The Netherlands has 2.7 million LGBTQIA people

© Hollandse Hoogte / Erik van 't Woud
In the Netherlands, 18 percent of the population aged 15 or older are LGBTQIA – an abbreviation that stands for lesbian, gay, bi-plus, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual. That is around 2.7 million people. For the first time today, to mark Coming Out Day, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) publishes an estimate of how many LGBTQIA people live in the Netherlands, and whether and how they differ from the rest of the population with respect to various background characteristics.

The estimate of the number of LGBTQIA people in the Netherlands is based on data from the Safety Monitor 2023, a CBS study that 182 thousand people took part in. The study focuses primarily on topics such as safety and criminality, but also on how people feel about gender (gender identity), who people are attracted to (sexual orientation) and whether they are intersex. These results are presented in detail in the article 'How many LGBTQIA people are there in the Netherlands?', which also includes a detailed discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the method used.

2.5 million people with a non-heterosexual orientation

An estimated 2.7 million LGBTQIA individuals live in the Netherlands, most of whom have a non-heterosexual orientation. A person’s sexual orientation indicates whom that person is sexually attracted to. The Netherlands has 272 thousand homosexual men and 106 thousand homosexual women, for instance. Then there are those with a bi-plus orientation (people attracted to more than one gender), which is the largest group at 1.7 million people. A smaller number of people are asexual or have some other orientation, and a small proportion do not know (yet).

In addition to sexual orientation, the survey also looked at how people feel about their gender (gender identity). An estimated 1 percent of the population of the Netherlands aged 15 years or older is transgender - 151 thousand people. Around 45 thousand identify as non-binary/gender queer (NBGQ). This means that they do not identify exclusively or unambiguously as male or female. Finally, there are an estimated 45 thousand intersex people (who were born with both male and female sexual characteristics).

LGBTQLGBTQIA people, 2023 LGBTQIA Non-heterosexual orientation Homosexual men 17.7% 1.8% Homosexual women Bi-plus men Bi-plus women 0.7% 5.1% 6.0% Asexual men Asexual women Other 0.7% 1.2% 0.3% Transgender/NBGQ Intersex Trans men Trans women 0.4% 0.3% NBGQ Intersex 0.3% 0.3% Don’t know (yet) 0.9% There is a small overlap between people with a non-heterosexual orientation, transgender/NBGQ people and intersex people. For example, a person may be a homosexual transgender man. * % of the population aged 15 years and aboveLGBTQIA people, 2023LGBTQIANon-heterosexual orientationHomosexual men 17.7%1.8%Homosexual women Bi-plus men Bi-plus women0.7%5.1%6.0%Asexual men Asexual women Other0.7%1.2%0.3%Transgender/NBGQIntersexTrans men Trans women 0.4%0.3%NBGQIntersex0.3%0.3%Don’t know (yet) 0.9%There is a small overlap between people with a non-heterosexual orientation, transgender/NBGQ people and intersex people. For example, a person may be a homosexual transgender man.*% of the population aged 15 years and above

LGBTQIA people tend to be younger than average and to live in urban areas

LGBTQIA people differ from the rest of the Dutch population on certain background characteristics. For instance, they are generally younger: 19 percent of LGBTQIA people are between 15 and 25 years old, compared to 14 percent in the rest of the population. LGBTQIA people also include a comparatively small number of people aged between 45 and 64 years (26 versus 33 percent).

Age distribution among LGBTQIA people and the rest of the population, 2023
 15-24 yrs (% of population aged 15 years and older)25-44 yrs (% of population aged 15 years and older)45-64 yrs (% of population aged 15 years and older)65 yrs and above (% of population aged 15 years and older)
LGBTQIA19.430.926.323.4
Non-LGBTQIA14.331.732.521.4

LGBTQIA people are also more likely to live in highly urbanised municipalities. A total of 31 percent of LGBTQIA people live in highly urbanised municipalities, compared to 25 percent among non-LGBTQIA people. Around 24 percent of LGBTQIA people live in non-urbanised or moderately urbanised municipalities, compared to 29 percent among the rest of the population.

Degree of urbanisation of municipality of residence among LGBTQIA people and rest of population, 2023
 Non-urbanised (% of population aged 15 years and older)Lightly urbanised (% of population aged 15 years and older)Moderately urbanised (% of population aged 15 years and older)Very urbanised (% of population aged 15 years and older)Highly urbanised (% of population aged 15 years and older)
LGBTQIA6.218.214.829.431.4
Non-LGBTQIA7.121.916.729.724.6

More likely to have been born outside the Netherlands

There are also differences between LGBTQIA and non-LGBTQIA people in terms of their origins. For example, 17 percent of LGBTQIA people were born outside the Netherlands, compared to 14 percent among the rest of the population. This percentage is particularly high among those who identify as non-binary/gender queer. Among this group, 21 percent were born abroad. In addition, LGBTQIA people are more likely to have less financial wealth, meaning that on average they have lower household incomes and less capital than non-LGBTQIA people.