Census 2021: sexual orientation and gender identity

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published further results from the 2021 Census, helping us to better our understanding of the Somerset population. The latest results reveal insights into sexual orientation and gender identity among Somerset residents.

It should be remembered that the 2021 Census is a snapshot of the population on 21^st March 2021, a time during which coronavirus restrictions were in place. These restrictions will likely have impacted on living arrangements for certain groups – such as university students – and will therefore have an impact on the census results.

Sexual orientation

For the first time in a national census, individuals aged 16 and over were asked a question on their sexual orientation.

In Somerset, 90% of residents identified as being Straight or Heterosexual. The next largest groups were Gay or Lesbian (1.2%), Bisexual (1.1%), and Pansexual (0.2%). A total of nearly 12,000 Somerset residents selected a sexual orientation other than Straight or Heterosexual: representing 2.5% of the population aged 16 and over, or around 1 in 40 people. 7.5% of the Somerset population did not respond to this question.

Nationally, the proportion of people with a sexual orientation other than Straight or Heterosexual was slightly higher, at 3.2% - or around 1 in 31 people.

Gender identity

More than 1,600 Somerset residents stated that their gender identity differs from their sex as registered at birth. This represents 0.35% of the Somerset population aged 16 and over.

This is the first time that a question on gender identity has been included in the census, giving the first official data on the size of this population.

Many of those with a gender identity different to their sex at birth did not specify their gender identity. Trans woman and trans man were the next most commonly identified gender identities, with over 300 Somerset residents identifying in each group. 5.7% of Somerset residents did not respond to the question on gender identity.

Nationally, the proportion of residents with a gender identity different from their sex at birth was higher than in Somerset, with this group representing 0.54% of the national population aged 16 and over.