Sexual minorities: key points

  • The term ‘LGB’ refers to Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual people. Data collection on other sexual and gender minorities is currently insufficient to characterise the health of these groups largely due to their small size, for example, 0.4% of respondents to Scotland’s Census said they were trans or had trans history. .
  • In the Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022 (SSCQ)), 4.3% of respondents said they were lesbian, gay, bisexual or other compared to 2.7% in 2019. 
  • In 2021, 4.0% of respondents to Scotland’s Census said they were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other.
  • The UK-wide 2022 Annual Population Survey found that 3.9% of all respondents, and 4.0% of Scottish respondents, said they were gay, lesbian, bisexual or other compared to 3.1% and 3.0% respectively in 2020
  • The majority of health service research studies involving LGB people have concentrated on sexual health issues, although it is likely that other health issues are of equal or greater importance.
  • The Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2022   found that mental wellbeing is lower among LGB people in Scotland, compared to those who identify as heterosexual, and that LGB people smoke more.
  • The main obstacle to better routine health information about LGB people is that, until recently, they were not separately identified in routine health surveys or in most population-based research studies.

Section updates:

  • The last major update of this section was completed in October 2024.
  • The next major update is due to be carried out by end October 2025.