Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Get in touch with us nowLGBTQ Europe: share of respondents indicating they know an LGBTQ person in 2019
There is a clear divide in survey respondents who come from the older EU member states who joined before 2004 and those joining after in indicating whether they have friends who are part of the LGBTQ community. In countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden, over 80 percent of respondents indicate they have a friend or acquaintance who is gay, lesbian or bisexual, while the United Kingdom is the country with the greatest share of respondents saying they know a transgender person.
At the other end of the scale are Bulgaria and Romania, which both joined the EU in 2007, who have 10 and 8 percent of respondents indicating they know a homosexual person respectively. The share of respondents saying they know a transgender or intersex person in the newer EU member states was even lower, with Lithuania being the country with the smallest share knowing a trans person, at only two percent.
At the other end of the scale are Bulgaria and Romania, which both joined the EU in 2007, who have 10 and 8 percent of respondents indicating they know a homosexual person respectively. The share of respondents saying they know a transgender or intersex person in the newer EU member states was even lower, with Lithuania being the country with the smallest share knowing a trans person, at only two percent.
