The Office of National Statistics stated that there are now over a million people in the UK who identify as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual.
2.0% of people told the official Annual Population Survey that they were lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2016, the highest amount since records began in 2012. Some 4% refused to answer the question, which is why the charity Stonewall suggest the true figure could be around 7% as many people are still reluctant to come out. Their recent hate crime research showed that 1 in 5 LGBT people experienced a hate crime, due to their sexual orientation in the last 12 months.
The Office of National Statistics said that people in the age group 16-24 years were more likely to identify as LGB stating “Younger people could be more likely to explore their sexuality, combined with more social acceptability of sexual identities today and the ability to express these.”
London, which has a young and diverse population had the highest proportion identifying as LGB .at 2.7%.
The North West had the 2nd highest proportion identifying as LGB and the East of England at the lowest, with just 1.2%. This may be due to an older age poplulation and more of a reluctance to 'come out'.
