Sexual Orientation Demographics 2018

The NZ Health Survey is one of the few that asks people their sexual orientation. This means it is arguably the most authoritative source of demographic data on sexual orientation.

The 2018 results are:

• Men: 97.1% heterosexual, 1.4% homosexual, 1.2% bisexual
• Women: 95.3% heterosexual, 1.0% lesbian, 3.1% bisexual
• 15 – 24 year olds: 90.8% heterosexual, 1.3%, gay/lesbian, 7.3% bisexual

Of course how people identify can change over time. For example in 2016 only 1.8% of women said they were bisexual and three years later is is 3.1%.

Also big differences by age. 7.3% of under 25s say they are bisexual and only 0.3% of over 65s.