Number Of Young People Identifying As Gay, Lesbian Or Bisexual In UK Doubles

Number Of Young People Identifying As Gay, Lesbian Or Bisexual In UK Doubles
Image: Image: Unsplash

The number of people, aged 16 to 24, that identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the United Kingdom has doubled in just four years, between 2016 and 2020.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, in 2016, 4.1% of young people aged between 16 and 24, identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. In 2020 it increased to 8%.

Around 2.7% of those between the ages of 16 and 24 identified gay or lesbian and 5.3% identified as bisexual in 2020.

Only A Quarter Of LGB Married Or In Civil Unions

The statistics come from the UK’s Annual Population Survey (APS) and show a continuing trend. 

According to the statistics, in 2020, 93.6% of the adult UK population (Age 16 and over) identified as straight, but this has been “a decreasing trend” since 2014. Around 3.1% of the population aged 16 and over identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in 2014. This is double the 2014 percentage when 1.6 % identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. .

Of those identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2020, around 72.5% of those had never been in a civil partnership or married.  Just around 23.7% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual\ were married or in a civil partnership. According to APS, “this may reflect the younger age structure of the LGB population and that the legislation for same-sex civil partnerships and same-sex marriage is relatively recent.”

In February, a Gallup poll showed the percentage of Americans that identify as LGBTQ had doubled over the last decade. 

In the 2021 Gallup poll of 12,416 Americans, 7.1 percent of Americans identified as LGBTQ compared to just 3.5 percent back in 2012.

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.