In 2021, around 14 percent of individuals living in the District of Columbia identified as LGBT. Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon also had high rates, exceeding ten percent. Mississippi and North Dakota had the lowest rates of LGBT populations, the only states with less than five percent.

In 2023, 7.6 percent of adults surveyed in the United States stated they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). This is an increase from 2012, when 3.5 percent of surveyed adults identified as LGBT. These four categories are among the most common sexual orientations and gender identities outside cis-heterosexuals.

Differences across ages and genders 

Zooming in, it is possible to see how the share of people identifying as LGBT changed considerably according to different demographics. Only two percent of Baby Boomers, indeed, reported being part of the LGBT community. On the other hand, among Generation Z individuals, this share reached almost 16 percent. Moreover, surveys suggest that women were more likely to identify as LGBT than men.

An ever-understanding society 

The fact that an increasing amount of people feel free and safe to openly identify as LGBT might be a consequence of the improved acceptance of the different sexual orientations and genders by the American people at large. While in 2001 more than half of U.S. citizens considered homosexual relationships to be morally wrong, 20 years later this percentage dropped to 30 percent. Support for same-sex marriage has also been consistently increasing, even among traditionally conservative political groups. Despite this, it is important to remember that every year hundreds of people are still victims of hate crimes in the United States simply because of their gender or sexual orientation.

In 2023, 8.5 percent of female respondents in the United States stated they identify as LGBT, while 4.7 percent of male respondents said the same. This is an increase from 2012, when 3.5 percent of female respondents and 3.4 percent of male respondents identified as LGBT.

In 2023, 9.8 percent of Millennials in the United States stated that they identify as LGBT, while in 2012, less than six percent of respondents from the same generation said the same. Members of Generation Z were the most likely to identify as LGBT, at over 20 percent.

In 2022, about 72 percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to 6.4 percent of gay couples who were Black or African American.

Gay marriage in the United States

In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than 50 percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges.

Being LGBT in America

The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about one million same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about half of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only 13 percent of respondents said the same.

This statistic shows Americans' views from 2001 to 2024 as to whether gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable or morally wrong. In 2001, 53 percent of respondents stated they believe gay or lesbian relations to be morally wrong. In 2024, 33 percent said the same.

According to a survey conducted in 2022, 71 percent of respondents from the United States stated that gay or lesbian relations were morally acceptable. On the other hand, some 25 percent considered them to be morally wrong.

This statistic shows the results of a survey among respondents from selected countries all over the world in 2011 on whether they think that homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society, or not. The survey was conducted in spring 2011. 60 percent of respondents from the United States think that homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society, while 33 percent of American respondents do not agree.

In 2020, around three percent of respondents in the Netherlands considered themselves to be homosexual/lesbian, that is to say, only attracted to the same sex. There has been a somewhat increasing trend in the this time range from a low of around 2.3 percent in 2014.

In 2023, there were 428 victims of anti-gay or anti-lesbian hate crimes involving intimidation in the United States, the most common form of anti-homosexuality hate crimes in that year. There were also 410 victims of simple assault and 219 victims of aggravated assault.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, three percent of respondents declared to be homosexual, gay, or lesbian. In Brazil and the Netherlands, for instance, nine percent, instead, identified as bisexual, representing the largest group of bisexual respondents among the 30 surveyed countries. Moreover, two percent of the interviewees in Switzerland said to be pansexual or omnisexual. Pansexuality describes people who feel attracted to other people regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity, whereas omnisexuality refers to people attracted to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

In a survey conducted in Malaysia in 2016, around 36 percent of respondents stated that they personally knew someone from the LGBT community. This contradicts the statement made by Malaysia’s tourism minister in March 2019 that there are no gay people in Malaysia.

The state of LGBT rights in Malaysia
Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, and its roots go back to Malaysia’s colonial past, when it inherited British laws against sodomy known as Section 377. While India ruled to decriminalize this law in 2018, Malaysian society’s attitudes towards LGBT persons suggests that this is still a long way off. Censorship of movies and books that contain LGBT themes are still commonplace, and a 2016 poll revealed that almost half of all Malaysians do not believe same-sex marriage should be legal.

Religion and its influence on policing sexuality
As a Muslim-majority society, religion, specifically Islam, has had a large influence on politics and societal norms. Many Malaysians believe homosexuality to be incompatible to their religious beliefs. Furthermore, Muslims in Malaysia are governed by a parallel system of Sharia law, and officials from the religious department (JAKIM) are known to conduct moral policing targeting Malay-Muslims caught flouting Islamic norms, such as engaging in ‘homosexual acts’. This adds another layer of persecution faced by the Malaysian LGBT community.

In 2019, 45 gay characters appeared in top-grossing movies in the United States. The number of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters added up to ten, three, and three, respectively. Overall, between 2014 and 2019, the number of LGBT characters in mainstream films in the U.S. increased by 190 percent.

As of mid-2023, same-sex acts between adults were illegal in 68 members states of the United Nations. Since 1990, 45 countries had decriminalized homosexuality. In Africa, 32 countries were still banning this type of sexual relations.

This statistic represents the familiarity of the Kazakhstan population with members of the LGBT community based on an online survey conducted from December 2015 to January 2016. According to the survey, 20 percent of respondents in Kazakhstan claimed to know someone in the LGBT community.

Worldwide, 64 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2024. Most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 12 countries, the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. These countries are Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Uganda.

This statistic presents information on the share of LGBTQ consumers who attended an LGBTQ film festival in the United States as of June 2018, sorted by generation. The data reveals that just nine percent of Millennials had attended an LGBTQ film festival within 12 months of the date of survey, compared to 14 percent of Baby Boomers.

This statistics shows the results of a survey about global attitudes towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex (LGBTI) community in 2016. According to the source, approximately 32 percent of Chilean respondents answered that they believed that people who were attracted to the same sex were born that way.

In 2022, around 8.2 percent of same-sex couple householders in the United States were Black or African American. In that same year, about 71.1 percent of same-sex couple householders were white.

This statistic shows the shift in Americans' views from 1977 to 2019 as to whether people are born gay or lesbian, or their sexual orientation develops due to upbringing and environmental factors. In 1977, 13 percent of respondents stated that they believe people were born gay or lesbian. In 2019, 49 percent of respondents believed people were born gay or lesbian.