Fresh data has been released which reveals the amount of people in Bolton who identify with a different gender from that they were registered with at birth.

Data from the Census which was conducted in 2021 shows that 0.63 per cent of people in Bolton who chose to disclose their information do not identify with the sex they were born as.

That puts Bolton above the England and Wales average, and it was number 64 in a list of all 333 local authorities.

Bolton also has the fourth highest percentage of its population who identify as a different gender than they were registered with at birth in Greater Manchester. Manchester was top with 1.02 per cent, followed by Salford and Oldham – 0.75 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Jointly bottom of the list was Wigan and Stockport with 0.36 per cent.

Of those who filled it out, 94 per cent of people aged 16 and over responded with 45.4 million - 93.5 per cent - answering ‘Yes’ and 262,000 - 0.5 per cent - answering ‘No’ nationally.

Respondents aged 16 and over were able to request an individual access code allowing them to fill in the census separately to the rest of their household.

LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall described the publication of the figures as a “historic step forward”.

Its chief executive Nancy Kelley said: “For the past two centuries of data gathering through our national census, LGBTQ+ people have been invisible, with the stories of our communities, our diversity and our lives missing from the national record.

“Today is a historic step forward after decades of Stonewall campaigning to record sexual orientation and gender identity in the census, finally painting an accurate picture of the diverse ‘Rainbow Britain’ that we now live in, where more and more of us are proud to be who we are.”

ONS director Jen Woolford said the first census estimates were “crucial”, adding: “They will ensure decision-makers have the best information so they can better understand the extent and nature of disadvantage which people may be experiencing in terms of educational outcomes, health, employment, and housing.

“This is just the first snapshot. In future analysis we will be exploring sexual orientation and gender identity by key demographic variables, such as age and sex, as well as employment, health, education, and ethnicity, among others.”

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