In 2023, Brazil was the country with the largest share of LGBT+ population at 15 percent. Spain and Switzerland followed next, with 14 and 13 percent of their population identifying as LGBT+, respectively.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, ***** percent of respondents declared to be homosexual, gay, or lesbian. In Brazil and the Netherlands, for instance, **** percent, instead, identified as bisexual, representing the largest group of bisexual respondents among the 30 surveyed countries. Moreover, *** percent of the interviewees in Switzerland said to be pansexual or omnisexual. Pansexuality describes people who feel attracted to other people regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity, whereas omnisexuality refers to people attracted to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

In 2021, around ** percent of individuals living in the District of Columbia identified as LGBT. Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon also had high rates, exceeding *** percent. Mississippi and North Dakota had the lowest rates of LGBT populations, the only states with less than **** percent.

Over the 2015-2018 period, nearly ******* people aged over ** defined themselves as something other than heterosexual in Canada: ******* identified as lesbian or gay, while ******* identified as bisexual. The provinces with the largest number of non-heterosexuals people were Ontario and Quebec, which are also the most populous provinces in the country. In addition, with the exception of Quebec, bisexual people outnumbered lesbian or gay people in all provinces.

According to a 2019 survey, 54 percent of respondents from South Africa believed homosexuality should be accepted by society. Recognition of homosexuality in the world was highest in Western European countries, Canada and Australia. Despite Kenya ranking comparatively low in the global comparison, acceptance of people identifying as LGBTQ+ notably increased since 2002. Among the four African countries taken into consideration, the lowest degree of acceptance among interviewees was recorded in Nigeria, at seven percent.

This statistics shows a ranking of the friendliness towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Latin America in 2016, broken down by country. In that year, Uruguay and Argentina ranked first on the LGBT friendliness scale, whereas Paraguay came in last with a score of 14.

Five countries achieved 13 points in the 2025 Gay Travel Index: one of them is on the American continent and the other four are in Europe. With 12 points, New Zealand and Germany followed in the ranking. LGBTQ rights in Canada Back in 2005, Canada was the fourth country worldwide to legalize same-sex marriage. The North American nation is in the vanguard of LGBTQ rights and has passed multiple laws assuring equality for this group, such as allowing adoption by same-sex couples, protecting transgender rights, and banning conversion therapy. Meanwhile, its land neighbor, the United States, had the share of the population that identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender increased steadily between 2012 and 2021. Acceptance around the globe According to a survey conducted in 2021 in 27 countries, opinions on the rights of same-sex couples varied greatly around the world. Western European and American nations were particularly supportive of marriage or, failing that, some form of legal recognition for homosexual couples.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, ***** percent of respondents from 30 countries declared that they were homosexual, gay, or lesbian, with **** percent who identified as bisexual. *** percent of the interviewees said that they were pansexual or omnisexual. Pansexuality describes people who feel attracted to other people regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity, whereas omnisexuality refers to people attracted to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Finally, *** percent of respondents were asexual, which means they experience little to no sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of their gender. LGBT people around the world LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Introduced in the 1990s, LGBT generally includes anyone who is not heterosexual or cisgender. Heterosexual refers to a person attracted to people of the opposite gender, whereas cisgender describes a person whose gender identity is the same as their sex at birth. Acceptance of other gender identities and sexual orientations is usually higher in Western countries. In a study conducted among 34 countries, acceptance of homosexuality was higher in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain. Homosexuality in African countries Worldwide, 71 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2021, most of which are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In Africa, 32 out of 54 countries criminalize homosexuality. In four countries, the legislation imposed the death penalty for sexual relations between people of the same sex. In fact, in most African countries, homosexuality has low levels of acceptance, or is not accepted at all. In a recent survey, most respondents in Africa showed high levels of intolerance towards LGBT+ in their vicinity.

The small island nation of ***** was ranked as the country in Europe which has the most LGBTQ-friendly laws and policies in 2024 by Rainbow Europe. The country has made great progress in recent years in passing laws which protect the rights of its LGBTQ citizens and residents, such as outlawing so-called "conversion therapy", banning genital mutilation for intersex people, promoting anti-discrimination practices in the workplace, allowing transgender people to more easily change their gender legally. It has also legalized same-sex marriage. EU states lead the way on LGBTQ rights Other leading countries in Europe for LGBTQ rights include Belgium, Denmark, and Spain, with the countries which performed well being concentrated in southern, western, and northern Europe. Many of the top performing countries are members of the European Union, which has specific provisions about protecting minority rights as a prelude to membership, however, it is notable that several member states in central-eastern and south-eastern Europe perform particularly poorly, notably Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. The poor state of LGBTQ rights in eastern Europe Unfortunately, there are still some countries in Europe where LGBTQ rights are not respected or legally enshrined at all, mostly concentrated among non-EU members in eastern Europe. Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Russia, and Belarus make up the five worst performing states, with the homophobic stances of their governments intensifying in recent years.

According to survey conducted in eight countries, Spain is the country where people are more likely to identify themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community. It is also the country in which respondents stated more often to have a close friend or relative who is part of the LGBTQ+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary, among others). Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Denmark, on the other hand, record the highest share of respondents who were neither part of the LGBTQ community nor knew anyone who is part of it.

