The number of young people in the UK identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual increased by 50 per cent in 2019
- New official data showed younger people in UK most likely to identify as LGB
- Some 6.6 per cent of all 16 to 24 year olds in the UK identified as LGB in 2019
- That figure was up an estimated 50 per cent on the 4.4 per cent recorded in 2018
The proportion of young people in the UK identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual increased by an estimated 50 per cent in 2019, according to new official data.
Office for National Statistics numbers published this morning showed 6.6 per cent of all 16 to 24 year-olds identified as LGB in 2019.
That figure is up from the 4.4 per cent recorded in 2018.
Young people were most likely to identify as LGB in 2019 but there was also an increase among older people aged 65 and over, from 0.7 per cent to one per cent.
The ONS said an estimated 1.4million people aged 16 and over in the UK identified as LGB in 2019.
The stats body said that represented a ‘statistically significant increase’ from the 1.2million in 2018.
The ONS said that the proportion of the UK adult population identifying as heterosexual or straight decreased from 94.6 per cent in 2018 to 93.7 per cent in 2019
Young people were most likely to identify as LGB in 2019 but there was also an increase among older people aged 65 and over, from 0.7 per cent to one per cent
The ONS data showed that an estimated 2.7 per cent of the UK population aged 16 and over identified as LGB in 2019, up from the 2.2 per cent in 2018.
The number of men identifying as LGB increased from 2.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent, year on year, while for women it increased from two per cent to 2.5 per cent.
The ONS said the proportion of the UK adult population identifying as heterosexual or straight decreased from 94.6 per cent in 2018 to 93.7 per cent in 2019.
The proportion of people who identified as LGB increased in England and Scotland between 2018 and 2019, from 2.3 per cent to 2.7 per cent and from two per cent to 2.7 per cent respectively.
The numbers in Wales and Northern Ireland remained broadly the same at 2.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
In English regions, people in London were the most likely to identify as LGB at 3.8 per cent – up from 2.8 per cent in 2018.
Penelope McClure, from the population statistics division at the ONS, said: ‘An estimated 1.4 million people aged 16 and over in the UK identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2019 – a statistically significant increase from 1.2 million in 2018 – continuing the trend we have seen over recent years.
‘People aged 16 to 24 continue to be the most likely to identify as LGB, however the proportion of older adults identifying as LGB, while much smaller, is also increasing.’