There are more than a quarter of a million women veterans in the UK.* This is around 13% of the total veteran population. A veteran is defined as a person who has served at least one day in the UK Armed Forces.
Approximately 63% of women veterans have served in the Regular forces and a further third in the Reserves. The remaining 4% served in both the Regular and the Reserve forces.
The majority of UK women veterans are of working age, although as a group their service spans the period from World War II to the present day.
Compared to men, a higher proportion of UK women veterans identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
(*272,014 veterans SOURCES: NRS/Scotland’s Census 2022; ONS/Census 2021)
