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.

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.

Continent	Equality Index	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index
South America 12 countries	62	74	50
Europe 50 countries	58	71	46
North America 23 countries	42	50	34
Oceania 14 countries	41	44	44
Asia 44 countries	31	32	32
Africa 54 countries	23	25	22

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.

Region	Equality Index	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index
Nordic Countries 5 countries	82	89	76
Australia and New Zealand 2 countries	77	89	64
North America 2 countries	73	88	59
Western Europe 9 countries	71	82	61
British Isles 2 countries	71	83	58
South America 12 countries	62	74	50
Southern Europe 16 countries	60	74	48
Baltic Countries 3 countries	53	70	36
Central America 8 countries	49	58	41
Eastern Asia 6 countries	49	55	45
Southern Africa 5 countries	49	56	41
Micronesia 5 countries	44	47	16
Eastern Europe 11 countries	43	55	30
Southeast Asia 11 countries	40	38	47
Melanesia 4 countries	37	38	34
Caribbean 13 countries	33	40	26
Southern and Central Asia 14 countries	29	31	27
Central Africa 9 countries	29	34	21
Eastern Africa 17 countries	22	22	24
Middle East 17 countries	22	24	21
Western Africa 16 countries	19	22	16
Polynesia 3 countries	19	19	Not enough data
Northern Africa 7 countries	12	8	17

Show 18 More

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

Country	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index	Difference
1. Cape Verde	49	80	+31
2. Guyana	24	53	+30
3. Barbados	42	71	+28
4. China	42	66	+23
5. Myanmar	14	38	+23
6. United Arab Emirates	0	23	+22
7. Iraq	3	22	+19
8. Malaysia	8	27	+19
9. Saudi Arabia	3	22	+19
10. Bangladesh	15	33	+18

Legal Progress Ahead of Public Opinion

Country	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index	Difference
1. Moldova	64	8	-55
2. Greece	90	40	-49
3. Bolivia	85	38	-47
4. Ecuador	88	42	-46
5. Mongolia	63	17	-46
6. Croatia	79	33	-45
7. Cyprus	81	36	-45
8. Colombia	95	52	-44
9. Lithuania	68	28	-40
10. Brazil	97	58	-39

World Equality Index

Download / API

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.

