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 Wongan-Ballidu (S) were Australian, English and Scottish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Wongan-Ballidu (S) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Wongan-Ballidu (S) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional WA and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Wongan-Ballidu (S), with comparison markers for Regional WA.
Australian
2021 count
566
% of total
22.0%
Change from 2016
-1.3pp
566
22.0%
-1.3pp
English
2021 count
564
% of total
22.0%
Change from 2016
-1.4pp
564
22.0%
-1.4pp
Scottish
2021 count
147
% of total
5.7%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
147
5.7%
+0.4pp
Irish
2021 count
111
% of total
4.3%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
111
4.3%
-0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
68
% of total
2.6%
Change from 2016
+2.3pp
68
2.6%
+2.3pp
German
2021 count
33
% of total
1.3%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
33
1.3%
0.0pp
Italian
2021 count
26
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
26
1.0%
+0.3pp
Dutch
2021 count
20
% of total
0.8%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
20
0.8%
+0.2pp
South African
2021 count
18
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
18
0.7%
+0.2pp
Filipino
2021 count
17
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
17
0.7%
-0.2pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-48
-1.3pp
English
-55
-1.4pp
Scottish
+6
+0.4pp
Irish
-7
-0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+60
+2.3pp
German
-1
0.0pp
Italian
+7
+0.3pp
Dutch
+4
+0.2pp
South African
+4
+0.2pp
Filipino
-7
-0.2pp
Data table
Ancestry for Wongan-Ballidu (S). Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional WA.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional WA% | Count | % | Regional WA% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 566 | 22.0% | 18.2% | 614 | 23.3% | 19.9% | -48 | -1.3pp |
| English | 564 | 22.0% | 20.0% | 619 | 23.4% | 19.7% | -55 | -1.4pp |
| Scottish | 147 | 5.7% | 4.5% | 141 | 5.3% | 4.4% | +6 | +0.4pp |
| Irish | 111 | 4.3% | 4.3% | 118 | 4.5% | 4.3% | -7 | -0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 68 | 2.6% | 3.9% | 8 | 0.3% | 1.5% | +60 | +2.3pp |
| German | 33 | 1.3% | 1.7% | 34 | 1.3% | 1.7% | -1 | 0.0pp |
| Italian | 26 | 1.0% | 1.9% | 19 | 0.7% | 1.8% | +7 | +0.3pp |
| Dutch | 20 | 0.8% | 1.0% | 16 | 0.6% | 0.9% | +4 | +0.2pp |
| South African | 18 | 0.7% | 0.4% | 14 | 0.5% | 0.4% | +4 | +0.2pp |
| Filipino | 17 | 0.7% | 0.8% | 24 | 0.9% | 0.7% | -7 | -0.2pp |
| Total | 2,569 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2,640 | 100.0% | 100.0% | -71 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).