Sophie Sanders, Population Statistics Division, Office for National Statistics.įollow Population Statistics Division on Twitter Back to table of contents This reflects the younger age structure of this population, the changing attitudes of the general population to marriage and the fact that legal unions have only recently been available for same-sex couples.” “Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of the LGB population are single (never married or entered into a civil partnership). “People in their late teens and early twenties are more likely to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) than older age groups. More than two-thirds (68.7%) of people who identified as LGB were single (never married or in a civil partnership).Among English regions, people in London were most likely to identify as LGB (2.8%), with people in the North East the least likely (1.8%).Younger people (aged 16 to 24 years) were most likely to identify as LGB in 2018 (4.4%).Men (2.5%) were more likely to identify as LGB than women (2.0%) in 2018.In 2018, there were an estimated 1.2 million people aged 16 years and over identifying as LGB.The proportion identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) increased from 1.6% in 2014 to 2.2% in 2018.The proportion of the UK population aged 16 years and over identifying as heterosexual or straight decreased from 95.3% in 2014 to 94.6% in 2018.
