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 Yass Valley (A) were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Yass Valley (A) - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Yass Valley (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Yass Valley (A), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Australian
2021 count
7,778
% of total
22.5%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
7,778
22.5%
-0.6pp
English
2021 count
7,391
% of total
21.4%
Change from 2016
+0.7pp
7,391
21.4%
+0.7pp
Irish
2021 count
2,397
% of total
6.9%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
2,397
6.9%
-0.1pp
Scottish
2021 count
2,120
% of total
6.1%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
2,120
6.1%
+0.6pp
German
2021 count
772
% of total
2.2%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
772
2.2%
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
529
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
+1.4pp
529
1.5%
+1.4pp
Italian
2021 count
388
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
388
1.1%
+0.3pp
Dutch
2021 count
338
% of total
1.0%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
338
1.0%
0.0pp
Polish
2021 count
155
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
155
0.4%
0.0pp
Croatian
2021 count
151
% of total
0.4%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
151
0.4%
0.0pp
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
+332
-0.6pp
English
+724
+0.7pp
Irish
+137
-0.1pp
Scottish
+334
+0.6pp
German
+113
+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal
+496
+1.4pp
Italian
+134
+0.3pp
Dutch
+27
0.0pp
Polish
+42
0.0pp
Croatian
+16
0.0pp
Data table
Ancestry for Yass Valley (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 | |
| Australian | 7,778 | 22.5% | 20.1% | 7,446 | 23.1% | 21.3% | +332 | -0.6pp |
| English | 7,391 | 21.4% | 20.5% | 6,667 | 20.7% | 20.4% | +724 | +0.7pp |
| Irish | 2,397 | 6.9% | 5.9% | 2,260 | 7.0% | 6.1% | +137 | -0.1pp |
| Scottish | 2,120 | 6.1% | 5.4% | 1,786 | 5.5% | 5.3% | +334 | +0.6pp |
| German | 772 | 2.2% | 2.1% | 659 | 2.0% | 2.1% | +113 | +0.2pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 529 | 1.5% | 3.1% | 33 | 0.1% | 0.4% | +496 | +1.4pp |
| Italian | 388 | 1.1% | 1.4% | 254 | 0.8% | 1.3% | +134 | +0.3pp |
| Dutch | 338 | 1.0% | 0.7% | 311 | 1.0% | 0.6% | +27 | 0.0pp |
| Polish | 155 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 113 | 0.4% | 0.3% | +42 | 0.0pp |
| Croatian | 151 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 135 | 0.4% | 0.1% | +16 | 0.0pp |
| Total | 34,526 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 32,268 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +2,258 | 0.0pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).