Country gays

Which countries impose the death penalty on gay people?

Around the world, queer people continue to face discrimination, violence, harassment and social stigma. While social movements have marked progress towards acceptance in many countries, in others homosexuality continues to be outlawed and penalised, sometimes with death.

According to Statistica Research Department, as of 2024, homosexuality is criminalised in 64 countries globally, with most of these nations situated in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 12 of these countries, the death penalty is either enforced or remains a possibility for intimate, consensual same-sex sexual activity.

In many cases, the laws only apply to sexual relations between two men, but 38 countries own amendments that include those between women in their definitions.

These penalisations represent abuses of human rights, especially the rights to freedom of expression, the right to develop one's own ego and the right to life. 

Which countries enforce the death penalty for homosexuality?

Saudi Arabia

The Wahabbi interpretation of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia maintains that acts of homosexuality should be disciplined in the sa

Which Country Has the Largest LGBTQI+ Population? 2025

The worldwide LGBTQI+ population by country reports estimate that approximately eight percent of the world identifies as homosexual, multi-attracted , or pansexual. Approximately 80 percent of the world identifies as heterosexual, and the remaining 12 percent of the world do not report how they identify. This facts is as recent as 2021.

It is estimated that the younger generations are more likely to be open about their sexuality, with Generation Z creature the most likely to be openly gay, bisexual, or asexual or pansexual. Millennials are the next most likely to be openly gay, and Toddler Boomers are the least likely to report or determine as openly lgbtq+. Millennials and Generation Z are the age groups that fall between the ages of 27 and 42 in the year 2025.

Australia’s LGBTQI+ Population By the Numbers

Australia is considered to contain some of the most liberal views on the world, but as such, it will not report its sexuality-related statistics as frequently as other countries. In 2011, one report indicated that approximately 96.5 percent of the population was heterosexual while the remainder of the population reported identifying as

Rainbow Map

2025 rainbow map

These are the main findings for the 2025 edition of the rainbow map

The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%.

The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls following anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our press release.

“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in reality designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”

  • Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director, ILGA-Europe


Malta has sat on top of the ranking for the last 10 years. 

With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. 

Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.

The three

country gays

LGBT Equality Index

Equality Index Methodology

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


Rainbow Europe Map and Index 2022

The 2022 Rainbow Europe Route finds that over the past 12 months a modern dynamic has appeared to fill in the gaps that exist around LGBTI rights and propel standards, giving governments ground to construct upon as democracy in Europe faces exceptional challenges.

Rainbow Blueprint 2022Download

Rainbow Index 2022Download

This year we observe positive movement on the Rainbow Blueprint and Index, notably:

  • Denmark has jumped seven places to complete second spot in the 2022 ranking. The reason for Denmark’s jump is that it is taking the direct in filling in anti-discrimination gaps in current legislation, including the equal treatment law, which covers health, education, employment, goods and services, and the penal code to contain sexual orientation, gender identity, gender phrase and sex characteristics as aggravating factors in hate crime.
  • More countries are pushing forward for equality by giving due recognition and protection for people’s lived realities. Iceland was awarded points because of its legislative recognition of transgender parenthood, among other things, while Germany introduced a disallow on intersex genital mutilation and France banned so-called ‘conversi