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 Cold Harbour were Australian, English and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Cold Harbour - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Cold Harbour in 2021 for persons, with comparison against York (S) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Cold Harbour, with comparison markers for York (S).

Cold Harbour
York (S)

Australian

2021 count

55

% of total

26.8%

Change from 2016

+2.3pp

English

2021 count

43

% of total

21.0%

Change from 2016

+4.7pp

Scottish

2021 count

14

% of total

6.8%

Change from 2016

-

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

10

% of total

4.9%

Change from 2016

-

Data table

Ancestry for Cold Harbour. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with York (S).

Ancestry for Cold Harbour. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with York (S).
Ancestry for Cold Harbour. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with York (S).
Category20212016Change
Count%York (S)%Count%York (S)%Countpp
Australian5526.8%20.2%1224.5%22.3%+43+2.3pp
English4321.0%23.2%816.3%21.9%+35+4.7pp
Scottish146.8%5.1%--4.5%--
Australian Aboriginal104.9%2.0%--0.1%--
Total205100.0%100.0%49100.0%100.0%+1560.0pp

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