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 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, 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 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.

The share of individuals identifying as part of the LGBT community has increased with each generation. In 2021, Generation Z had the highest proportion of LGBT individuals, amounting to 20.8 percent of respondents. Comparatively, only 2.6 percent of the baby boomer generation self-identified as being LGBT.

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 global survey conducted in 2023, three percent of respondents from 30 countries declared that they were homosexual, gay, or lesbian, with four percent who identified as bisexual. One percent of the interviewees said that they were 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. Finally, one percent of respondents were asexual, which means they experience little to no sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of their gender.

LGBT people around the world

LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Introduced in the 1990s, LGBT generally includes anyone who is not heterosexual or cisgender. Heterosexual refers to a person attracted to people of the opposite gender, whereas cisgender describes a person whose gender identity is the same as their sex at birth. Acceptance of other gender identities and sexual orientations is usually higher in Western countries. In a study conducted among 34 countries, acceptance of homosexuality was higher in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Homosexuality in African countries

Worldwide, 71 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2021, most of which are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In Africa, 32 out of 54 countries criminalize homosexuality. In four countries, the legislation imposed the death penalty for sexual relations between people of the same sex. In fact, in most African countries, homosexuality has low levels of acceptance, or is not accepted at all. In a recent survey, most respondents in Africa showed high levels of intolerance towards LGBT+ in their vicinity.

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.

The Russian Federation was ranked last European country in Rainbow Europe's annual LGBTI rights rankings for 2024, with an overall score of 2 percent. Russia does not perform well on any indicator, with family rights being the only category in which the country was awarded a positive score. The government of Russia led by President Vladimir Putin has become infamous in recent years for their homophobic stances, such as with laws brought in that target "LGBTQ propaganda", meaning that it is a crime to educate young people about homosexuality. These laws have led to a clamp-down on LGBTQ civil society in Russia, along with gay and queer activists in the country.

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.

In 2023, Brazil was the country with the largest share of LGBT+ population at 15 percent. Spain and Switzerland followed next, with 14 and 13 percent of their population identifying as LGBT+, respectively.

In the United States, 51 percent of LGBTQ characters on cable networks in the 2023-24 season were white, while 30 percent of the characters were Black people. Moreover, the share of Latino characters was 7 percent.

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 the United States, 46 percent of LGBTQ characters in primetime programming on cable networks were gay in the 2023-2024 season. Furthermore, respectively, 25 percent and 26 percent of LGBTQ characters were lesbian and bisexual+.

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.

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.

A survey from August 2023 found that the majority of American adults interviewed think that the representation of LGBTQ people in movies and TV shows is generally balanced. Furthermore, while 10 percent of respondents thought that gay and lesbian people are shown in a very positive way, seven percent of adults responded that bisexual, trans, and non-binary people are represented very well in entertainment, TV, and movies they watch. However, nine percent were convinced that trans and non-binary people are shown in a very negative way.

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 2021, the share of the Mexican population who identified themselves to be part of the LGBTQ community accounted for 5.1 percent by taking into consideration their sexual preference, gender identity or both.

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.