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Scotland has the UK’s highest proportion of LGB+ people – census
By Kate Foster For The Scottish Daily Mail
17:22 27 Jun 2024, updated 17:22 27 Jun 2024
- Four per cent of Scots (184,000 people) described their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual or ‘other’ in 2022 demographic survey
- Just 19,990 people (0.44%) of the adult population identified as being trans or having a trans history
- Dundee had the highest proportion of transgender people at 0.91 per cent followed by Edinburgh and Glasgow both at 0.77 per cent
Scotland has the highest proportion of LGB+ people in the UK, a new census reveals.
Four per cent of Scots described their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual or ‘other’ in the 2022 demographic survey – just under 184,000 people.
And almost 20,000 identify as transgender or have done so previously.
The 2022 Scottish census was the first to include voluntary questions for over 16s about their sexuality and whether they are transgender.
It found that 183,869 Scots identified as LGB+ and 19,990, or 0.44 per cent of the adult population, identified as trans or have a trans history.
LGB+ is an abbreviation used to refer to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and sexual orientations other than straight or heterosexual. Trans is a term used to describe people whose gender is not the same as their birth sex.
The censuses in the rest of the UK asked the same questions in 2021.
In England and Wales 3.2 per cent of people aged 16 and over were LGB+. In Northern Ireland 2.1 per cent of people aged 16 and over said they belong to the category.
A regional breakdown of Scotland’s census shows that the Dundee City Council area had the highest proportion of transgender people at 0.91 per cent followed by the City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City both at 0.77 per cent.
Meanwhile, the City of Edinburgh had the highest proportion of people identifying as LGB+ at 7.6 per cent, with Glasgow second at 7.1 per cent at and Dundee third with 6.6 per cent.
These council areas have large student populations and relatively high numbers of young people.
Trans people were most likely to describe themselves as non-binary. About half described themselves this way, which means not identifying with being either male or female, or feeling their gender is blended or fluctuates.
The England 2021 census found 0.55 per cent of people had a gender identity different to that of their birth sex, but the wording of that question drew criticism for potentially being confusing, because it did not include the word trans.
National Records of Scotland’s director of census statistics Jon Wroth-Smith said: ‘This is the first time Scotland’s Census has ever collected data on trans status or history and sexual orientation.
‘We can now say that almost 20,000 people aged 16 and over in Scotland identified as being trans or having a trans history, and almost 184,000 people aged 16 and over identified as LGB+.
‘These numbers will help charities, local authorities, businesses and government plan services to improve the lives of those living and working in Scotland as well as providing important information for effective equality monitoring.’
Of those who identified as bisexual, almost half were aged 16 to 24 and around a third were aged 25 to 34.
And of those who identified as gay or lesbian, just over half were aged 34 and younger.
Meanwhile, of the 19,990 Scots who identified as trans or having a trans history, 72.1 per cent were aged between 16 and 34.
The voluntary question in the 2022 census about sexual orientation was: ‘Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?’
Meanwhile, the voluntary question about transgender status was: ‘Do you consider yourself to be trans or have a trans history?’
Although the questions were voluntary in both the Scottish and English census, more than 90 per cent of people answered them.
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