For the first time, we have a decent idea of the size of New Zealand’s Rainbow community. One in 20 adults in New Zealand identify as LGBT+, which is 4.2 percent of our adult population, according to Stats NZ’s annual Household Economic Survey. The research found that 0.8 percent of New Zealanders identify as transgender or non-binary and 3.7 percent reported a sexual identity other than heterosexual. However, those numbers are believed to be lower than the reality. “There are similar kinds of research projects in the US that show 1 in 3 of Gen Z identify as LGBT so yeah whilst it’s definitely a huge step forward, I can definitely imagine it would be bigger,” says Pooja Subramanian, executive director of RainbowYOUTH. “We were a little surprised at the 1 in 20 number, I think we had thought it was closer to 1 in 10, around that 10 percent mark,” adds Max Tweedie, executive director of Auckland Pride. The Stats NZ survey included more than 31,000 people aged 18 and over. It’s the first time it collected inclusive and detailed data about sexual identity and gender.