Number of people identifying as LGB in the UK has hit record high
More than one in 50 people now identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual in the UK
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
The number of people identifying as LGB in the UK has hit a record high.
According to new data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), more than one in 50 people now identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
These new figures show an increase of around 100,000 between 2014 and 2018 which is up from 1.6 per cent of people over the age of 16 to 2.2 per cent over the four-year period.
More than one in 25 (4.4 per cent) of people aged 16 to 24 were most likely to identify as LGB in 2018 – with people being statically less likely to do so the older they are, the study found.
The study found that men were more likely to identify as LGB than women – with one in 40 men (2.5 per cent) doing so compared to one in 50 women.
Across the UK, the study found people in London were likely to identify as LGB at 2.8 per cent with the North East the least likely.
The ONS also found that more than two-thirds of the LGB population are single which the office said reflected 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.