In the largest study of its kind in the United States, American polling company Gallup found that 3.4 percent of adults in the US identify themselves as either lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).
With the current US population estimated at nearly 315 million by the Census Bureau, that figure would translate into some 10.7 million adults.
The results are based on responses from 121,290 interviews that Gallup conducted between June and September of this year.
When separated into age groups, that figure increased to nearly double (6.4 percent) among LGBT adults aged 18 to 29. Americans who were 65 years and older reported the lowest numbers (1.9 percent).
“It is possible that some of these age differences are due to a greater reluctance on the part of older Americans who may be LGBT to identify as such,” Gallup wrote in its study.
Among minority groups, African-Americans reported the highest number of LGBT adults (4.6 percent), Asians (4.3 percent), and Latinos (4 percent).
Although the difference is not large, women are slightly more likely than men to identify as LGBT (3.6 percent compared to 3.3 percent).
Gallup’s survey also showed that identification as LGBT is highest among Americans with the lowest levels of education and in the poorest income bracket of under $24,000 a year.
The study also revealed that LGBT Americans reported less satisfaction with their standard of living (65 percent) than non-gay Americans (73 percent).
Politically, 44 percent of LGBT Americans identify themselves as Democrats, while 43 percent say they are independent and 13 percent Republican.
