Host Michel Mart and Judy Bradford of the Center for Populatn Rearch LGBT Health discs the Instute Of Medice's report fdgs, as well as the LGBT muny's most prevalent health issu. Demographer Gary Gat also jos the nversatn. He is bunkg famo sex rearcher Aled Ksey's claim that 10% of mal the U.S. are gay. He talks about this percentage, the real number of Ameri's LGBT people, and challeng to gatherg accurate data.
Contents:
- WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]
- HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR?
- WHAT PERCENT OF THE POPULATN IS GAY? MORE THAN YOU THK
- AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN
- IS 10% OF THE POPULATN REALLY GAY?
- DO GAY PEOPLE REALLY MAKE UP 3.5% OF THE POPULATN?
- WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?
- TOP 5 COUNTRI WH BIGGT GAY POPULATNS
- WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE U.S. POPULATN IS GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL?
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY [UPDATED MAY 2023]
In a global survey nducted 2023, three percent of rponnts clared to be homosexual, gay, or lbian. * how much of the world's population is gay *
The worldwi LGBTQ populatn by untry reports timate that approximately eight percent of the world intifi as homosexual, bisexual, or pansexual. It is timated that the younger generatns are more likely to be open about their sexualy, wh Generatn Z beg the most likely to be openly gay, bisexual, or asexual or pansexual.
Millennials are the next most likely to be openly gay, and Baby Boomers are the least likely to report or intify as openly gay.
In 2011, one report dited that approximately 96.5 percent of the populatn was heterosexual, while the remar of the populatn reported, intified as homosexual or asexual. More women than men reported as homosexual, while 19 percent of women reported as said they had at least one same-sex attractn their life. The variants are more clive of all dividuals who are non-heterosexual and non-cisgenr stead of exclively applyg to people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR?
* how much of the world's population is gay *
For example, one set of qutns may seek self-reported data on same-sex sexual experienc, while another set may seek data surroundg personal intifitn as lbian, gay, or bisexual. Other stat wh LGBTQ+ protectns, such as Massachetts and Colorado, also have higher timated populatns of gay, lbian, bisexual, and otherwise non-heterosexual dividuals.
Increasg numbers of populatn-based surveys the Uned Stat and across the world clu qutns that allow for an timate of the size of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) populatn. Unrstandg the size of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) populatn is a cril first step to rmg a host of public policy and rearch topics.
WHAT PERCENT OF THE POPULATN IS GAY? MORE THAN YOU THK
U.S. adults timate that nearly one four Amerins (23.6%) are gay or lbian. Gallup has prevly found that Amerins have greatly overtimated the U.S. gay populatn. * how much of the world's population is gay *
In measurg sexual orientatn, lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals may be intified strictly based on their self-inty or may be possible to nsir same-sex sexual behavr or sexual attractn. Fdgs shown Figure 1 nsir timat of the percentage of adults who self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual across ne surveys nducted wh the past seven years. While the surveys show a fairly wi variatn the overall percentage of adults who intify as LGB, the proportn who intify as lbian/gay vers bisexual is somewhat more nsistent (see Figure 2).
The Natnal Survey of Fay Growth found rults that were sentially the oppose of the UK survey wh only 38% intifyg as lbian or gay pared to 62% intifyg as bisexual. The Natnal Survey of Sexual Health and Behavr and the Atralian Longudal Study of Health and Relatnships both found a majory of rponnts (55% and 59%, rpectively) intifyg as surveys show even greater nsistency differenc between men and women associated wh lbian/gay vers bisexual inty. Wh the surveys, a larger actn of adults report same-sex attractns and behavrs than self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual (see Figure 4).
AMERINS STILL GREATLY OVERTIMATE U.S. GAY POPULATN
Gallup timat that 7.2% of the U.S. adult populatn is lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr. * how much of the world's population is gay *
The most important takeaway isn’t a fal tally of the gay people society, but, rather, an unrstandg of the ways which surveys and other existg attempts to measure such thgs might be slightly misleadg.
“The rults show non-heterosexualy and anti-gay sentiment are substantially unrtimated existg surveys, and the privacy afford by current bt practic is not always sufficient to elimate bias, ” note the rearchers, who were jt lookg at the way surveys might unr-unt both homosexualy and attus toward homosexualy. Back 1948 sex rearcher Aled Ksey famoly suggted that 10 percent of the mal he'd studied were, quote, "more or ls exclively homosexual, " unquote. Also, the Ksey Instute has - which is the legacy of Ksey - has stated very clearly that their view is that this was a kd of a polil cisn of gay activists the '70s.
And they took that rather obscure passage om a Ksey book, which was never tend to be an timate of the number of gay people the Uned Stat and kd of adopted for polil purpos. And, fact, we will lk to a piece that you wrote for The Washgton Post tled "Gay People Count, So Why Not Count Them Correctly? As Gallup poted out s ial timate of the entire LGBT populatn 2012, "Exactly who mak up the LGBT muny and how this group should be measured is a subject of some bate, " and "there are a number of ways to measure lbian, gay, and bisexual orientatn, and transgenr stat.