Country	Equality Index	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index
1. Iceland	94	98	90
2. Norway	87	87	87
3. Uruguay	84	93	74
4. Spain	84	100	67
5. Denmark	81	93	69
6. Germany	81	100	62
7. Chile	81	100	61
8. Malta	80	100	61
9. Andorra	80	86	74
10. Canada	79	95	62
11. Netherlands	78	90	66
12. Nepal	77	87	68
13. Brazil	77	97	58
14. Australia	77	91	62
15. Portugal	77	93	60
16. New Zealand	76	87	65
17. Finland	75	85	66
18. Cuba	75	81	70
19. Austria	75	91	60
20. Argentina	75	88	62
21. Belgium	74	87	62
22. France	74	89	59
23. Colombia	74	95	52
24. Sweden	73	80	66
25. Ireland	72	85	60
26. Mexico	71	85	57
27. South Africa	71	84	59
28. Switzerland	70	76	64
29. United Kingdom	69	82	56
30. Costa Rica	69	83	54
31. Liechtenstein	68	69	68
32. Thailand	68	68	68
33. United States	68	80	56
34. Italy	68	75	60
35. San Marino	67	64	71*
36. Czechia	67	75	58
37. Luxembourg	67	81	52
38. Slovenia	66	84	48
39. Cape Verde	65	49	80
40. Ecuador	65	88	42
41. Greece	65	90	40
42. Israel	64	76	51
43. Estonia	62	80	44
44. Taiwan	62	73	51
45. Bolivia	62	85	38
46. Fiji	60	60	—
47. Cyprus	59	81	36
48. Seychelles	59	51	66*
49. India	57	61	53
50. Marshall Islands	57	57	—
51. Philippines	57	55	59
52. Barbados	57	42	71
53. Croatia	56	79	33
54. Japan	55	58	52
55. Botswana	55	59	51
56. Timor-Leste	54	49	60
57. China	54	42	66
58. Montenegro	54	72	35
59. Vietnam	54	55	53
60. Bhutan	53	57	50*
61. Mauritius	53	55	52
62. Federated States of Micronesia	53	53	—
63. Peru	53	61	46
64. Venezuela	53	50	56
65. Monaco	53	55	51*
66. Poland	53	61	44
67. Hungary	51	60	41
68. South Korea	50	60	41
69. Slovakia	50	66	33
70. Belize	49	55	44
71. Bosnia and Herzegovina	49	60	38
72. Latvia	49	62	35
73. Laos	49	47	50
74. Nauru	48	48	—
75. Cambodia	48	45	51
76. Lithuania	48	68	28
77. Serbia	48	62	33
78. Mozambique	48	49	47
79. North Macedonia	47	61	33
80. Sao Tome and Principe	47	49	44
81. Kosovo	46	63	30
82. Singapore	46	42	51
83. Ukraine	46	57	35
84. Lesotho	45	58	32
85. Albania	45	62	28
86. Angola	45	50	40
87. Romania	44	55	33
88. Namibia	44	54	33
89. Honduras	43	53	33
90. Nicaragua	43	45	40
91. Suriname	42	61	23
92. Panama	41	48	34
93. Mongolia	40	63	17
94. Guatemala	40	49	31
95. Bulgaria	39	52	27
96. El Salvador	39	43	35
97. Vanuatu	38	43	34*
98. Guyana	38	24	53
99. Equatorial Guinea	38	38	—
100. Dominican Republic	38	43	33
101. Djibouti	37	37	—
102. Guinea-Bissau	37	50	24*
103. Bahrain	37	31	42*
104. Antigua and Barbuda	36	56	17*
105. Paraguay	36	41	31
106. Rwanda	36	40	32
107. Moldova	36	64	8
108. Turkey	35	35	35
109. Tajikistan	35	35	—
110. Vatican City	35	35	—
111. North Korea	34	34	—
112. Bahamas	32	48	16
113. Palau	31	47	16*
114. Saint Kitts and Nevis	31	48	15*
115. Pakistan	31	31	31
116. Madagascar	31	40	22
117. Republic of the Congo	30	44	17
118. Central African Republic	30	30	—
119. Haiti	29	48	11
120. Georgia	29	46	13
121. Sri Lanka	29	24	34
122. Benin	29	42	16
123. Dominica	29	44	14*
124. Kiribati	28	28	—
125. Eswatini	28	28	27
126. Trinidad and Tobago	27	27	27
127. Russia	27	32	23
128. Belarus	27	38	16
129. Niger	27	42	12
130. Tuvalu	27	27	—
131. Gabon	26	40	13
132. Myanmar	26	14	38
133. Papua New Guinea	26	26	—
134. Kazakhstan	25	39	11
135. Armenia	24	43	5
136. Bangladesh	24	15	33
137. Democratic Republic of the Congo	23	38	8*
138. Côte d’Ivoire	23	32	14
139. Solomon Islands	23	23	—
140. Kyrgyzstan	22	34	10
141. Jamaica	22	26	18
142. Samoa	21	21	—
143. Indonesia	21	30	11
144. Uzbekistan	21	23	18*
145. Jordan	20	34	6
146. Burkina Faso	20	29	10
147. Turkmenistan	20	20	—
148. Kenya	20	21	19
149. Grenada	20	22	17
150. Syria	19	10	27*
151. Saint Lucia	19	21	17*
152. Palestine	19	29	8
153. Ghana	19	20	18
154. Liberia	18	27	9
155. Malaysia	18	8	27
156. Azerbaijan	17	30	5
157. Lebanon	16	18	15
158. Guinea	16	17	14
159. Comoros	16	12	19*
160. Sierra Leone	14	22	6
161. Chad	14	15	14
162. Sudan	14	10	19
163. Libya	13	7	19
164. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	13	18	8*
165. Zimbabwe	13	16	10
166. Tunisia	13	11	15
167. Iraq	13	3	22
168. Saudi Arabia	12	3	22
169. Tanzania	12	10	14
170. Algeria	12	4	19
171. United Arab Emirates	11	0	23
172. Morocco	11	8	15
173. Burundi	10	10	10*
174. Egypt	10	5	15
175. Yemen	10	3	17*
176. Ethiopia	10	7	13
177. Mauritania	10	3	16
178. Uganda	9	1	18
179. Tonga	9	9	—
180. South Sudan	9	9	—
181. Togo	9	6	12
182. Nigeria	8	7	9
183. Zambia	8	7	8
184. Cameroon	7	3	11
185. Malawi	7	9	5
186. Mali	7	4	9
187. Qatar	7	4	9*
188. Kuwait	6	6	6*
189. Iran	6	8	3
190. Maldives	5	3	8*
191. Eritrea	5	5	—
192. Senegal	5	6	3
193. Oman	3	3	—
194. Brunei	3	3	—
195. Gambia	3	2	4
196. Afghanistan	1	1	2*
197. Somalia	1	1	—

