The Census 2021 was the first time that the sexual orientation question was asked, on a voluntary basis for those aged 16 and above. People were asked “Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?”. The options were:

• Straight or heterosexual
• Gay or lesbian
• Bisexual
• All other sexual orientation

The selection “other” included a free text box for respondents to write in sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation in Oxfordshire

88.4% of the county identify as straight or heterosexual (526,306), this percentage was lower than the nation average of (89.4%). 3.4% of the county did not identify as straight or heterosexual (21,428). The remaining 7.9% (47,299) of the county did not answer the question.

The Census 2021 tells us of our residents who did not describe themselves as straight or heterosexual:

• Bisexual - 10,009 (1.68%) 
• Gay or lesbian - 8,828 (1.48%)
• Pansexual -1,601 (0.27%)
• Asexual - 547 (0.09%)
• Queer - 287 (0.05%)
• All other sexual orientations - 156 (0.03%)