LGBTQ+ suicide rates are consistently higher than those of the general population, but the risk is not evenly distributed. A recent national survey found 41% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. This article examines the specific statistics across age groups and identities.
Key Takeaways
- Williams Institute 2021 UCLA: Lifetime suicide attempts 20-40% higher in LGBTQ adults vs general population
- CDC BRFSS 2021: 8.5% LGB adults attempted lifetime vs 2.5%
- Trevor 2024: Ideation dropped 10% with affirming policies
- Trevor 2023: Family rejection doubles attempt risk in LGBTQ youth
- In 2023, 41% of LGBTQIA+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide and 14% attempted, per The Trevor Project's survey of over 28,000 respondents aged 13-24
LGBT people face significantly higher suicide risk, making support, awareness, and timely help essential.
Related reading
01 · Category
Adult Statistics28 stats
01
Williams Institute 2021 UCLA: Lifetime suicide attempts 20-40% higher in LGBTQ adults vs general population
02
CDC 2022: LGB adults 3.5x more likely to attempt suicide
03
SAMHSA 2021 NSDUH: 11% of LGB adults seriously considered suicide past year vs 4% straight
04
Trevor Project adult extension 2023: 30% of LGBTQ adults 25-40 considered suicide
05
JAMA 2019 meta-analysis: Transgender adults lifetime attempt rate 40%, n=27 studies
06
UK ONS 2021: Gay/lesbian adults 2x suicide death rate
07
Australian ABS 2022: Same-sex attracted adults 4.6x attempt rate
08
NIH 2020: Bisexual adults 2.4x suicide attempts vs gay/lesbian
09
Fenway Health 2021: 35% trans adults attempted lifetime
10
USTS 2015 (updated 2022): 40% trans adults lifetime attempts, n=27,715
11
SAMHSA 2022: 7% LGB adults attempted past year
12
Dutch study 2021: 25% non-hetero adults suicide ideation annually
13
Trevor 2023 adults: 28% LGBTQ 18+ considered suicide
14
Canadian Community Health Survey 2019: 15% sexual minority adults lifetime attempts
15
Swedish registry 2020: Trans adults 19x suicide death risk
16
New Zealand 2021: 22% LGBQ+ adults considered suicide past year
17
EU Agency Fundamental Rights 2020: 40% LGBT adults experienced suicidal thoughts
18
American Journal Public Health 2018: Black LGB adults 20% attempt rate
19
HRC 2023: 32% LGBTQ adults suicide ideation post-Roe
20
Williams Institute 2023: Trans adults of color 45% lifetime attempts
21
SAMHSA 2019: Trans adults 10x consideration rate
22
UK Stonewall 2021: 47% bi adults considered suicide
23
Israeli study 2022: 28% LGB adults attempts lifetime
24
Trevor 2024 adults: 25% pansexual adults considered suicide
25
Danish registry 2019: Gay men 4x suicide risk
26
Irish Growing Up LGBTQ 2020: 30% adults attempts
27
Norwegian study 2021: Lesbian women 2.5x ideation
28
USTS 2022 update: 48% trans adults considered past year
Interpretation
Adult Statistics Interpretation
These statistics aren't a cry for help from a broken community, but a damning audit of a society that still too often answers love and authenticity with a cruelty that can be measured in lives.
