LGBT Equality Index

The most LGBT-Friendly Countries in the World.

The Equality Index measures the current status of LGBT rights, laws, and freedoms as well as public attitudes towards LGBT people.
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Equality Index ?
0 (Less Equal)
100 (More Equal)

Public Opinion vs. Legal Rights

North America
South America
Europe
Africa
Asia
Oceania

Equality Index by Continent

Average LGBTQ+ Equality Index scores of each continent.

ContinentEquality IndexLegal IndexPublic Opinion Index
South America 12 countries
63 / 100
76 / 100
49 / 100
Europe 50 countries
59
72
46
Oceania 14 countries
48
53
45
North America 23 countries
46
56
36
Asia 44 countries
32
35
30
Africa 54 countries
27
33
20

Equality Index by Region

Australia and New Zealand, the Nordic countries, and parts of Europe rank highest in terms of the Equality Index while the Middle East and most of Africa (with the exception of South Africa) rank lowest — both in terms of legal protections and public opinion.

RegionEquality IndexLegal IndexPublic Opinion Index
Nordic Countries 5 countries
84 / 100
91 / 100
78 / 100
North America 2 countries
79
94
64
Australia and New Zealand 2 countries
78
91
64
British Islands 2 countries
74
86
61
Western Europe 9 countries
73
82
64
South America 12 countries
63
76
49
Southern Europe 16 countries
57
73
42
Central America 8 countries
53
59
47
Baltic Countries 3 countries
52
69
35
Micronesia 5 countries
50
54
16
Southern Africa 5 countries
46
56
36
Eastern Asia 6 countries
46
52
41
Eastern Europe 10 countries
45
58
32
Melanesia 4 countries
42
45
34
Southeast Asia 11 countries
38
41
37
Caribbean 13 countries
37
49
25
Polynesia 3 countries
35
35
Not enough data
Central Africa 9 countries
34
41
23
Southern and Central Asia 14 countries
30
35
26
Western Africa 16 countries
26
34
15
Middle East 18 countries
26
31
21
Eastern Africa 17 countries
25
29
19
Northern Africa 7 countries
14
9
18
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Largest Disparities

Regions where legal progress and public views don't align. Comparing the legal rights and the public opinion highlights regions where the public's support has advanced past (or fallen behind) legal progress. These may be potential areas for advocacy and change. (Countries without public opinion data are excluded.)

Public Opinion Ahead of Legal Progress

CountryLegal IndexPublic Opinion IndexDifference
1. United Arab Emirates0 / 10029 / 100+29
2. Cape Verde5277+25
3. Saudi Arabia325+22
4. Belize4668+22
5. Algeria525+20
6. Uganda724+18
7. Syria1127+16
8. Mauritania016+16
9. Libya319+16
10. Sri Lanka2742+15

Legal Progress Ahead of Public Opinion

CountryLegal IndexPublic Opinion IndexDifference
1. Montenegro75 / 10016 / 100-59
2. Moldova648-55
3. Burkina Faso627-55
4. Antigua and Barbuda7017-53
5. Georgia6512-52
6. Kazakhstan6413-51
7. Albania6212-50
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina6717-50
9. Ecuador8739-48
10. Croatia8235-47
New for developers: The Equality Index is now available via Equaldex's API.

World Equality Index

Which countries are the most LGBT-friendly?

The Legal Index scores the legal rights and freedoms LGBTQ+ people have while the Public Opinion Index scores how the general public feels in each region.

