Gender identity: age and sex, England and Wales: Census 2021

• People aged 16 to 24 years were the most likely age group to have said that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth (in this article we refer to people in this category as being trans), with 1.00% identifying as such.

• A similar proportion of people who answered the sex question as female (0.52%) and male (0.56%) identified as trans.

• Across all age groups, there were a higher proportion of people who identified as trans in England than in Wales.

People aged 16 to 24 years were the most likely age group to have said that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth (in this article we refer to people in this category as being trans), with 1.00% (63,000) identifying as such. This compares with 0.54% (262,000) of the overall population who identified as trans. The proportion of people who identified as trans decreased with each successive age group.

Figure 1: 1 in 100 people aged 16 to 24 years identified as trans

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 years and over who identified as trans by age, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

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People aged 16 to 24 years had the highest proportions of people who identified as a trans woman (0.15% or 9,000), as a trans man (0.22% or 14,000), and as non-binary (0.26% or 17,000). The proportion who identified with these categories then decreased with each successive age group.

People aged 35 to 44 years (0.36% or 28,000) had the highest proportion who said that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth, but did not give a more specific identity, such as trans man or trans woman. A similar proportion of people aged 25 to 34 years (0.35% or 28,000) answered this way.

Reflecting the age profile we have described, people who identified as trans tended to be younger than those who said that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth. This difference is even more notable among those who identified as non-binary, of whom more than four in five were aged between 16 and 34 years (84.98% or 26,000).

People who identified as a trans man had a younger age profile than people who identified as a trans woman. Those aged 16 to 24 years made up 28.54% (14,000) of those who identified as a trans man, compared with 19.31% (9,000) of those who identified as a trans woman.

Figure 2: Relative proportions of trans versus overall population by age

Overall population by age and trans population by age, usual residents aged 16 years and over, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

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.xlsx

A similar proportion of people who answered the sex question as female (0.52% or 131,000) and male (0.56% or 131,000) identified as trans at the gender identity question.

Figure 3: How people responded to the gender identity question by how they responded to the sex question

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 years and over by gender identity and sex, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

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Overall, the proportion of people who identified as trans split almost equally between people who answered female to the sex question (49.95% or 131,000) or male to the sex question (50.05% or 131,000).

Of trans women, 66.16% answered female to the sex question (31,000), while 33.84% answered male (16,000) to the sex question. Of trans men, 67.50% answered male to the sex question (33,000), while 32.50% answered female (16,000) to the sex question. Of people who identified as non-binary, 67.54% (20,000) answered female to the sex question, while 32.46% answered male (10,000) to the sex question.

Figure 4: How people responded to the sex question by how they responded to the gender identity question

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 years and over by sex and gender identity, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

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.xlsx

Among people who answered female to the sex question, those aged 16 to 24 years were the most likely to have identified as trans (1.16% or 36,000). This is partly because the 0.39% (12,000) who identified as non-binary is larger than for older age groups. The proportion of people who answered female to the sex question who identified as trans decreased with each successive age group.

Among people who answered male to the sex question, those aged 16 to 24 years were also the most likely to have identified as trans (0.84% or 27,000). Meanwhile, 0.14% (4,000) of people who answered male in that age group identified as non-binary. As with those who answered female, the proportion of people who answered male who identified as trans decreased with each successive age group.

Figure 5: More than 1 in 100 people who answered female and were aged 16 to 24 years identified as trans

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 years and over who identified as trans by sex and age, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

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.xlsx

People who identified as a trans woman and were aged 16 to 24 years were more likely to have answered male (63.20% or 6,000) to the sex question than female (36.80% or 3,000). In the other age groups, people who identified as a trans woman were more likely to have answered female to the sex question than answered male to the sex question.

People who identified as a trans man and were aged 16 to 24 years were more likely to have answered female (63.35% or 9,000) to the sex question than male (36.65% or 5,000). In other age groups, people who identified as a trans man were more likely to have answered male to the sex question than answered female to the sex question.

People who answered female to the sex question and identified as trans tended to be younger than people who answered male to the sex question and identified as trans. More than half of people who answered female to the sex question and identified as trans (51.12% or 67,000) were aged 16 to 34 years. In contrast, 44.17% (58,000) of people who answered male to the sex question and identified as trans were aged between 16 and 34 years.

People who answered female to the sex question who identified as trans, and people who answered male to the sex question who identified as trans, both tended to be younger than the overall female and male populations.

Figure 6: More than half of those who answered female to the sex question and identified as trans were aged between 16 and 34 years

Trans population by age and sex and overall population by age and sex, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

Download the data

.xlsx

There was a higher proportion of people who identified as trans across all age groups in England than in Wales. This reflects that a higher proportion of people in England (0.55%) identified as trans than in Wales (0.40%). The largest percentage-point difference was among those aged 35 to 44 years in England and in Wales (0.65% compared with 0.37%).

