The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released experimental estimates of LGBTI+ populations. These estimates are the first of their kind in Australia.

In a new approach, the ABS combined data from nearly 45,000 people who responded to one of four recent ABS health surveys to shed light on LGBTI+ people in Australia.

Linda Fardell, ABS head of health statistics, said: ‘The new data shows that about 4.5 per cent of all Australians 16 years and older are LGBTI+; that’s over 900,000 people.’

‘Younger Australians are more likely to be LGBTI+. Nearly 10 per cent of Australians aged 16 to 24 years are LGBTI+.’

About 740,000 Australians are lesbian, gay, bisexual or use a different term to describe their sexual orientation. That’s 3.6 per cent of Australians. One in three LGB+ Australians are married or in a de facto relationship.

Nearly 1 per cent of Australians are trans and gender diverse. This includes trans men, trans women and non-binary people. That’s around 178,900 Australians.

‘About 0.3 per cent of Australians report they know they were born with variations of sex characteristics – that’s around 63,300 people,’ Ms Fardell said.

The Australian figures are very similar to New Zealand’s 2023 Census data. As in Australia, 3.6% of New Zealanders are lesbian, gay, bisexual or use a different term to describe their sexual orientation. Around 0.9 per cent of Australians and 0.6 per cent of New Zealanders are trans and gender diverse.

The 2026 Australian Census will include questions on gender and sexual orientation for people aged 16 years and over. This will provide more detailed data by geography and population characteristics for LGB+ and trans and gender diverse populations in Australia.

The ABS would like to thank participants in ABS surveys for contributing to these important findings. More information can be found from Estimates and characteristics of LGBTI+ populations in Australia on the ABS website.

Acronyms used:

• LGBTI+ represents people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or use a different term to describe their sexual orientation, trans and gender diverse, and people born with variations of sex characteristics.
• LGB+ represents people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or use a different term to describe their sexual orientation.