What is the prevalence of demisexuality and how does it fit within the broader spectrum of human sexual orientation?

What is demisexuality?

Demisexuality is a sexual orientation where a person feels sexual attraction only after forming a close, strong emotional bond with someone. Unlike many other orientations, attraction is not based on appearance, smell, or first impressions—it needs that deep personal connection to develop [2][3][5].

How common is demisexuality?

Prevalence estimates for demisexuality depend on which group you look at, and the research is still catching up.

• General population: Some sources place demisexuals at around 1% of the global population [1]. Another estimate suggests it could be even lower, likely less than 0.1% [7].
• Within the asexual community: Surveys show higher numbers. A 2016 Asexual Community Survey found that 8.6% of nearly 10,000 respondents identified as demisexual [6]; a 2019 survey reported 9% [21].

These numbers come with a big caveat: Most large‑scale research only asks whether someone identifies as “asexual” and does not separate out sub‑identities like gray‑asexual or demisexual. So we really don’t know the precise prevalence of demisexuality in the overall population—the common ~1% figure generally refers to asexuality as a whole [7][24].

Where demisexuality sits on the sexual orientation spectrum

Demisexuality is considered part of the asexual spectrum (the “ace umbrella”) [4][13][20]. Within that spectrum, it falls under the gray‑asexuality (or gray‑sexual) category. Gray‑asexuality covers people who experience sexual attraction only rarely, weakly, or under very specific conditions [10][14][15][18]. For demisexuals, that condition is a strong emotional bond [14][19].

This puts demisexuality in the gray area between full asexuality (experiencing no sexual attraction) and non‑asexual (allosexual) orientations. A demisexual person typically does not have the immediate, “primary” attraction based on looks that many non‑asexual people feel, but they can experience sexual attraction once the right emotional closeness is there [3][12][16]. Some demisexuals also identify as asexual, while others may not [8]. Today, demisexuality is recognized alongside orientations like heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and pansexual as part of the broader human sexuality landscape [17].

Academic work on pair‑bonding and affection suggests that romantic connections can spark sexual desires specific to a relationship, which aligns well with the lived experience of demisexual people [19].