Conclusion

The inclusion of a question on trans status and history in Scotland’s Census 2022 has enabled an in-depth analysis of demographic characteristics and outcomes in health, education, and economic activity for Scotland’s non-binary population.

Key findings highlighted that the non-binary population is distinct from the rest of the population in Scotland aged 16 and above and, throughout the report, results showed some difference within the non-binary group when comparing younger and older age groups. Due to the nature of descriptive statistics, the analysis in this report can only describe the characteristics and outcomes for non-binary people, and is not able to provide causal explanations. Future research has the potential to investigate why certain differences showed up when comparing the non-binary population to the rest of Scotland aged 16 and above.

The Non-binary people’s experiences in Scotland: Evidence Review published in November 2024 identified several evidence gaps, including a lack of intersectional breakdowns and information on socio-economic status. This report provides new analysis on non-binary people’s intersectional characteristics, as well as some insight into socio-economic inequality through the analysis of economic activity and unpaid carer status. This report only describes intersectional characteristics, but does not link how these interact with political, social and economic contexts to produce differences in outcomes. Although the report draws some conclusions from the census data, there may still be other intersectional or socio-economic considerations to take into account when creating action to improve the lives of non-binary people.

In addition, not all census data for non-binary populations, particularly disaggregated data across age groups, were available due to small sample sizes and therefore there may still be limited understanding in some areas.

Future research involving census data and other datasets, such as administrative datasets, has the potential to fill further evidence gaps that were highlighted in the Evidence Review.

The other gaps identified by the Evidence Review which were not possible to explore for this report are:

• How experiences are impacted by intersectional characteristics, poverty and socio-economic inequality
• Qualitative evidence exploring experiences in particular areas of society, services where a gender binary is assumed (for example, reproductive health, gender-based violence, housing provision and homelessness, and education), and issues related to Human Rights legislation.

Further updates and progress of the Non-Binary Action Plan can be found online: LGBTQI+ Policy.