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	60	73	48
Europe 50 countries	60	71	49
North America 23 countries	45	57	34
Oceania 14 countries	44	48	45
Asia 44 countries	33	36	30
Africa 53 countries	25	28	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.

Region	Equality Index	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index
Nordic Countries 5 countries	83	87	80
Australia and New Zealand 2 countries	78	92	64
North America 2 countries	77	91	64
British Islands 2 countries	74	83	64
Western Europe 9 countries	73	80	66
Southern Europe 16 countries	61	75	48
South America 12 countries	60	73	48
Eastern Asia 6 countries	52	61	43
Baltic Countries 3 countries	52	66	38
Central America 8 countries	51	61	41
Micronesia 5 countries	45	48	16
Southern Africa 5 countries	44	53	36
Eastern Europe 10 countries	44	54	34
Melanesia 4 countries	38	41	34
Caribbean 13 countries	37	49	25
Southeast Asia 11 countries	37	38	39
Central Africa 9 countries	32	38	23
Southern and Central Asia 14 countries	32	36	26
Polynesia 3 countries	30	30	Not enough data
Middle East 18 countries	26	31	21
Eastern Africa 17 countries	23	26	19
Western Africa 15 countries	22	26	15
Northern Africa 7 countries	14	10	18

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. Guyana	27	56	+30
2. Cape Verde	54	77	+23
3. Uganda	3	25	+23
4. United Arab Emirates	5	25	+20
5. Algeria	3	22	+19
6. Iraq	4	22	+18
7. Saudi Arabia	7	25	+18
8. Yemen	0	17	+17
9. Mauritania	0	16	+16
10. Belize	55	68	+13

Legal Progress Ahead of Public Opinion

Country	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index	Difference
1. Moldova	63	8	-55
2. Antigua and Barbuda	70	17	-54
3. Georgia	64	12	-52
4. Greece	93	45	-48
5. Bolivia	80	33	-47
6. Kazakhstan	59	12	-47
7. Burkina Faso	52	7	-45
8. Mongolia	65	21	-44
9. Colombia	95	52	-43
10. Azerbaijan	48	6	-43

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.

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

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	×0.00
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
2024 (current year)	0.75⁰	1
2023	0.75⁰	1
2022	0.75¹	0.75
2021	0.75²	0.5625
2020	0.75³	0.421875
2019	0.75⁴	0.31640625
2018	0.75⁵	0.2373046875
2017	0.75⁶	0.177978515625
2016	0.75⁷	0.13348388671875
2015	0.75⁸	0.10011291503906
2014	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.
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.