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

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.

Sexual orientation in the UK by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, and ethnic group. These are official statistics in development.

This report presents findings on the health and health-related behaviours of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) population in England. These are analysed by age, sex and ethnicity. The data are based on a representative sample of adults, aged 16 and over, who participated in the Health Survey for England from 2011–2018. 2% of adults surveyed in 2011-2018 identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) The Health Survey for England series was designed to monitor trends in the health, and health related behaviours, of adults and children in England.

In 2023, approximately 93.6 percent of the population of the United Kingdom identified themselves as being straight or heterosexual, compared with two percent who identified as either Gay or Lesbian, 1.8 percent as Bisexual, 0.7 percent as Other and 2.7 percent who did not know, or refused to answer.

Sexual identity estimates by occupation 2014. This is presented at a UK level, and broken down by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In 2022, a survey of people in Great Britain showed that ** percent of Gen Z were exclusively attracted to the opposite sex, with *** percent advising they were attracted to both sexes equally, and ** percent that they were mostly or only attracted to the same sex.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, ***** percent of respondents declared to be homosexual, gay, or lesbian. In Brazil and the Netherlands, for instance, **** percent, instead, identified as bisexual, representing the largest group of bisexual respondents among the 30 surveyed countries. Moreover, *** 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.

These datasets provide Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by sexual orientation by sex, sexual orientation by age and sexual orientation by sex and age.

LGB+

An abbreviation used to refer to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other minority sexual orientations (for example, asexual).

_Sexual orientation _

Sexual orientation is an umbrella term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. For example, someone in an opposite-sex relationship may also experience same-sex attraction, and vice versa. This means the statistics should be interpreted purely as showing how people responded to the question, rather than being about whom they are attracted to or their actual relationships.

We have not provided glossary entries for individual sexual orientation categories. This is because individual respondents may have differing perspectives on the exact meaning.

The question on sexual orientation was new for Census 2021. It was voluntary and was only asked of people aged 16 years and over.

In total, 44.9 million people answered the sexual orientation question (92.5% of the population aged 16 years and over).

Usual resident

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more or had a permanent UK address.

Notes

• To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.

• Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

According to the census of 2021, approximately ******* people aged 16 or over in England and Wales identified with a gay or lesbian sexual orientation, approximately **** percent of the population. A further ******* people identified as being bisexual, or **** percent of the population. In the same census there were ******* who identified as being pansexual, ****** as asexual, ****** as queer, and ****** as another sexual orientation.

As of 2023, approximately 93.3 percent of men in the United Kingdom identified as being heterosexual, compared with 2.8 percent that identified as being homosexual, 1.5 percent as Bisexual, 0.7 percent as "other", and 1.8 percent that did not know, or refused to answer. Since 2014, the share of men that said they identified as homosexual has increased from 1.5 percent to 2.8 percent.

This survey shows the results of a survey among respondents with a gay, lesbian, bisexual or other sexual orientation on the separation of marriage and Civil Partnership. The survey was conducted in 2012 in the United Kingdom. 47 percent of the respondents thought that insisting on a separation and distinction of marriage and Civil Partnership worsens the attitudes towards gay people.

The protected characteristics of disabled and non-disabled people in England and Wales, using Census 2021 data. Data estimates provided are as on Census Day, 21 March 2021.

To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, counts and populations have been rounded to the nearest 5, and counts under 10 have not been included. All figures are individually rounded. Totals may not sum exactly because of this rounding.

Age groups are based on an individual's age on their last birthday, as of Census Day, 21 March 2021. The age groups used reflect the European Standard Population (2013).

Age-standardised percentage

The age-standardised percentage of disabled people is that which would have occurred if the observed age-specific percentage of disability had applied in the European Standard Population (ESP).

Age-specific percentage

Age-specific percentage is calculated for each age group:

Mk = (dk / pk) x 100%

where:

Mk = percentage of disabled people in age group k

dk = the number of disabled people in age group k

pk = Census 2021 population in age group k

k = age group

Category

The measures of disability, ethnic group, legal partnership status, religion or sexual orientation in Census 2021 enable different categorisations of responses to the question. These provide different levels of detail from the responses provided.

Count

The count is the number of usual residents in each category (Disabled, Non-disabled, Disabled; limited a lot, Disabled; limited a little, Non-disabled; with non-limiting condition, Non-disabled; no condition), sex, age group and geographic breakdown. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, counts and populations have been rounded to the nearest 5, and counts under 10 have not been included..

Disability

The definition of disability used in the 2021 Census is aligned with the definition of disability under the Equality Act (2010). A person is considered disabled if they self-report having a physical or mental health condition or illness that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more, and that this reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. The detailed response categories are:

• Non-disabled; no condition.
• Non-disabled; with non-limiting condition.
• Disabled; limited a little.
• Disabled; limited a lot.

Ethnic group

The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity, or physical appearance. There were two stages to the ethnic group question. The respondent identifies first through one of the following high-level options before selecting a tick-box:

• Asian, Asian British, or Asian Welsh
• Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African
• Mixed or Multiple
• White
• Other ethnic group

Following this, respondents could choose 1 out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.

Legal partnership status

Classifies a person according to their legal marital or registered civil partnership status on Census Day, 21 March 2021. The six categories are:

• Civil partnership.
• Divorced or formerly in a civil partnership.
• Married.
• Never married and never registered a civil partnership.
• Separated, but still legally married or still legally in a civil partnership.
• Widowed or surviving partner from a civil partnership.

Population

The population is the number of usual residents of each sex, age group and geographic breakdown. These have been rounded.

Religion

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it. The nine categories are:

• No religion.
• Christian (including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations).
• Buddhist.
• Hindu.
• Jewish.
• Muslim.
• Sikh.
• Other religion.
• Not answered.

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation is an umbrella term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. The five categories are:

• Straight or heterosexual.
• Gay or lesbian.
• Bisexual.
• All other sexual orientations.
• Not answered.

Usual resident

For Census 2021, a usual resident of the UK is anyone who, on census day, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

According to survey conducted in eight countries, Great Britain is the country where people are more likely to support a family member of a friend who would come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The least supportive countries, on the other hand, seem to be Italy and Germany. In Italy, for instance, some 14 percent of respondents stated to be unsupportive, while in Germany, some 14 percent would oppose their friends or family.

In 2023, approximately 93.9 percent of women in the United Kingdom identified as being heterosexual, compared with 95.5 percent in 2014. Since 2014, the share of UK women that identified as Bisexual has increased from 0.7 percent, to 2.2 percent.

In May 2025, approximately 77 percent of people in Great Britain supported the 2014 change in the law that allowed same-sex marriage, compared with 17 percent who opposed it, and nine percent who did not know if they supported or opposed it.

As of 2019, the share of the UK population that currently smoked and identified as heterosexual/straight was **** percent. Those that had identified as gay or lesbian had a larger share of the population that currently smoked, at approximately **** percent.

This survey shows the attitude of people from different age groups towards homosexual marriages in Great Britain in 2014. The average approval of homosexual marriage by all age groups was 69 percent. There was a clear increase of disapproval as the respondents age increased and correspondingly, a decrease in approval.

There were ****** sexual orientation hate crimes reported by the police in England and Wales in the 2024/25 reporting year, compared with ****** in the previous year.

This statistic displays respondents views on the morality of homosexuality in the United Kingdom (UK) as of February 2015, listed by gender. 69 percent of female respondents perceived homosexuality to be morally acceptable, whereas 59 percent of male respondent made the same judgement.