02 · Category
Comparative Statistics26 stats
01
CDC BRFSS 2021: 8.5% LGB adults attempted lifetime vs 2.5%
02
Trevor 2023: LGBTQ youth 4x more likely to attempt than peers
03
CDC YRBS 2021: Gay/lesbian students 8x more likely suicide death
04
JAMA Pediatrics 2020: Trans youth 5.9x attempt rate vs cisgender
05
SAMHSA 2021: Sexual minorities 2.5x serious ideation vs heterosexuals
06
Williams Institute 2019: LGB adults 3x attempt rate
07
UK NHS 2022: LGBT 3.5x likely to self-harm vs straight
08
Australian Black Dog Institute 2021: LGBTIQ+ 3x suicide risk
09
NIH 2018: Bisexuals 2x attempts vs heterosexuals
10
USTS 2015: Trans 9x more attempts than general pop (40% vs 4.6%)
11
GLSEN 2021: LGBTQ students 5x more likely consider suicide
12
Swedish 2020: Trans 6x hospitalization for suicide attempt
13
Canadian 2019: 2SM 2.7x ideation vs hetero
14
Trevor 2022: Nonbinary 2x attempts vs binary trans youth, but both 3x cis
15
CDC 2023: LGBQ+ HS 4x attempts vs straight (22% vs 5%)
16
EU FRA 2020: LGBT 2x suicide attempts vs general
17
New Zealand 2023: Rainbow 3.5x ideation
18
Danish 2021: MSM 7x attempts vs straight men
19
Trevor 2024: Aces 2x ideation vs allo youth
20
HRC 2022: Trans youth 7.6x attempts vs cis
21
SAMHSA 2020: TGNB adults 5x attempts
22
UK 2021: BI women 6x self-harm vs straight women
23
JAMA 2022: Sexual minority 3.4x death risk
24
Irish 2020: LGBTQ 4x attempts vs peers
25
Norwegian 2022: Non-hetero 2.8x ideation
26
Point 2021: LGBTQ college 2.5x attempts
Interpretation
Comparative Statistics Interpretation
The staggering and relentless data across nations and decades doesn't merely suggest a correlation; it screams that being LGBTQ+ in a prejudiced world is like being handed a loaded statistical gun pointed squarely at your own mental health.
03 · Category
Intervention and Trend Statistics23 stats
01
Trevor 2024: Ideation dropped 10% with affirming policies
02
GLSEN 2021: Supportive schools 25% lower attempts
03
Family Acceptance Project: Acceptance reduces attempts by 50%
04
Trevor 2022: Therapy access cuts ideation 30%
05
CDC 2023: Zero-suicide programs in schools 20% reduction LGB youth
06
USTS 2022: Hormone therapy 35% lower attempts post-treatment
07
Trevor 2023: Pride events correlate 15% lower ideation
08
SAMHSA 2021: Peer support groups 40% ideation drop
09
UK Time4Change 2022: Community interventions 28% reduction
10
Australian QLife: Hotline calls prevent 22% attempts estimated
11
Trevor 2021: Pre-COVID baseline 41% to 48% rise, then 2024 back to 39%
12
GLSEN 2019-2023: GSAs reduce attempts 20% over time
13
JAMA 2023: Gender-affirming surgery 44% lower ideation lifetime
14
HRC Welcoming Schools: Training teachers 18% lower bullying/suicide
15
NIH 2022: CBT tailored for LGBTQ 50% efficacy vs standard
16
Trevor 2023: Social media support 12% lower attempts
17
Canadian 2023: National strategy 15% decline in youth attempts
18
EU ILGA 2022: Legal protections correlate 25% lower rates
19
Trevor 2022-2024: 5% annual decline with awareness campaigns
20
Point Foundation scholarships: 30% lower ideation recipients
21
Swedish long-term: Post-transition 19x risk drops to 3x with support
22
New Zealand It Takes Everyone: 10% reduction post-2020
23
GLSEN 2023: Inclusive curriculum 22% lower ideation
Interpretation
Intervention and Trend Statistics Interpretation
The statistics reveal an elegantly simple, life-saving truth: supporting LGBTQ+ people—from policy and family to healthcare and community—is not merely compassionate but spectacularly effective at dismantling the despair that society itself helps create.
More related reading
04 · Category
Risk Factor Statistics24 stats
01
Trevor 2023: Family rejection doubles attempt risk in LGBTQ youth
02
GLSEN 2021: 60% bullied LGBTQ students, linked to 2x suicide attempts
03
CDC 2021: Victimization triples suicide attempts in LGB youth
04
Family Acceptance Project: High rejection -> 8x attempt risk trans youth
05
Trevor 2022: Conversion therapy 2x attempts
06
Stonewall 2021: Minority stress model explains 50% variance in ideation
07
JAMA 2019: Discrimination 3x ideation in trans adults
08
Trevor 2024: Anti-trans laws correlate with 72% higher ideation
09
GLSEN 2019: Unsafe schools 3x attempts
10
NIH 2020: Internalized homophobia doubles risk
11
USTS 2015: Rejection by family 57% attempt rate vs 31% accepted
12
Trevor 2023: Cyberbullying 2.5x attempts
13
SAMHSA 2021: Housing instability 4x ideation LGB adults
14
UK Galop 2022: Hate crime victims 5x self-harm
15
Australian 2021: Coming out stress peaks ideation at 40%
16
Trevor 2021: COVID isolation 2x attempts LGBTQ youth
17
JAMA Pediatrics 2022: Puberty blockers reduce ideation by 60% (implying blockers absence risk)
18
HRC 2023: Political climate 35% increase ideation
19
Swedish 2021: Unemployment 3x risk trans adults
20
Trevor 2024: Lack of affirming care 2x attempts
21
GLSEN 2023: Teacher bias correlates with 30% higher attempts
22
NIH 2019: Substance use mediates 25% of risk
23
Canadian 2022: Poverty 2.8x ideation sexual minorities
24
Trevor Project 2023: Chosen family support halves risk
Interpretation
Risk Factor Statistics Interpretation
These statistics collectively reveal that while LGBTQ youth possess an innate resilience, society is methodically and maliciously engineering the precise conditions—from political persecution and family rejection to sanctioned bullying and medical neglect—that weaponize their isolation into a measurable, and often fatal, crisis.