Figure 7: There was a higher proportion of people who identified as trans in England than in Wales across all age groups

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 years and over who identified as trans by age and country, England and Wales, 2021

Notes:

1. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, population counts have been rounded to the nearest five and counts under 10 have been suppressed.
2. Percentages have been calculated using rounded data.

Download the data

.xlsx

While the proportion of people who answered female or male to the sex question who identified as trans in England differed slightly (0.53% compared with 0.57%), in Wales the proportion was the same (0.40% compared with 0.40%).

Newham was the local authority that had the highest proportion of people who answered either female (1.36%) or male (1.66%) to the sex question who identified as trans.

In around two-thirds of local authorities, there was a larger proportion of people who identified as trans among those who answered male to the sex question than among those who answered female to the sex question. Those with the largest difference were:

• Oxford (1.04% of people who answered female to the sex question; 1.47% of people who answered male to the sex question)

• Brent (1.14% of people who answered female to the sex question; 1.50% of people who answered male to the sex question)

• Newham (1.36% of people who answered female to the sex question; 1.66% of people who answered male to the sex question)

In around a third of local authorities, a higher proportion of people identified as trans among those who answered female to the sex question than among those who answered male to the sex question. Those with the largest difference were:

• Brighton and Hove (1.09% of people who answered female to the sex question; 0.90% of people who answered male to the sex question)

• Ceredigion (0.79% of people who answered female to the sex question; 0.60% of people who answered male to the sex question)

• Cheltenham (0.60% of people who answered female to the sex question; 0.45% people who answered male to the sex question)

In line with England and Wales as a whole, people aged 16 to 24 years were the most likely to have identified as trans in most local authorities. A minority of local authorities had 25 to 34 years or 35 to 44 years as the age groups most likely to have identified as trans. There was also:

• Lambeth, where people aged 55 to 64 years (1.13%) were the most likely to have identified as trans

• Southwark, where people aged 45 to 54 years (1.79%) were the most likely to have identified as trans

• Hammersmith and Fulham, where people aged 45 to 54 years (0.87%) were the most likely to have identified as trans

• Kensington and Chelsea, where people aged 45 to 54 years (0.78%) were the most likely to have identified as trans

Gender identity

Gender identity refers to a person's sense of their own gender, whether male, female or another category such as non-binary. This may or may not be the same as their sex registered at birth.

Non-binary

Someone who is non-binary does not identify with the binary categories of man and woman. In these results the category includes people who identified with the specific term "non-binary" or variants thereon. However, those who used other terms to describe an identity that was neither specifically man nor woman have been classed in "All other gender identities".

Sex

This is the sex recorded by the person completing the census. The options were "Female" and "Male".

Trans

An umbrella term used to refer to people whose gender identity is different from their sex registered at birth. This includes people who identify as a trans man, trans woman, non-binary or with another minority gender identity.

Trans man

A trans man is someone who was registered female at birth, but now identifies as a man. 

Trans woman

A trans woman is someone who was registered male at birth, but now identifies as a woman. 

Usual resident

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

Gender identity

The question on gender identity was new for Census 2021. It was voluntary and was only asked of people aged 16 years and over.

In total, 45.7 million people answered the gender identity question (94.0% of the population aged 16 years and over).

Reference date

The census provides estimates of the characteristics of all people and households in England and Wales on Census Day, 21 March 2021. It is carried out every 10 years and gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. 

Quality

The census provides the most detailed picture of the entire population, with the same core questions asked to everybody across England and Wales. Census results can be more reliable than survey results based on a sample of the population, because the whole population is included. The UK Statistics Authority has assigned National Statistics status to Census 2021 outputs, providing assurance that these statistics are of the highest quality and value to users.  

Census 2021 achieved a very high response rate of 97%. We ensure the census results reflect the whole population by using statistical methods to estimate the number and characteristics of people who were not recorded on a census response. This means that the census statistics are estimates rather than simple counts of responses, so they have some statistical uncertainty associated with them. We take numerous steps to minimise possible sources of error. 

Additionally, we apply statistical disclosure control to protect the confidentiality of census respondents. Differences in the methods used for statistical disclosure control may result in minor differences in data totals between census products. 

Quality considerations along with the strengths and limitations of Census 2021 more generally are provided in our Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) for Census 2021. Read more about the specific quality considerations for sexual orientation and gender identity in our Sexual orientation and gender identity quality information for Census 2021 methodology. Further information on our quality assurance processes is provided in our Maximising the quality of Census 2021 population estimates methodology.