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 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 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.

Over the 2015-2018 period, nearly 900,000 people aged over 15 defined themselves as something other than heterosexual in Canada: 405,700 identified as lesbian or gay, while 493,200 identified as bisexual. The provinces with the largest number of non-heterosexuals people were Ontario and Quebec, which are also the most populous provinces in the country. In addition, with the exception of Quebec, bisexual people outnumbered lesbian or gay people in all provinces.

There were estimated to be approximately 2.06 million people in the United Kingdom who identified as being Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual in 2023, compared with 843,000 in 2014.

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.

This statistic shows the distribution of the population in France in 2023, by sexual orientation. That year 91 percent of French people declared that they were heterosexual, while nine percent of them said that they were either bisexual, homosexual, pansexual, or asexual.

As of April 2024, 55 percent of the LGBT population lived in the 50 states and the District of Columbia where private health insurance service providers weren't allowed to deny coverage for transgender-related health care services, such as sex reassignment surgery. However, only 40 percent lived in states where health insurance protections included sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT Americans The share of Americans self-identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender has grown in recent years. This suggests that insurance protections which cover LGBT-related health care services will also continue to grow in importance. The prevalence of younger Americans self-identifying as LGBT when compared with older generations confirms this. Millennials and Gen Xers are much more likely to personally identify as LGBT than previous generations were. Growing acceptance and tolerance in wider society means that more people are willing to be open about their gender identity and sexual orientation. For instance, support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. underwent a huge shift over the past two decades with the majority of Americans being in favor of it since 2011.

In 2023, approximately 91.2 percent of the population of London identified as being Heterosexual or Straight, which was the lowest among regions of the United Kingdom. As of this year, approximately 3.5 percent of Londoners identified as being Gay or Lesbian, 1.7 percent as Bisexual, 0.9 percent as Other and 2.8 percent who did not know, or refused to answer.

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 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.

Worldwide, five in 10 respondents support LGBT people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity with everyone. In a global survey conducted in 2024, 50 percent of respondents stated this. In addition, 49 percent of interviewees supported openly lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes to be part of sports teams.

The cities in Europe where survey respondents most commonly indicated that they were a good place to live for gay and lesbian people were Rekjavik,Valletta and Groningen in 2023. In general, the cities which ranked as the best place to live for lesbian and gay people in Europe were in Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Copenhagen, Sweden, Finland), western European countries (Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands), and southern European countries (Italy, Malta, Spain). The five cities with the fewest respondents indicating that they were a good place to live were all in south-eastern Europe, with the bottom two both coming from Turkey (Diyarbakir) and Albania (Tirania). Turkey tends to rank so lowly due to the influence of traditionalist and religious social norms, which do not recognize LGBTQ relationships as being on a par as heterosexual relationships and lead to more commonly held homophobic views.

This statistic depicts the results of a survey about the share of the population who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual in New Zealand in 2018/2019, by age group. During the survey period, around 5.4 percent of respondents aged between 18 and 24 years in New Zealand identified as bisexual.

This statistic represents the familiarity of the Iraqi population with members of the LGBT community based on an online survey conducted from December 2015 to January 2016. According to the survey, 28 percent of respondents in Iraq claimed to know someone in the LGBT community.

In a survey from March 2021 conducted in France, 12 percent of responding young females and eight percent of responding young males stated that they had already a homosexual relationship and enjoyed it. It may be stated that younger generations are more open about sexuality and gender, and generally 86 percent of French citizens think homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society.

Younger women and sexual practices

According to France Televisions, 30 percent of young French women aged between 18 and 34 years stated that they never had a homosexual relationship but will be open to it if the opportunity arose. In comparison, only 11 percent of responding men declared the same. There were also 72 percent to mentioning that they do not wish to have a gay relationship, compared to 56 percent of women surveyed. This open-mindedness could be linked with the evolution of sexual practices among younger generations. Thus, since 1990 the proportion of women aged 20 to 24 years having already practiced oral sex increased in France. Similarly, the share of women who already practiced sodomy was also more important since 1992. The evolution of society, as well as internet, appears to have allowed women to dare to experiment more.

Being gay in France

In 2011, 31 percent of French men aged 18 to 34 years were in a relationship with a same-sex person, compared to 34 percent of women the same age. Gay marriage is legal in France since 2013 and the number of same-sex weddings reached a record number of 10,552 unions in 2014. However, LGBT people in the country still face difficulties sometimes. In 2015, more than 60 percent of French aged 18 to 24 years already came across homophobic statements online.

Over the 2015-2018 period, more than three percent of the Canadian population over the age of 15 did not define themselves as heterosexual: 1.8 percent of Canadians identified themselves as bisexual, and 1.5 percent of them as lesbian or gay. In terms of proportions, the province of Quebec had the largest share of non-heterosexuals. In terms of numbers, Ontario had the largest number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.

In 2022, about 22.3 percent of male-male householders in the United States were between 25 and 34 years old. A further 19.8 percent of householders in male-male couples were between the ages of 55 and 64 years old in that same year.

In a survey conducted in February 2023, approximately 67 percent of heterosexual respondents reported being legally married. At the same time, 36 percent of homosexual and bisexual respondents were in a registered marriage.  The history of LGBTQ+ in Japan  Japan has a rich queer history. Homosexual relationships in historic Japan were for most parts of a strictly hierarchical, pederastic nature and limited to the all-male realms of monasteries and the samurai class. With the growing influence and wealth of common people in 17th century Japan, the depiction and practice of homosexuality and gender fluidity became a widely popular topic in urban culture. This changed with the arrival of Western ideology. Queerness was portrayed as either pathological or caricatural until well into the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays, Japan’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights is fairly progressive compared to other Asian regions. Due to better access to information and education on the topic, familiarity with the term LGBTQ+ and its meaning is relatively high among the Japanese population. Yet, Japan is still a far cry away from an equal society, with many LGBTQ+ individuals concerned about coming out.  Legalization of same-sex marriage in Japan Japan is the only G7 nation not fully recognizing same-sex marriages. However, a court ruling in March 2021 declared it unconstitutional to bar same-sex couples from getting legally married. While it will certainly take time until an apt law to allow same-sex marriage will be passed, having the perspective to gain equal legal rights to heterosexual couples is a major symbolic victory for the LGBTQ+ community in socially conservative Japan. In past years, some municipalities started to issue partnership certificates, but their benefits are limited, not allowing individuals to inherit their partner’s assets or granting parental rights over their children. In light of the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo, human rights organizations and LGBTQ+ activists are pushing for an Equality Act. This comes at a similar time as the ongoing gender equality discussion, which was sparked by former Tokyo Olympics President Yoshiro Mori’s sexist remark on female participation in meetings, leading to an international media outcry on the status of women in Japanese society.