People who see religion as very important usually have a lower acceptance of homosexuality. According to a survey conducted in 2019, in South Korea, Lebanon, and Lithuania, respondents who perceived religion as very relevant had a very low acceptance of homosexuality, below ** percent. Among the countries with the largest discrepancies between people seeing religion as very important and those seeing it as not very important, Israel recorded the highest difference in percentage points.

In 2023, approximately 91.2 percent of the population of London identified as being Heterosexual or Straight, which was the lowest among regions of the United Kingdom. As of this year, approximately 3.5 percent of Londoners identified as being Gay or Lesbian, 1.7 percent as Bisexual, 0.9 percent as Other and 2.8 percent who did not know, or refused to answer.

In 2022, about ** percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to *** percent of gay couples who were Black or African American. Gay marriage in the United States In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than ** percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Being LGBT in America The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about *********** same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about **** of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only ** percent of respondents said the same.

According to a global survey conducted in 2021, three in 10 respondents had at least once spoken out against someone who was being prejudiced against LGBT+ people. In addition, some 13 percent attended a public event in support of LGBT+ people, e.g. a Pride march.

According to a survey published in 2021, Senegal is the most intolerant country in Africa toward people of different sexual identity or orientation. A total of ** percent of respondents from Senegal stated they would dislike having homosexual people as neighbors. Other countries in which over ** percent of the respondents declared the same were Liberia, Malawi, Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Uganda, and Burkina Faso.

Between 2021 and 2023, support for same-sex marriage declined in ** out of 23 surveyed countries worldwide. The major drops were seen in Canada and Germany, where the share of respondents agreeing with same-sex marriage went down *** percentage points. Still, over ** percent of respondents in those two countries supported it.

The way to legalization

As of 2021, ** countries have legalized same-sex marriages, most of them located in Western Europe. Switzerland was the latest to do so after a referendum, while the second to last was Costa Rica, as the only Central American country. While most countries have legalized same-sex marriage through legislation, in South Africa and Taiwan, this was enacted via courts' mandates. Taiwan and South Africa are the first and so far only countries in their continent to have legalized same-sex marriage.

Hostility and criminalization

The support and legalization of same-sex marriages is growing, and the acceptance of homosexuality is slowly but steadily increasing in more hostile countries. In Nigeria, for instance, homosexuality is a crime punishable with the death penalty. Despite a small increase, only ***** percent of people believe that homosexuality should be accepted by society. Africa, Asia, and the Middle East are still the most dangerous world regions for homosexuals. In fact, ** countries still criminalize homosexuality, and most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Réunion was rated the safest travel destination in Africa for members of the LGBT community, according to a 2024 ranking. With eight points, the French overseas department outperformed South Africa, ranking 21st worldwide, while the Southern African country stood in the 38th position. These were the only destinations considered friendly for LGBT tourists in Africa. A country scores less than zero in the index when human rights are not observed, nor guaranteed, or even violated. This means that Angola, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Mozambique, Lesotho, Niger, Seychelles, and Mauritius were far from being considered safe, but were better-rated destinations compared to other countries in the continent.

As of 2024, same-sex marriage in Latin America is still considered illegal or not recognized in the majority of countries. Nonetheless, since 2010, many countries have legalized these types of unions. Among those, Brazil ranked at the top of the list with over 11,100 same-sex marriages in 2023, followed by Mexico and Chile with 6,606 and 2,254 marriages, respectively. LGBTQ+ in Brazil Brazil is not only the leader of the ranking with the most same-sex marriages in Latin America; it was also one of the first countries to make it legal. Since May 2013, the number of same-sex marriages has only increased, almost duplicating from 2015 to 2022. And the forecast is positive for the next generations; as a 2025 survey shows, the Brazilian population from 16 to 44 years of age has an overwhelmingly positive perception of same-sex marriages. A difficult start for Mexico A recent survey in Mexico shows that around five percent of the total population self-identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Nonetheless, the country has failed to provide equal footing for the community. In early 2010, Mexico City was the first federal entity to legalize same-sex marriages, but it was not until the last day of 2022 that all states allowed this type of union. The support for the LGBTQ+ community keeps growing in the Aztec country, as the engagement in supporting activities is also becoming more widespread.

According to survey conducted in eight countries, Great Britain is the country where people are more likely to support a family member of a friend who would come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The least supportive countries, on the other hand, seem to be Italy and Germany. In Italy, for instance, some 14 percent of respondents stated to be unsupportive, while in Germany, some 14 percent would oppose their friends or family.

Ecuador scored one point on the 2020 Gay Travel Index, placing it far from the safest countries for LGBT tourism, which accumulated up to 12 points. The Latin American nation is however also a great distance away from the most dangerous regions for LGBT tourists, whose scores go as low as -20. Ecuador was one of the few Latin American countries to receive the high score of three points for anti-discrimination legislation. The Gay Travel Index found five categories of concern in the nation including religious influence and HIV travel restrictions. In 2019, there were 47 thousand people among the Ecuadorian population living with HIV, up one thousand from the year prior.