CountryEquality IndexLegal IndexPublic Opinion Index
1. Iceland92 / 10098 / 10087 / 100
2. Denmark879679
3. Norway868884
4. Malta8510071
5. Canada8310067
6. Uruguay839373
7. Netherlands839570
8. Andorra828974
9. Spain809368
10. Brazil809961
11. Chile8010060
12. Germany809565
13. Luxembourg798572
14. Australia789265
15. Finland788868
16. Cuba788473
17. Sweden778570
18. New Zealand779164
19. Belgium779163
20. France779361
21. Colombia759853
22. Argentina758961
23. United States758862
24. Mexico759257
25. Austria748762
26. United Kingdom748762
27. Portugal748960
28. Ireland738561
29. Nepal728758
30. Costa Rica718657
31. South Africa698158
32. Switzerland687661
33. San Marino686571
34. Slovenia688650
35. Fiji6868
36. Marshall Islands6767
37. Liechtenstein666369
38. Czech Republic656962
39. India657654
40. Cape Verde655277
41. Italy646860
42. Barbados635967
43. Ecuador638739
44. Suriname6363
45. Israel627944
46. Thailand616261
47. Peru617547
48. Greece617942
49. Estonia608041
50. Taiwan607348
51. Bolivia608337
52. Croatia588235
53. Mauritius586749
54. Guinea-Bissau5757
55. Belize574668
56. Angola576251
57. Philippines575657
58. Cambodia567042
59. Cyprus567635
60. Singapore556051
61. Poland556545
62. Federated States of Micronesia5454
63. Japan545157
64. Hungary546543
65. Botswana537036
66. Mozambique536244
67. Seychelles5252
68. Monaco525351
69. Venezuela525647
70. Latvia516537
71. Honduras516437
72. Sao Tome and Principe505843
73. Nauru5050
74. Bhutan495940
75. Laos495147
76. Vietnam495542
77. Vanuatu486234
78. Equatorial Guinea4747
79. Romania475736
80. Ukraine466528
81. Montenegro467516
82. Slovakia455336
83. Lithuania456326
84. Mongolia446623
85. El Salvador444840
86. Lesotho445929
87. Kiribati4444
88. Nicaragua444939
89. Antigua and Barbuda437017
90. Bulgaria436124
91. Kosovo426421
92. Serbia426421
93. Panama424440
94. Bosnia and Herzegovina426717
95. Dominican Republic414834
96. China414635
97. South Korea414140
98. Bahrain403842
99. Guatemala404634
100. Namibia394335
101. Georgia386512
102. Kazakhstan386413
103. Turkey384333
104. Samoa3838
105. Djibouti3838
106. Trinidad and Tobago384827
107. Republic of the Congo385619
108. Benin375619
109. Albania376212
110. Tajikistan3737
111. Tuvalu3737
112. Paraguay364033
113. North Korea3636
114. Moldova36648
115. Saint Kitts and Nevis365715
116. Pakistan354031
117. North Macedonia355713
118. Palau355416
119. Sri Lanka352742
120. Madagascar354722
121. Mali345712
122. Haiti345811
123. Burkina Faso34627
124. Timor-Leste335314
125. Gabon325114
126. Vatican City3232
127. Papua New Guinea3232
128. Bahamas325211
129. Tonga3131
130. Central African Republic3131
131. Russia314220
132. Rwanda30538
133. Lebanon304020
134. Grenada304118
135. Belarus294316
136. Côte d’Ivoire294414
137. Iraq283422
138. Armenia27496
139. Niger274112
140. Azerbaijan27485
141. Kyrgyzstan264112
142. Eswatini262922
143. Jamaica263120
144. Jordan24435
145. Guyana242523
146. Liberia233512
147. Saint Lucia232917
148. Myanmar222124
149. Dominica222914
150. Bangladesh221627
151. Zimbabwe21348
152. Democratic Republic of the Congo213210
153. Solomon Islands2020
154. Sierra Leone20337
155. Syria191127
156. South Sudan1919
157. Burundi182710
158. Chad182412
159. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines18298
160. Togo182214
161. Kenya171817
162. Guinea172113
163. Comoros171816
164. Maldives16248
165. Malaysia161220
166. Ghana16248
167. Uganda16724
168. Algeria15525
169. Zambia15236
170. Tunisia151317
171. Malawi15254
172. Kuwait1515
173. United Arab Emirates15029
174. Saudi Arabia14325
175. Indonesia141413
176. Sudan13818
177. Senegal13224
178. Egypt13916
179. Uzbekistan12718
180. Turkmenistan1212
181. Tanzania12717
182. Morocco11616
183. Libya11319
184. Ethiopia10614
185. Yemen10317
186. Cameroon10811
187. Eritrea99
188. Gambia9154
189. Mauritania8016
190. Palestine796
191. Qatar769
192. Nigeria777
193. Oman66
194. Iran453
195. Brunei33
196. Somalia22
197. Afghanistan102

Equality Index Methodology

Equaldex's Equality Index is a rating from 0 to 100 (with 100 being the most equal) to help visualize the legal rights and public attitudes towards LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex...) people in each region. The Equality Index is an average of two indexes: the legal index and the public 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 have a much bigger impact on the score than not allowing LGBT people to serve in the military). Each topic is assigned a "total possible score" and a "score" is assigned based the status of the law using a rating scale that ranges from 0% to 100% (for example, if homosexuality is legal, it would would receive a score of 100, but if it's illegal, it would receve a score of 0.)

If the status of an issue is unknown, not applicable, or no data has not been added to Equaldex, the issue's score is completely discarded and not included in the ranking. In cases where a law varies throughout a region (for example, a country where same-sex marriage is legal in some states or provinces but not others), the score is averaged among all states or provinces, weighted equally.

Past laws that are no longer in effect do not impact the region's current score. New laws that have not gone into effect yet will not impact the region's score until the day it goes into effect.

