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	72	49
Europe 50 countries	58	71	46
North America 23 countries	43	53	33
Oceania 14 countries	42	45	44
Asia 44 countries	31	33	30
Africa 54 countries	24	26	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	81	89	74
Australia and New Zealand 2 countries	75	88	63
North America 2 countries	74	89	59
British Isles 2 countries	72	84	60
Western Europe 9 countries	71	83	60
South America 12 countries	60	72	49
Southern Europe 16 countries	60	74	47
Eastern Asia 6 countries	51	57	46
Baltic Countries 3 countries	51	67	35
Southern Africa 5 countries	50	60	40
Central America 8 countries	49	59	39
Eastern Europe 10 countries	44	55	33
Micronesia 5 countries	43	45	16
Southeast Asia 11 countries	38	39	40
Melanesia 4 countries	37	38	34
Caribbean 13 countries	35	44	25
Central Africa 9 countries	31	36	22
Southern and Central Asia 14 countries	29	32	26
Polynesia 3 countries	26	26	Not enough data
Middle East 18 countries	23	27	20
Eastern Africa 17 countries	22	22	23
Western Africa 16 countries	20	23	17
Northern Africa 7 countries	13	8	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	20	53	+33
2. Cape Verde	48	80	+32
3. United Arab Emirates	0	25	+25
4. China	43	66	+23
5. Saudi Arabia	4	25	+21
6. Algeria	3	22	+19
7. Barbados	53	71	+18
8. Iraq	4	22	+18
9. Uganda	0	18	+18
10. Myanmar	9	27	+18

Legal Progress Ahead of Public Opinion

Country	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index	Difference
1. Greece	93	39	-54
2. Moldova	61	8	-53
3. Bolivia	83	33	-50
4. Malta	100	53	-47
5. Croatia	78	34	-44
6. Ecuador	84	41	-43
7. Cyprus	79	36	-43
8. Colombia	95	52	-43
9. Mongolia	64	22	-42
10. Brazil	98	57	-41

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

* 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	×0.00
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.
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.