Spotlight
Sexual orientation, England and Wales: Census 2021
What's in the bulletin?
- 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.
- Around 43.4 million people (89.4%) identified as straight or heterosexual.
Sexual orientation, UK: 2021 and 2022
What's in the bulletin?
- In 2022, 93.4% of the UK household population aged 16 years and over identified as heterosexual or straight, down from 95.0% in 2017.
- An estimated 3.3% of the UK population aged 16 years and over identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2022, a continued increase from 2.1% in 2017.
- The proportion of men identifying as LGB was 3.8% in 2022, up from 2.4% in 2017; the proportion of women who identified as LGB was 3.0%, an increase from 1.8% in 2017.
Datasets related to Sexual orientation
-
Sexual orientation, UK
Sexual orientation in the UK from 2012 to 2022 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, ethnic group and National Statistics Socio-economic Classification. Experimental Statistics.
-
Sexual Identity by Gender by Country
Sexual identity estimates by gender from 2010 to 2014. This is presented at a UK level, and broken down by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
-
Sexual Identity lesbian, gay and bisexual population by Occupation by Country
Sexual identity estimates by occupation 2014. This is presented at a UK level, and broken down by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
-
Sexual Identity, subnational
Subnational sexual identity for 2013 to 2015
-
Cigarette smoking by Sexual Identity, by Country
Smoking estimates by sexual identity, 2014. This is presented at a UK level, and broken down by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Publications related to Sexual orientation
Statistical bulletins
-
Sexual orientation, UK: 2021 and 2022
Sexual orientation in the UK in 2021 and 2022 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status, ethnic group and socio-economic classification, using data from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Experimental Statistics.
-
Sexual orientation, England and Wales: Census 2021
The sexual orientation of usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales, Census 2021 data.
-
Personal well-being in the UK: April 2022 to March 2023
Estimates of life satisfaction, worthwhile, happiness, and anxiety, by select geographies including local authority level and individual characteristics and circumstances.
-
Integrated Household Survey (Experimental statistics): January to December 2014
Sexual identity, smoking prevalence and perceived general health using data from the Integrated Household Survey.
Articles
-
Sexual orientation, further personal characteristics, England and Wales
Exploring the disability, health status, ethnic group, religion and employment of people of different sexual orientations from Census 2021 in England and Wales.
-
Sexual orientation: age and sex, England and Wales
Sexual orientation by age and sex of usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales, Census 2021 data.
Methodology related to Sexual orientation
Find, compare and visualise statistics about places within the United Kingdom.