Australian

2021 count

587

% of total

44.6%

Change from 2016

-2.3pp

English

2021 count

543

% of total

41.2%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

Irish

2021 count

169

% of total

12.8%

Change from 2016

-0.6pp

Scottish

2021 count

144

% of total

10.9%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

German

2021 count

95

% of total

7.2%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Italian

2021 count

54

% of total

4.1%

Change from 2016

+2.4pp

Dutch

2021 count

43

% of total

3.3%

Change from 2016

+0.6pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

35

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

-

Filipino

2021 count

21

% of total

1.6%

Change from 2016

-

Polish

2021 count

20

% of total

1.5%

Change from 2016

+0.3pp

Data table

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

Ancestry for Leneva. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wodonga (C).
Ancestry for Leneva. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wodonga (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Wodonga (C)%Count%Wodonga (C)%Countpp
Australian58744.6%42.1%39746.9%42.1%+190-2.3pp
English54341.2%40.0%34440.7%39.8%+199+0.5pp
Irish16912.8%11.6%11313.4%12.9%+56-0.6pp
Scottish14410.9%10.4%849.9%10.5%+60+1.0pp
German957.2%7.0%586.9%7.1%+37+0.3pp
Italian544.1%3.1%141.7%2.9%+40+2.4pp
Dutch433.3%2.0%232.7%1.9%+20+0.6pp
Australian Aboriginal352.7%3.3%--0.3%--
Filipino211.6%0.9%--0.7%--
Polish201.5%0.7%101.2%0.7%+10+0.3pp

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