Best country for gay rights
The 10 Best Countries for LGBT Rights
In recent decades, the recognition of LGBT rights has been of great affect in many parts of the nature. Different countries or territories have their laws relating to lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders, and transgender population. Some of these laws recognize the LGBT community while others prescribe rough punishments such as the death penalty.
Amnesty International is among the organizations which regard LGBT rights as human rights. Currently, about 22 nations acknowledge same-sex marriage, most of which falsehood in Western Europe and the Americas. This means that only about 10% of the world's population resides in a nation which recognizes same-sex marriage. Over 80 nations, on the other hand, have laws which facilitate the discrimination of LGBT individuals. In June 2015, Colombia represented 72 nations when it issued a joint statement to end discrimination and violence to LGBT people to the UN Human Rights Council. This is intended to pressure the world's nations to make strides in protecting LGBT citizens. In no particular order, here are ten countries who are paving the way.
10. Norway
In 1981, Norway adopted an anti-discrimination law which includ
LGBT Equality Index
Equality Index Methodology
Equaldex's Equality Index is a rating from 0 to 100 (with 100 existence the most equal) to help visualize the legal rights and public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ (lesbian, lgbtq+, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex...) people in each region. The Equality Index is an average of two indexes: the legal index and the universal opinion Index.
Equality Index
Average of Legal Index and Public Opinion Index
Legal Index
The LGBT legal index measures the current legal status of 13 different issues ranging from the legal status of homosexuality, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, LGBT discrimination protections, LGBT censorship laws, and more. Each topic is weighted differently (for example, if same-sex marriage is illegal in a region, it would acquire a much bigger impact on the score than not allowing LGBT people to serve in the military). Each topic is assigned a "total doable score" and a "score" is assigned based the status of the regulation using a rating scale that ranges from 0% to 100% (for example, if homosexuality is legal, it would would obtain a score of 100, but if it's illegal, it would receve a score of 0.)
Gay Marriage Around the World
A growing number of governments around the world are considering whether to grant legal recognition to queer marriages. So far, more than two dozen countries have enacted national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry, mostly in Europe and the Americas. In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to wed, while others accomplish not.
Countries That Allow Same-sex attracted Marriage
Countries Where Gay Marriage is Legal in Some Jurisdictions
Countries That Permit Gay Marriage
Australia (2017)
On Dec. 7, 2017, the Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. Alley came just three weeks after Australians voted in favor of legalizing homosexual marriage, by a 62% to 38% margin, in a non-binding, nationwide referendum. Along with New Zealand, Australia became the second country in the Asia-Pacific region to to construct same-sex marriage legal.
Malta (2017)
Malta’s parliament almost unanimously voted to legalize same-sex marriage in July 2017, despite opposition from the Catholic Church on the tiny Mediterranean island.
Germany (2017)
On June 30, 2017, Germany became the 15th European land to enac
Rainbow Map
2025 rainbow map
These are the main findings for the 2025 edition of the rainbow map
The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%.
The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls following anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our press release.
“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in reality designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”
- Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director, ILGA-Europe
Malta has sat on top of the ranking for the last 10 years.
With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.
The three The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the society. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of collective, national and regional advocates and disseminate tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality. There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the Merged Kingdom, the Combined States of America and Uruguay. These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions. Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025. Marriage Equality Around the World
Current State of Marriage Equality
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025