No fewer than 1.5 million persons including 748,000 homosexuals and 624,000 bisexuals have identified themselves as members of the LGBTQ community in the UK, a sexuality and gender census conducted in March 2021 has showed.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 165,000 persons claim that the ONS did not list their sexual orientation.

Out of the about 59.6 million persons aged 16 and above in England and Wales, 89.4 per cent said they were straight while 3.2 per cent identify as members of the LGBTQ population.

About 112,000 persons identified as pansexual, 28,000 persons were asexual, 15,000 persons identified as queer and 10,000 persons claimed to be of a different sexual orientation. 

A total of 3.6 million people chose not to reveal their sexual orientation, while an additional 2.9 million people declined to answer questions concerning their gender identity.

The government said results of the census would help to address issues like inequality, discrimination, health care, housing and employment services for the LGBTQ community. 

One of the questions asked was “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” which has produced fresh data revealing that 262,000 persons currently live as transgendered people in England and Wales.

Nancy Kelley, Stonewall chief executive was delighted by the results and asserted that the the census “paint an accurate picture of the diverse “Rainbow Britain” that we now live in, where more and more of us are proud to be who we are.”