More young, Hispanic Americans identify as LGBTQ+ than ever before, survey reveals

New data has confirmed that young Hispanic Americans are driving an increase in the LGBTQ+ population.

The percentage of Americans who identify as LGBT+ is now 7.1 per cent, more than double the 3.5 per cent that did in 2012, according to a survey from Gallup released in February.

The polling company released new analysis on 8 June, showing that this growth is being driven by young Hispanic adults.

In 2020 only eight per cent of Hispanic adults identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community, but in 2021 this has jumped to 11 per cent.

In comparison, six per cent of white and Black adults identified as LGBTQ+ in 2021.

Gallup said that this is because of the younger overall age of the US Hispanic population – Gen Z adults and millennial are more likely to identify as queer..

One in five Gen Z adults (those born after 1997, according to Pew Research Center) consider themselves LGBTQ+, Gallup said. Among millennials (born 1981 and 1996, according to Pew), that number was one in 10.

Gallup said: “Increased LGBT identification in the US is being led by younger generations, and young adults of all racial and ethnic backgrounds are much more likely than older Americans to think of themselves as being something other than heterosexual.

“Because the Hispanic American population tends to be much younger than their White and Black American counterparts, LGBT identification is more common among the Hispanic subgroup overall.

“This data shed light not only on Americans’ changing views of their sexual orientations or gender identities, but also how those relate to, and are driven by, changes in the composition of the US adult population more generally.”

Gallup found that 15.5 per cent of white and Hispanic Americans between 18 and 34 years old said they were LGBTQ+. Among Black people, the number fell to 12.1 per cent.

The survey could not give a reliable estimate on LGBTQ+ identities in the Asian-American community, and did not have a sufficiently large sample size to report on Native American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander communities.

Gallup previously said: “The proportion of US adults who consider themselves to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender has grown at a faster pace over the past year than in prior years,” Gallup said.

“This is occurring as more of Gen Z is reaching adulthood. These young adults are coming of age, including coming to terms with their sexuality or gender identity, at a time when Americans increasingly accept gays, lesbians and transgender people, and LGBT+ individuals enjoy increasing legal protection against discrimination.”

Gallup added: “With one in 10 millennials and one in five Gen Z members identifying as LGBT+, the proportion of LGBT+ Americans should exceed 10 per cent in the near future.”