IS 10% OF THE POPULATN REALLY GAY?
The percentage of Amerin adults intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr creased to 4.5% 2017 om 4.1% 2016 and 3.5% 2012. * how much of the world's population is gay *
Are far lower than what the public timat, and no measurement procre has produced any figur suggtg that more than one out of five Amerins are gay or lbian. Among polil partisans, Democrats and pennts timate that about a quarter of Amerins are gay or lbian, while the average approximatn among Republins is a b lower (18. It is, therefore, possible that Amerins' perceptns of the gay populatn may be fluenced by the greater reprentatn they see among young people.
The term “homosexualy, ” while sometim nsired anachronistic the current era, is the most applible and easily translatable term to e when askg this qutn across societi and languag and has been ed other cross-natnal studi, cludg the World Valu Survey. Dpe major chang laws and norms surroundg the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opn on the acceptance of homosexualy society remas sharply divid by untry, regn and enomic velopment. As was 2013, when the qutn was last asked, attus on the acceptance of homosexualy are shaped by the untry which people live.
Those Wtern Europe and the Ameris are generally more acceptg of homosexualy than are those Eastern Europe, Rsia, Ukrae, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Ai. In many natns, there has been an creasg acceptance of homosexualy, cludg the Uned Stat, where 72% say should be accepted, pared wh jt 49% as recently as 2007.
DO GAY PEOPLE REALLY MAKE UP 3.5% OF THE POPULATN?
Gallup fds 5.6% of U.S. adults intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr, wh the majory of them sayg they are bisexual. * how much of the world's population is gay *
There also have been fairly large shifts acceptance of homosexualy over the past 17 years two very different plac: Mexi and Japan. In many of the untri surveyed, there also are differenc on acceptance of homosexualy by age, tn, e and, some stanc, genr – and several s, the differenc are substantial.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATN IS GAY?
After years of wild gus and flawed timatns, Gallup has attempted to get some hard data on jt how many gay, lbian, and bisexual people there are Ameri. So how good are their are numbers? * how much of the world's population is gay *
For example, some untri, those who are affiliated wh a relig group tend to be ls acceptg of homosexualy than those who are unaffiliated (a group sometim referred to as relig “non”).
TOP 5 COUNTRI WH BIGGT GAY POPULATNS
In his 1948 book, Sexual Behavr the Human Male, Aled Ksey shocked the world by announcg that 10% of the male populatn is gay. A 1993 Jan Report timated that ne percent of men and five percent of women had more than "ocsnal" homosexual relatnships. To some people, homosexualy is a matter of perceptn and fn. Furthermore, many people have trouble admtg their homosexualy to themselv, much ls to a rearcher. But when Gallup asked Amerins for their bt timate of the Amerin gay and lbian populatn, the rults ma all the figur mentned look nservative. * how much of the world's population is gay *
In general, people wealthier and more veloped enomi are more acceptg of homosexualy than are those ls wealthy and veloped enomi. For example, Swen, the Netherlands and Germany, all of which have a per-pa gross domtic product over $50, 000, acceptance of homosexualy is among the hight measured across the 34 untri surveyed. By ntrast, Nigeria, Kenya and Ukrae, where per-pa GDP is unr $10, 000, ls than two--ten say that homosexualy should be accepted by society.
The study is a follow-up to a 2013 report that found many of the same patterns as seen today, although there has been an crease acceptance of homosexualy across many of the untri surveyed both years. The 2019 survey shows that while majori 16 of the 34 untri surveyed say homosexualy should be accepted by society, global divis rema.
Central and Eastern Europeans, however, are more divid on the subject, wh a median of 46% who say homosexualy should be accepted and 44% sayg should not be.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE U.S. POPULATN IS GAY, LBIAN OR BISEXUAL?
But sub-Saharan Ai, the Middle East, Rsia and Ukrae, few say that society should accept homosexualy; only South Ai (54%) and Israel (47%) do more than a quarter hold this view. Sce 1994, and there has been a relatively steady crease the share who say that homosexualy should be accepted by society sce 2000. However, while took nearly 15 years for acceptance to rise 13 pots om 2000 to jt before the feral legalizatn of gay marriage June 2015, there was a near equal rise acceptance jt the four years sce legalizatn.
More than eight--ten Democrats and Democratic-leang pennts (85%) say homosexualy should be accepted, but only 58% of Republins and Republin leaners say the same.
In 22 of 34 untri surveyed, younger adults are signifintly more likely than their olr unterparts to say homosexualy should be accepted by society. This difference was most pronounced South Korea, where 79% of 18- to 29-year-olds say homosexualy should be accepted by society, pared wh only 23% of those 50 and olr.