idc-logo
svg rectangle color
Western Australia Parliamentary LibraryCommunity profile
reset

The three largest ancestries in Thornlie in 2021 were English, Australian and Scottish.

Ancestry defines the cultural association and ethnic background of an individual going back three generations. Ancestry is a good measure of the total size of cultural groups in Thornlie regardless of where they were born or what language they speak.

Ancestry data, should be combined with data on Birthplace, Language Spoken at Home and Religion for a more complete picture of Thornlie's ethnic characteristics.

Please note that the "Australian Aboriginal" and "Torres Strait Islander" categories in this topic are not directly comparable from 2021 to previous years, due to a change in the wording of the question. In 2021, these options were marked boxes on the question rather than write-in options. The "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Origin" question is still considered a more reliable count for this group, and can be found on the Population summary page.

Please note: Due to changes in ABS rules around perturbation and additivity of data to protect the confidentiality of individuals, counts of ancestry groups and totals derived from them may differ slightly from those published by the ABS. For more information see notes on data confidentiality.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'What is the person's ancestry?'

Multi-response

Ancestry - Totals
Thornlie - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
Ancestry totalsNumber%Regional District %Number%Regional District %2016 to 2021
Not stated3,1275.17.72,8945.07.9+233
Total responses61,536----57,337----+4,199
Total people48,498----45,787----+2,711
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Thornlie - Total persons (Usual residence)20212016Change
AncestryNumber%Regional District %Number%Regional District %2016 to 2021
English14,95930.841.314,99832.840.7-39
Australian11,53723.836.311,96226.139.4-425
Scottish3,1396.59.23,2667.19.0-127
Chinese3,1036.40.83,0536.70.8+50
Irish2,9356.18.83,2437.18.9-308
Indian2,3394.80.82,3365.10.7+3
Filipino2,1664.51.51,5123.31.3+654
Italian1,4653.03.71,5443.43.5-79
Australian Aboriginal1,3172.77.02180.52.6+1,099
Burmese peoples1,0922.30.29642.10.1+128
Show all (119 entries)

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

Dominant groups

Analysis of the ancestry responses of the population in Thornlie in 2021 shows that the top five ancestries nominated were:

  • English (14,959 people or 30.8%)
  • Australian (11,537 people or 23.8%)
  • Scottish (3,139 people or 6.5%)
  • Chinese (3,103 people or 6.4%)
  • Irish (2,935 people or 6.1%)

In combination these five ancestries account for 35,673 responses in total, or 73.56% of all responses.

The major differences between the ancestries of the population in Thornlie and the Regional District were:

  • A larger percentage of people with Chinese ancestry (6.4% compared to 0.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with Australian ancestry (23.8% compared to 36.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with English ancestry (30.8% compared to 41.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of people with Australian Aboriginal ancestry (2.7% compared to 7.0%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the reported ancestries of the population in this area between 2016 and 2021 were:

  • Australian Aboriginal (+1,099 persons)
  • Filipino (+654 persons)
  • Australian (-425 persons)
  • Other Central Asian (-339 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices.

ABS Data and the copyright in the ABS Data remains the property of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the ABS Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. ABS Data can be accessed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at www.abs.gov.au. ABS data can be used under license - terms published on ABS website. intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.