Total percent of world population that is gay
Global survey finds 9% of adults identify as LGBTQ
Nearly 1 in 10 adults across 30 countries name as LGBTQ, according to a new global survey, but that number tells only part of the story. Age and geographic location played a main role in the findings, with younger respondents and those in more steady countries significantly more likely to be included in that top-line number. Demographics, including gender, also figured noticeably in respondents' views on issues like gender non-conforming discrimination and same-sex marriage.
Ipsos, a market-research company, surveyed 22,514 participants in 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia in February and March, and found that 3% identified as lesbian or lgbtq+, 4% as bisexual, 0.9% as pansexual or omnisexual, and 0.9% as asexual.
Survey respondents in Generation Z (born after 1997) were two times as likely as millennials (born in 1981 to 1996) to identify as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual or asexual, and four times as likely as those in Generation X (1965 to 1980) or baby boomers (1948 to 1964).
When survey results were broken down by geography, respondents in Spain were the most likely (6%) to identify as gay or lesbian, whil
Adult LGBT Population in the United States
This report provides estimates of the number and percent of the U.S. adult population that identifies as LGBT, overall, as well as by age. Estimates of LGBT adults at the national, state, and regional levels are included. We rely on BRFSS 2020-2021 statistics for these estimates. Pooling multiple years of numbers provides more stable estimates—particularly at the state level.
Combining 2020-2021 BRFSS data, we estimate that 5.5% of U.S. adults identify as LGBT. Further, we estimate that there are almost 13.9 million (13,942,200) LGBT adults in the U.S.
Regions and States
LGBT people reside in all regions of the U.S. (Table 2 and Figure 2). Consistent with the overall population in the United States,more LGBT adults live in the South than in any other region. More than half (57.0%) of LGBT people in the U.S. live in the Midwest (21.1%) and South (35.9%), including 2.9 million in the Midwest and 5.0 million in the South. About one-quarter (24.5%) of LGBT adults reside in the West, approximately 3.4 million people. Less than one in five (18.5%) LGBT adults stay in the Northeast (2.6 million).
The percent of adults who identify as LGBT
The ‘Global Closet’ is Huge—Vast Majority of World’s Female homosexual, Gay, Bisexual Population Mask Orientation, YSPH Study Finds
The vast majority of the world’s sexual minority population — an estimated 83 percent of those who identify as lesbian, lgbtq+ or bisexual — retain their orientation hidden from all or most of the people in their lives, according to a new study by the Yale School of Universal Health that could contain major implications for global public health.
Concealing one’s sexual orientation can lead to significant mental and physical health issues, increased healthcare costs and a dampening of the public awareness necessary for advancing matching rights, said John Pachankis, Ph.D., associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health. He co-authored the study with Richard Bränström, an associate professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and study affiliate at Yale.
Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study is believed to be the first attempt to quantify the size of the “global closet” in request to gauge its widespread health impact.
“Given rapidly increasing acceptance of sexual minorities in some countries, it might be easy to assume that most sexual minorities are
LGBT Populations
This map shows the estimated raw number of LGBT people (ages 13+) living in each express. The data are based on a Williams Institute analysis of surveys conducted by Gallup Polling (2012-2017) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2015 and 2017 YRBS). For more knowledge, see the methodology in the Williams analysis.
500K - 1.4M+
200K - 499K
50K - 199K
8K - 49K
Data are not currently available about LGBT people living in the U.S. territories.
Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages indicate estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ senior population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.
This map shows the estimated percentage of each state's adult (ages 18+) population that identifies as lesbian, queer , bisexual, or trans person, based on a 2018 analysis of Gallup data by The Williams Institute.
5.0% and greater
4.0%-4.9%
3.0%-3.9%
1.5%-2.9%
Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These p
Which Country Has the Largest LGBTQI+ Population? 2025
The worldwide LGBTQI+ population by country reports estimate that approximately eight percent of the world identifies as homosexual, pansexual, or pansexual. Approximately 80 percent of the world identifies as heterosexual, and the remaining 12 percent of the world do not report how they identify. This information is as recent as 2021.
It is estimated that the younger generations are more likely to be open about their sexuality, with Generation Z organism the most likely to be openly gay, bisexual, or asexual or pansexual. Millennials are the next most likely to be openly gay, and Neonate Boomers are the least likely to report or recognize as openly queer . Millennials and Generation Z are the age groups that fall between the ages of 27 and 42 in the year 2025.
Australia’s LGBTQI+ Population By the Numbers
Australia is considered to contain some of the most liberal views on the earth, but as such, it will not report its sexuality-related statistics as frequently as other countries. In 2011, one report indicated that approximately 96.5 percent of the population was heterosexual while the remainder of the population reported identifying as