7. Lesbian, gay and bisexual population are most likely to be single, never married or civil partnered

Figure 5 shows the legal marital status distribution of those who identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2015. The LGB population are most likely to be single (68.2%). This could be associated with:

the young age structure of the population that identify themselves as LGB

legal unions available to same-sex couples are relatively new

Figure 5: Lesbian, gay and bisexual population by legal marital status, 2015 UK Source: Office for National Statistics Notes: Single, never married or civil partnered. Married includes separated. The Marriages (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 made provision for the marriage of same sex couples in England and Wales from 29th March 2014 onwards. Civil Partnerships were introduced in England and Wales in December 2005. Includes separated. Download this chart Figure 5: Lesbian, gay and bisexual population by legal marital status, 2015 Image .csv .xls

The second most common marital status for the LGB population was to be in an opposite-sex marriage (13.1%). People who identify themselves as bisexual make up the majority of the LGB population in opposite-sex marriages.

The LGB population who are single may be in same-sex cohabiting couples. In the UK, 0.5% of families are same-sex cohabiting couple families.

In 2015, of the LGB population 14.0% were in a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage, 4.1% were divorced or had dissolved a civil partnership and 0.6% were widowed or a surviving partner from a civil partnership.

Figure 6: Ethnicity by gay or lesbian and bisexual population, 2015 UK Source: Office for National Statistics Notes: 0.1% of respondents to the APS did not have an ethnicity recorded, 0.2% of those identified themselves as LGB. Download this chart Figure 6: Ethnicity by gay or lesbian and bisexual population, 2015 Image .csv .xls

In 2015, the Annual Population Survey found that 1.8% of the population who describe their ethnicity as “White” also identified themselves as LGB. The highest percentage was seen amongst those who describe their ethnicity as “Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups” where 2.5% identified themselves as LGB.

Smaller percentages were seen for those who are “Asian or Asian British” (0.8%), “Black, African, Caribbean or Black British” (1.0%) and “Other ethnic group” (1.7%).

Figure 7: NS-SEC by gay or lesbian and bisexual population, 2015 UK Source: Office for National Statistics Notes: Routine and Manual includes the "Never worked and long-term unemployed" category. Examples of jobs for each category are: Routine and Manual: Labourers, bar staff. Intermediate: Bank staff, paramedics. Managerial and Professional: Doctors, Lawyers. Download this chart Figure 7: NS-SEC by gay or lesbian and bisexual population, 2015 Image .csv .xls

Figure 7 shows that 2.2% of the population who are in managerial and professional occupations identified themselves as LGB, while 1.6% of those in both intermediate, and routine and manual occupations identified themselves as LGB.