* Region's public opinion data is based on less than three surveys

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

Show Scoring

Issue	Total Possible Score	Status	Factor
Homosexual activity	100	Legal	×1.00
		Male illegal, female legal	×0.20
		Male illegal, female uncertain	×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 marriage	60	Legal	×1.00
		Civil unions (marriage rights)	×0.80
		Civil unions (limited rights)	×0.70
		Other type of partnership	×0.50
		Foreign same-sex marriages recognized only	×0.40
		Unregistered cohabitation	×0.30
		Unrecognized	×0.10
		Banned	×0.00
Censorship of LGBT issues	40	No censorship	×1.00
		State-enforced	×0.30
		Fine as punishment	×0.20
		Other punishment	×0.10
		Imprisonment as punishment	×0.05
		Death penalty as punishment	×0.00
Right to change legal gender	40	Legal, no restrictions	×1.00
		Legal, but requires medical diagnosis	×0.70
		Legal, but requires surgery	×0.40
		Illegal	×0.00
Gender-affirming care	20	Legal	×1.00
		Legal, but restricted for minors	×0.70
		Legal, but banned for minors	×0.50
		Restricted	×0.30
		Banned	×0.00
Legal recognition of non-binary gender	30	Recognized	×1.00
		Intersex only	×0.70
		Not legally recognized	×0.00
LGBT discrimination	20	Illegal	×1.00
		Illegal in some contexts	×0.50
		No protections	×0.00
LGBT employment discrimination	20	Sexual orientation and gender identity	×1.00
		Gender identity only	×0.50
		Sexual orientation only	×0.50
		No protections	×0.00
LGBT housing discrimination	20	Sexual orientation and gender identity	×1.00
		Gender identity only	×0.50
		Sexual orientation only	×0.50
		No protections	×0.00
Same-sex adoption	20	Legal	×1.00
		Married couples only	×0.50
		Second parent adoption only	×0.40
		Single only	×0.20
		Illegal	×0.00
Intersex infant surgery	20	Full ban	×1.00
		Parental approval required	×0.30
		Not banned	×0.00
Serving openly in military	20	Legal	×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 MSMs	10	Legal	×1.00
		Legal with restrictions	×0.80
		Banned (less than 6-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 therapy	10	Banned	×1.00
		Sexual orientation only	×0.50
		Not banned	×0.00
Equal age of consent	10	Equal	×1.00
		Female equal, male N/A	×0.75
		Female equal, male unequal	×0.50
		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)

Show Survey Time Decay

Year Survey Published	Time Decay Factor
2025 (current year)	0.75⁰	1
2024	0.75⁰	1
2023	0.75¹	0.75
2022	0.75²	0.5625
2021	0.75³	0.421875
2020	0.75⁴	0.31640625
2019	0.75⁵	0.2373046875
2018	0.75⁶	0.177978515625
2017	0.75⁷	0.13348388671875
2016	0.75⁸	0.10011291503906
2015	0.75⁹	0.075084686279297
(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.
Regions are ranked based on their raw, unrounded Equality Index scores, but rounded values are used for simplicity.
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.