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 Wodonga were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Wodonga - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Wodonga in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Wodonga (C) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Wodonga, with comparison markers for Wodonga (C).
Australian
2021 count
8,052
% of total
39.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
8,052
39.7%
0.0pp
English
2021 count
7,847
% of total
38.7%
Change from 2016
-0.4pp
7,847
38.7%
-0.4pp
Irish
2021 count
2,399
% of total
11.8%
Change from 2016
-1.7pp
2,399
11.8%
-1.7pp
Scottish
2021 count
2,089
% of total
10.3%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
2,089
10.3%
-0.2pp
German
2021 count
1,387
% of total
6.8%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,387
6.8%
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
653
% of total
3.2%
Change from 2016
+2.9pp
653
3.2%
+2.9pp
Italian
2021 count
593
% of total
2.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
593
2.9%
+0.1pp
Dutch
2021 count
391
% of total
1.9%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
391
1.9%
+0.1pp
Indian
2021 count
366
% of total
1.8%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
366
1.8%
+0.6pp
Congolese
2021 count
250
% of total
1.2%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
250
1.2%
+0.8pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+536
0.0pp
English
+445
-0.4pp
Irish
-162
-1.7pp
Scottish
+93
-0.2pp
German
+109
+0.1pp
Australian Aboriginal
+601
+2.9pp
Italian
+65
+0.1pp
Dutch
+46
+0.1pp
Indian
+137
+0.6pp
Congolese
+174
+0.8pp
Data table
Ancestry for Wodonga. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wodonga (C).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Wodonga (C)% | Count | % | Wodonga (C)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 8,052 | 39.7% | 42.1% | 7,516 | 39.7% | 42.1% | +536 | 0.0pp |
| English | 7,847 | 38.7% | 40.0% | 7,402 | 39.1% | 39.8% | +445 | -0.4pp |
| Irish | 2,399 | 11.8% | 11.6% | 2,561 | 13.5% | 12.9% | -162 | -1.7pp |
| Scottish | 2,089 | 10.3% | 10.4% | 1,996 | 10.5% | 10.5% | +93 | -0.2pp |
| German | 1,387 | 6.8% | 7.0% | 1,278 | 6.7% | 7.1% | +109 | +0.1pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 653 | 3.2% | 3.3% | 52 | 0.3% | 0.3% | +601 | +2.9pp |
| Italian | 593 | 2.9% | 3.1% | 528 | 2.8% | 2.9% | +65 | +0.1pp |
| Dutch | 391 | 1.9% | 2.0% | 345 | 1.8% | 1.9% | +46 | +0.1pp |
| Indian | 366 | 1.8% | 1.1% | 229 | 1.2% | 0.9% | +137 | +0.6pp |
| Congolese | 250 | 1.2% | 0.7% | 76 | 0.4% | 0.2% | +174 | +0.8pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).