YNOT EUROPE – Only 1 percent of British men and women admit they are gay or lesbian, according to the results of a first-of-its kind governmental survey.

One-half percent — or one in 200 — admits he or she is bisexual. An equal number describe themselves as “other,” though the survey did not attempt to define that term.

The real shocker? Three percent of British adults say they “don’t know” where they fit on the sexual continuum.

The Office for National Statistics surveyed 480,000 British adults and released its findings Thursday. The report, based on the largest study outside the census, poked holes in popular estimates that as many as one in 10 British adults are homosexual. A previous governmental report in 2005 estimated up to six percent of the population, or 3.6 million people, were gay or lesbian.

UK family groups immediately raised questions about the amount of public funds spent on homosexual causes.

“This survey suggests that previous estimates of 6-9 per cent are wide of the mark and that the number of people who say they are gay, lesbian or bisexual is far smaller than the government and gay rights activists would have us believe,” Family Education Trust spokesman Norman Wells told The Sun. “Now we have a clearer view of the real figures, we need to start asking some serious questions about the vast sums of taxpayers’ money being spent on such a small minority and the disproportionate amount of attention they receive both in Whitehall and in the media.”

Gay civil rights groups, however, said the survey distorts the true picture, possibly because not all respondents felt comfortable talking to government representatives about their sexual orientation.

“This is the first time that people were asked and data collection happened on their doorsteps or over the phone, which may deter people from giving accurate responses — particularly if someone isn’t ‘out’ at home,” Stonewall spokeswoman Ruth Hunt told The Sun. “We’d expect to see these statistics increase over time as people’s confidence in the survey grows and sexual orientation becomes a routine part of data collection.”