What percent of the population is gay
LGBT Identification in U.S. Ticks Up to 7.1%
Story Highlights
- LGBT identification up from 5.6% in 2020
- One in five Gen Z adults detect as LGBT
- Bisexual identification is most common
Learn more in Gallup’s 2024 LGBTQ+ update.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, male lover, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a fresh high of 7.1%, which is double the percentage from 2012, when Gallup first measured it.
Gallup asks Americans whether they personally identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, double attraction, or transgender as part of the demographic data it collects on all U.S. telephone surveys. Respondents can also volunteer any other sexual orientation or gender identity they opt for. In addition to the 7.1% of U.S. adults who consider themselves to be an LGBT culture, 86.3% say they are straight or heterosexual, and 6.6% do not present an opinion. The results are based on aggregated 2021 data, encompassing interviews with more than 12,000 U.S. adults.
Line graph. Americans' Self-Identification as Lesbian, Queer , Bisexual, Transgender or Something Other than Heterosexual.
Canada at a Glance, 2022
LGBTQ2+ people
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Table of contents
Did you know?
- Canada is dwelling to approximately 1 million people who are LGBTQ2+.Note Note
- An estimated 1 million people in Canada are queer woman , gay, bisexual, or of another sexual orientation than heterosexual - representing 4% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older. Among this population, about 52% are women, 44% are men, and 3% are non-binary.Note
- Looking specifically at gender diversity, about 100,815 people in Canada are transgender (59,460) or non-binary (41,355), accounting for 0.33% of the population aged 15 years and over. Among transgender people, 53% were women and 47% were men.Note
Highest degree | LGBTQ2+ | Non-LGBTQ2+ |
---|---|---|
percent | ||
Secondary school or less | 42.1 | 37.2 |
Trade certificate | 6.2 Estimates and characteristics of LGBTI+ populations in AustraliaProportion of LGB+(a) and heterosexual (straight) people 16 years and over by express or territory, 2022[["NSW","Vic","Qld","SA","WA","Tas","NT","ACT"],[[29.600000000000001],[31.600000000000001],[18.100000000000001],[6.4000000000000004],[8.4000000000000004],[2.6000000000000001],[0.69999999999999996],[2.3999999999999999]],[[26.300000000000001,32.899999999999999],[28.699999999999999,34.5],[15.5,20.699999999999999],[5.2000000000000002,7.5999999999999996],[6.9000000000000004,9.9000000000000004],[2,3.2000000000000002],[0.5,0.90000000000000002],[1.7,3.1000000000000001]],[[31.800000000000001],[25.600000000000001],[20.300000000000001],[7.0999999999999996],[10.6],[2.2000000000000002],[0.69999999999999996],[1.7]],[[31.699999999999999,31.899999999999999],[25.5,25.699999999999999],[20.199999999999999,20.399999999999999],[7,7.2000000000000002],[10.5,10.699999999999999],[2.2000000000000002,2.2000000000000002],[0.69999999999999996,0.69999999999999996],[1.7,1.7]]][][{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title"
Adult LGBT Population in the United StatesThis 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 inhabit in the Northeast (2.6 million). The percent of adults who identify as LGBT Which Country Has the Largest LGBTQI+ Population? 2025The worldwide LGBTQI+ population by country reports estimate that approximately eight percent of the world identifies as homosexual, multi-attracted , 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 facts 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 Toddler Boomers are the least likely to report or distinguish 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 NumbersAustralia is considered to possess 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 |