The number of people who identify as LGBTQ has increased in the UK.
We now have new data taken from the annual population survey (APS), according to The Guardian. For the survey, people aged 16 and over have provided information about their sexual identity, and it appears that the number has increased from 1.6% to 2.2% in the four years between 2014 and 2018. Despite that percentage seeming so small, that 2.2% amounts for 1.2 million UK citizens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something under the queer rainbow.
That said, the majority of UK citizens identify as straight. Though, that number has, of course, decreased from with the span of four years (from 95.3% to 94.6%).
“People in their late teens and early 20s are [4.4%] more likely to identify as LGB than older age groups,” said Sophie Sanders, from the Office for National Statistics. “This reflects the younger age structure of this population, the changing attitudes of the general population to marriage and the fact that legal unions have only been recently available for same-sex couples.”
Going with Sanders’ last comment, the data also revealed that over two-thirds of the UK’s LGBTQ population were unmarried or in a civil partnership as opposed to being married by 2018.
Despite that, the news of the increased data came with general celebration. After hearing the news of this increase in UK citizens identifying as LGBTQ, Laura Russell, the director of campaigns, strategy, and research at Stonewall, welcomed the change.
“This is likely because more and more people feel comfortable to be open about who they are,” she said.
“But we know these figures still won’t be an entirely accurate representation of the number of lesbian, gay and bi people in the UK.
“If we want to live in a world where everyone is accepted without exception, we need every person who believes in equality to stand up and support their LGBT friends, family and the wider community.”
Source: The Guardian,