Legal Index

(Total Possible Score for each issue × Factor of Status of Issue) / Sum of all Total Possible Scores

IssueTotal Possible ScoreStatusFactor
Homosexual activity100Legal×1.00
Male illegal, female uncertain×0.20
Male illegal, female legal×0.20
Illegal (other penalty)×0.15
Illegal (imprisonment as punishment)×0.10
Illegal (up to life in prison as punishment)×0.05
Illegal (death penalty as punishment)×0.00
Same-sex marriage60Legal×1.00
Civil unions×0.70
Other type of partnership×0.50
Foreign same-sex marriages recognized only×0.40
Unregistered cohabitation×0.30
Unrecognized×0.10
Unrecognized, same-sex marriage and civil unions banned×0.05
Not legal×0.00
Censorship of LGBT Issues40No censorship×1.00
State-enforced×0.30
Fine as punishment×0.20
Other punishment×0.10
Imprisonment as punishment×0.00
Right to change legal gender40Legal, surgery not required×1.00
Legal, but requires medical diagnosis×0.70
Legal, but requires surgery×0.40
Illegal×0.00
Legal recognition of non-binary gender30Recognized×1.00
Intersex only×0.70
Not legally recognized×0.00
LGBT discrimination20Illegal×1.00
Illegal in some contexts×0.50
No protections×0.00
LGBT employment discrimination20Sexual orientation and gender identity×1.00
Sexual orientation only×0.50
No protections×0.00
LGBT housing discrimination20Sexual orientation and gender identity×1.00
Sexual orientation only×0.50
No protections×0.00
Same-sex adoption20Legal×1.00
Married couples only×0.50
Single only×0.40
Step-child adoption only×0.20
Illegal×0.00
Serving openly in military20Legal×1.00
Lesbians, gays, bisexuals permitted, transgender people banned×0.70
Don't Ask, Don't Tell×0.50
Illegal×0.00
Blood donations by MSMs10Legal×1.00
Legal with restrictions×0.80
Banned (3-month deferral)×0.30
Banned (6-month deferral)×0.20
Banned (1-year deferral)×0.15
Banned (5-year deferral)×0.10
Banned (indefinite deferral)×0.00
Conversion therapy10Banned×1.00
Not banned×0.00
Equal age of consent10Equal×1.00
Unequal×0.00

Public Opinion Index

The LGBT public opinion index measures the public attitudes towards LGBT people using surveys and polls from reputable organizations. This index is scored based on averaging the results of all surveys in a given region. Generally, the value averaged is usually the most “equal” response in the poll. For example, if a poll asked “Do you support same-sex marriage?” and 56% of people said “yes”, the value “56” would be used. In some cases, a survey may be weighted less if the survey is very specific or includes a specific group of people (such as Christians) and might not be a full representation of the overall attitudes of the region.

To better represent current attitudes, surveys are scored using a time-decay weighting method based on the date published. This means that the most recent surveys carry more weight in the public opinion index. Surveys from the current year and the previous year receive full weight. However, for surveys older than two years, an exponential decay of 75% applies each year. This weight decay ensures that the public opinion index is always most influenced by the most recent data, reflecting evolving public attitudes, while still taking into account older surveys to maintain a comprehensive overview. This change went into effect on July 21, 2023.

Note that public opinion data is not available in every region. In these cases, the Equality Index will only be a representation of the legal rights of LGBT people in the region. Additionally, some regions have no recent public opinion data available, so older data is used to score the region.

Public Opinion Index

(Survey Results Value × Survey Weight × Time Decay Factor) / (Survey Weight × Time Decay Factor)

Year Survey Published Time Decay Factor
2023 (current year)0.7501
20220.7501
20210.7510.75
20200.7520.5625
20190.7530.421875
20180.7540.31640625
20170.7550.2373046875
20160.7560.177978515625
20150.7570.13348388671875
20140.7580.10011291503906
20130.7590.075084686279297
(etc.)

Notes

  • Equaldex's Equality Index is constantly being improved and tracking it over time may not represent changes in equality over time. As more data is contributed to Equaldex, the index becomes more accurate. For example, adding survey results to a region will likely change the region's Equality Index — even more so if there is limited data on the region. In this case, the change in score could represent a change in attitudes in the region, but it may also just be an increase in the index's accuracy.
  • Global opinion surveys rarely include transgender topics. Especially in more conservative regions, surveys are usually limited to homosexuality or same-sex marriage. Equaldex continues to seek more international transgender public opinion data to make the Equality Index more inclusive.
  • The model for the Equality Index is evolving, and adjustments to weights and other parameters are likely as we continue to improve its accuracy and relevance.
  • The Equality Index is updated automatically as data is added to Equaldex and as new laws go into effect. When a new law or survey is added to Equaldex, the index will recalculate within a few hours.