Census publishes first data on sexuality and gender by religion and ethnicity

The first survey of its kind shows that in England and Wales a larger proportion of people from Muslim, Sikh or Hindu backgrounds have a different gender identity than that assigned at birth than those who identify as Christian.

The proportion of people who identify as Buddhists or Jews is also higher among Buddhists or Jews than among Christians, and there are more people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or of another sexual orientation (LGB+).

The data was collected as part of the census that took place in England and Wales on 21 March 2021, but was just published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

For the first time, the census included questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, which were voluntary for people aged 16 and over.

The latest data break down responses regarding sexuality and gender by several characteristics, including ethnicity and religion.

It shows that on census day, 23.7 million people in England and Wales identified themselves as Christian. Just over 396,000, or 1.7 percent, of these identified themselves as LGB+, while 95,000, or 0.4 percent, said their gender was different from the one registered at birth.

Three religious groups had a higher proportion of people identifying as LGB+, but their overall numbers were lower.

Almost 246,000 people stated in the census that they identified themselves as Buddhists, of which 7.3% (just under 18,000) also identified themselves as LGB+, while almost 214,000 identified themselves as Jews, of which 4.5% (9,600) identified themselves as LGB+.

Of the 823,000 people in the Hindu group, 1.8% (14,400) identified themselves as LGB+.

In the other two major religious groups, Sikhs and Muslims, a smaller proportion identified themselves as LGB+ (1.5% and 1.4% respectively).

However, of the 17.4 million people in England and Wales who reported “no religion” in the census, almost 965,000, or 5.6%, identified themselves as LGB+.

Tuesday’s data also show that of the 2.7 million people who identify as Muslim, nearly 40,000 said their gender was not the same as the sex registered at birth: a lower number than in the Christian group, but a higher proportion at 1.5 percent.

Higher proportions are also recorded among people who identify as Buddhists (1.3%), Sikhs (1.0%), Hindus (0.9%) and Jews (0.6%), although here too the numbers are small at around 3,000, 4,000, 8,000 and 1,000 respectively.

When breaking down sexual orientation by ethnic group, the LGB+ share is highest among people of mixed or multiple ethnicities at 6.4%, followed by the categories ‘White Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma or other white’ (4.8%) and White Irish (4.5%).

Among white English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and British people, the figure was 3.1%, and among Asian and black people, the figure was 1.9% each.

The figures are likely to be influenced by a number of factors such as age, educational background and health status, the ONS said.

For example, people who reported identifying as Muslim in the census have the lowest average age (27 years) of all religious groups, while those who reported “no religion” are on average 32 years old.

In contrast, the median age of Christians is 51 years, compared to 40 years for the general population.

When looking at gender by ethnicity, the proportion who said their gender identity was not the same as the sex registered at birth was highest among people with a black identity (1.6%), followed by the ‘white gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma or other white’ category (1.1%), Asian (1.0%), mixed or multiple ethnicities (1.0%) and white Irish (0.5%).

The white group in the United Kingdom, which included English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and British people, had the lowest share at 0.3%.