Some 18% of the population of the Netherlands consider themselves part of the LGBTQIA community, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday, which is officially known as Coming Out Day.

In total, 2.7 million people identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual, the CBS said. The figure is an estimate drawn from the CBS’s 2023 public safety monitor, which involved 182,000 respondents.

The total figure includes 272,000 homosexual men and 106,000 women and 1.7 million people who are attracted to more than one gender. The research also estimates 1% of the population are transgender, or about 151,000 people.

LGBTQIA community members are more likely to be young and live in cities, the survey found. Three in 10 live in a city, compared with 25% of the non-LGBTQIA community. Among the non-LGBTQIA, 14% fall into the 15 to 25 age group, compared with 19% of the queer community.

They are also more likely to have been born abroad. Some 17% have non-Dutch roots, compared with 14% of the rest of the population.  

The CBS says that it considers the estimates to be trustworthy, based on conversations with interest groups and on previous documentation. However, the agency said it will adopt recommendations for improvements when carrying out further research.