The number of people identifying as LGBTQIA continues to grow, with 7.6% of adults now identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual; this is up from 5.6% four years ago, and 3.5% in 2012.
The result from Gallup – which conducted the survey in the US of A – was based on aggregated data from telephone surveys involving over 12,000 Americans aged 18 and older. After asking respondents whether they identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something else, 85.6% said they are straight or heterosexual, 7.6% identified with one or more LGBTQIA groups, and 6.8% declined to provide answer/s.
With those identifying as part of the LGBTQIA community:
- Bisexual adults made up the largest proportion of the population, with 4.4% of adults and 57.3% of LGBTQIA adults saying they are bisexual.
- Gay and lesbian identities represented over 1% (each) of adults and roughly one in six LGBTQIA adults.
- Less than 1% of adults and about one in eight LGBTQIA adults identified as transgender.
- The most commonly volunteered LGBTQIA identities were pansexual and asexual, mentioned by less than 2% of LGBTQIA adults each.
Other key findings included:
- Increases in LGBTQIA identification in members of Generation Z and the millennial generations. Particularly, more than one in five Gen Z adults, ranging in age from 18 to 26 in 2023, identified as LGBTQIA. For millennials (aged 27 to 42), it’s nearly one in 10.
- Less than 5% of Generation X, 2% of baby boomers and 1% of the Silent Generation identified as LGBTQIA.
- Bisexuality is the most common LGBTQIA status among Generation Z, millennials and Generation X. Particularly: 15% of all Generation Z adults identified as bisexual.
- Women are nearly twice as likely as men to identify as LGBTQIA (8.5% versus 4.7%).
- Bisexuality was the most common form cited as LGBTQIA identification by women; for men, it’s either bisexual or gay.
Gallup noted that since it started gathering data in 2012, the percentage of adults who consider themselves something other than heterosexual has more than doubled, with changed led by younger generations. And if trends persist, “it is likely that the proportion of LGBTQIA identifiers will exceed 10% of… adults at some point within the next three decades.”
