Number of young people identifying as gay, lesbian or bisexual in UK doubles in just four years

The number of people, aged 16 to 24, that identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the United Kingdom has doubled in just four years, between 2016 and 2020.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, in 2016, 4.1% of young people aged between 16 and 24, identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. In 2020 it increased to 8%.

Of those identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2020, around 72.5% of those had never been in a civil partnership or married. Just around 23.7% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual\ were married or in a civil partnership. This may reflect the younger age structure of the LGB population and that the legislation for same-sex civil partnerships and same-sex marriage is relatively recent.

In February, a Gallup poll showed the percentage of Americans that identify as LGBTQ had doubled over the last decade. In the 2021 Gallup poll of 12,416 Americans, 7.1 percent of Americans identified as LGBTQ compared to just 3.5 percent back in 2012.