Ipsos Pride Survey 2024: Gen Zers most likely to identify as LGBT+

Key findings include:

•  Younger people most likely to identify as LGBT+. Seventeen per cent (on average across 26 countries*) of Generation Zers** currently identify as: lesbian, gay, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender-fluid, and/or other than male or female, compared to 11% of Millennials, 6% of Generation Xers and 5% of Baby Boomers. • Support for same-sex unions varies dramatically by country. In 2024, 86% are in favour of legal same-sex marriage/recognition in Sweden vs. 37% in Türkiye. 
• Gen Z women are more likely than male peers to support several LGBT+ rights/protections. For example, 65% of Gen Z women agree same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally vs. 45% of Gen Z men. 
•  Less than one in two support companies/brands actively promoting equality for LGBT+ people. Support has dipped five percentage points to 44%, since 2021***, while 19% now oppose this marketing move. 
•  Older people are significantly less enthusiastic about upping LGBT+ representation in pop culture. Currently, 43% of Gen Zers support seeing more LGBT+ characters on TV, in films and in advertising vs. 27% of Boomers. 
• Widespread concern about the discrimination faced by transgender people. A global country average of 66%* (and a majority in 25 out of 26 countries) say transgender people face a great deal/fair amount of discrimination in society today. And 72% say transgender people should be protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to businesses such as restaurants and stores. 
• But only one in four agree with transgender athletes competing based on the gender they identify with. Support for transgender athletes competing based on the gender they identify with rather the sex they were assigned at birth is down 5pp to 27% since our global Pride polling in 2021, on average across 23 countries.

Download the report  Download the key findings

Bright and cheerful events celebrating Pride Month are now commonplace in liberal towns and cities in many countries around the world. But a surge of multi-coloured flags for one month once a year doesn’t mean the fight for true equal rights for the community has been won. Our new Ipsos LGBT+ Pride 2024 report finds gender, generational and geographical gaps, and in some cases canyons, on a range of issues remain.

Loud and proud 

As our recent Ipsos Generations Report 2024 notes Gen Zers are likely the first truly global generation and thus, even in conservative countries, have likely grown up with everyone from influencers online to their parents IRL impacting their views on sexuality and gender. 

This significant societal shift looks to be reflected in our global polling, which finds Gen Zers (17% on average across 26 countries) are the most likely generation to identify as part of the LGBT+ community, followed by Millennials at 11%. Whether younger generations will continue to identify as LGBT+ as they age and more settle into long-term romantic relationships remains to be seen. 

The older generations are currently significantly less likely than Gen Zers to identify as part of the LGBT+ community — with just 6% of Gen X and 5% of Boomers saying they identify as: lesbian, gay, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender-fluid and/or other than male or female.

Division within Gen Z 

While the accepted wisdom is that all young people really want more diversity on their screens our global polling finds Gen Z men and women diverge on this topic (and many others). 

For example, 58% of Gen Z women support companies and brands actively promoting equality for LGBT people vs. only 37% of Gen Z men. There’s a similar divide when it comes to having more LGBT characters on TV, in films and in advertising, with 51% of Gen Z women in support of this vs. just 33% of Gen Z men. 

Gen Z women and men are also some way apart on other LGBT+ topics, such as whether there should be laws banning discrimination against LGBT people when it comes to employment, access to education, housing and social services, etc. (which 61% of Gen women support vs. 46% of Gen Z men). Of note, our recent Ipsos Equalities Index 2024 finds this gender divide within Gen Z appears with other social topics.

No race for change 

Transgender athletes are set to face stricter rules at the 2024 Summer Olympics this July and August in Paris. A framework for determining which gender category trans athletes can compete in was rolled out in 2021. 

And that new framework looks to be generally in line with global sentiment on this issue as our new polling finds one in four (27% on average across 23 countries) support trans athletes competing based on the gender they identify with rather than the sex they were assigned at birth, down a bit from 32% support in 2021. Meanwhile, support in the Olympic host country now sits at 32% among the French, barely budging from 34% in 2021. 

Here younger women also tend to be more open-minded on this issue, with 37% of Gen Z women supporting trans athletes competing based on the gender they identify with versus 19% of Boomer men.

Trans issues facing pushback 

We find a strong majority (71% across 23 countries**, -3pp since 2021) agree same-sex couples should be allowed to marry/legalize their relationship and 62% (-2pp) think same-sex couples should have the same right to adopt children as heterosexual couples do. In recent decades more countries have legalized, and thus normalized, same-sex marriage, though support currently goes from a high of 86% in Sweden to a low of 37% in Türkiye. Meanwhile, opposition for any sort of legal recognition for same-sex unions in 2024 ranges from 33% in Türkiye to just 6% in both Spain and Japan (where a ban on a same-sex marriage was once again recently ruled unconstitutional). 

Transgender issues tend to encounter stronger opposition. 

While half (51% on average across 26 countries) currently agree transgender people should be allowed to use single-sex facilities (e.g., public restrooms) that correspond to the gender they identify with, one in three (34%) oppose this. And half (50%) agree government-issued documents such as passports should include an option other than "male" and "female" for people who do not identify as either, while 36% oppose this.

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About this study 

These are the results of a 26-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform between Friday, February 23 and Friday, March 8, 2024. For this survey, Ipsos interviewed a total of 18,515 adults aged 18-74 in Canada, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Türkiye, and the United States, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Singapore, and 16-74 in all other countries. 

*The “26-country average” reflects the average result for all the countries and markets where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result. 

**Generation Z (born between 1996-2012), Millennials (born between 1980-1995), Generation X (born between 1966-1979) and Baby Boomers (born between 1945-1965). 

*** Change for 23-country average is based on the countries which were in both the 2024 and 2021 polls.