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	61	73	49
Europe 50 countries	59	71	46
North America 23 countries	45	57	33
Oceania 14 countries	43	47	44
Asia 44 countries	32	35	31
Africa 53 countries	25	28	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	88	75
Australia and New Zealand 2 countries	76	88	63
North America 2 countries	75	91	60
British Isles 2 countries	71	83	60
Western Europe 9 countries	71	82	60
South America 12 countries	61	73	49
Southern Europe 16 countries	61	75	47
Eastern Asia 6 countries	53	61	46
Baltic Countries 3 countries	50	66	35
Central America 8 countries	49	60	39
Southern Africa 5 countries	48	55	40
Eastern Europe 10 countries	44	56	33
Micronesia 5 countries	44	47	16
Caribbean 13 countries	38	50	25
Melanesia 4 countries	37	41	34
Southeast Asia 11 countries	37	38	40
Central Africa 9 countries	33	39	22
Southern and Central Asia 14 countries	32	36	26
Polynesia 3 countries	27	27	Not enough data
Middle East 18 countries	24	29	20
Eastern Africa 17 countries	23	25	22
Western Africa 15 countries	21	25	17
Northern Africa 7 countries	13	9	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	22	53	+32
2. Cape Verde	51	80	+29
3. United Arab Emirates	0	25	+25
4. Algeria	3	22	+19
5. Iraq	4	22	+18
6. Saudi Arabia	7	25	+18
7. Yemen	0	17	+17
8. Barbados	55	71	+16
9. Mauritania	2	18	+16
10. China	51	66	+15

Legal Progress Ahead of Public Opinion

Country	Legal Index	Public Opinion Index	Difference
1. Antigua and Barbuda	85	17	-68
2. Moldova	63	8	-54
3. Greece	93	39	-54
4. Croatia	81	34	-48
5. Bolivia	81	33	-48
6. Malta	100	53	-47
7. Kazakhstan	59	12	-47
8. Cyprus	80	36	-44
9. Ecuador	85	41	-44
10. Mongolia	65	22	-44

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