There are 1.5 million LGB+ people in England and Wales

LGBTQ flag

New census data has revealed that there are around 1.5 million LGB+ people in England and Wales, which equates to 3.2 per cent of the population.

The data from the Office of National Statistics also found that around 43.4 million people (89.4%) identified as straight or heterosexual.

The census question on sexual orientation was a voluntary question asked of those aged 16 years and over. In total, 44.9 million people (92.5% of the population aged 16 years and over) answered the question. The remaining 3.6 million people (7.5%) did not answer the question.

The full statistics were as follows:

  • 43.4 million people identified as straight or heterosexual
  • 748,000 (1.5%), described themselves as gay or lesbian
  • 624,000 (1.3%) described themselves as bisexual
  • 165,000 (0.3%) selected “Other sexual orientation”

Of those who selected “Other sexual orientation”, the most common write-in responses included:

  • Pansexual (112,000, 0.23%)
  • asexual (28,000, 0.06%)
  • Queer (15,000, 0.03%)
  • Another 10,000 (0.02%) wrote in a different sexual orientation.

The English region with the highest proportion of people who identified with a LGB+ orientation (“gay or lesbian”, “bisexual”, or “other sexual orientation”) was London (4.3%).

In London, 2.2% described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, 1.5% described their sexual orientation as bisexual, and 0.5% wrote in a different orientation.

Sign up for regular updates straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!

The local authority with the largest LGB+ population among those aged 16 years and over was Brighton and Hove (10.7%).

Seven of the other local authorities in the top 10 were in London, with the largest LGB+ populations in the City of London (10.3%), Lambeth (8.3%), and Southwark (8.1%).

In Wales, the local authorities with the largest LGB+ populations were Cardiff (5.3%), Ceredigion (4.9%), and Swansea (3.4%).

Add your comments below

Previous articleMedia reporting of Prince Harry’s war crimes proves Muslim lives are worthless
Next articlePoll: Moroccans strongly oppose Israel normalisation