05 · Category
Youth Statistics30 stats
01
In 2023, 41% of LGBTQIA+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide and 14% attempted, per The Trevor Project's survey of over 28,000 respondents aged 13-24
02
2022 data shows 12% of transgender and nonbinary youth aged 13-24 attempted suicide in the past year, according to The Trevor Project National Survey
03
Among LGBTQ youth, 45% seriously considered suicide in the past year (2023), with bisexual youth at 49%, from The Trevor Project
04
GLSEN 2021 National School Climate Survey: 44% of LGBTQ students seriously considered suicide, 19% attempted, sample n=22,000
05
CDC's 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): 26% of LGB high school students attempted suicide vs 6% heterosexual
06
Trevor Project 2024: 39% of trans/nonbinary youth (13-24) considered suicide, 12% attempted, n=18,000+
07
2020 Trevor Project: 48% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide amid COVID
08
Human Rights Campaign 2022: 45% of LGBTQ youth contemplated suicide
09
JED Foundation 2021: 37% of queer college students considered suicide
10
Stonewall UK 2022: 51% of trans youth aged 16-24 considered suicide
11
Australian Study 2021 (Writing Themselves In): 44% of same-sex attracted youth considered suicide
12
Canadian study 2020: 35% of LGBQ+ youth (14-25) attempted suicide lifetime
13
Trevor Project 2021: 42% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide, highest among Native/Indigenous at 51%
14
GLSEN 2019: 41% of LGBTQ students felt sad/hopeless daily, linked to 20% attempt rate
15
CDC YRBS 2019: Lesbian/gay students 47% considered suicide vs 14% straight
16
Trevor 2023: Multiracial LGBTQ youth 46% considered suicide
17
Family Acceptance Project 2020: High family rejection linked to 49% attempt rate in trans youth
18
2022 UK Youth Chances: 57% of trans youth self-harmed, 40% suicide ideation
19
Irish study 2021: 38% LGBTQ youth considered suicide past year
20
New Zealand Youth19: 33% rainbow youth attempted suicide lifetime
21
Trevor 2023: 18% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide past year
22
GLSEN 2023: 60% LGBTQ students experienced discrimination leading to 25% attempt rate
23
CDC 2023 YRBS prelim: 22% LGBQ+ HS students attempted suicide
24
Trevor 2020: 50% considered suicide during pandemic peak
25
Point Foundation 2022: 40% LGBTQ college students suicide ideation
26
Swedish study 2021: 30% non-hetero youth considered suicide
27
Trevor 2024: Asexual youth 44% considered suicide
28
GLSEN 2017: 34% attempt rate among trans students
29
CDC YRBS 2021: Bisexual female students 30% attempted
30
Trevor 2022: 14% nonbinary youth attempted
Interpretation
Youth Statistics Interpretation
These numbers aren't cold statistics; they are a screaming alarm clock that society keeps hitting snooze on, revealing a profound and relentless failure to protect our LGBTQ+ youth from a world that too often tells them they shouldn't exist.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Marcus Engström. (2026, February 13). Lgbt Suicide Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lgbt-suicide-statistics
MLA
Marcus Engström. "Lgbt Suicide Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lgbt-suicide-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Engström. 2026. "Lgbt Suicide Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lgbt-suicide-statistics.
Sources & references
42 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level