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.

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.

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.

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.

The cities in Europe where survey respondents most commonly indicated that they were a good place to live for gay and lesbian people were Rekjavik,Valletta and Groningen in 2023. In general, the cities which ranked as the best place to live for lesbian and gay people in Europe were in Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Copenhagen, Sweden, Finland), western European countries (Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands), and southern European countries (Italy, Malta, Spain). The five cities with the fewest respondents indicating that they were a good place to live were all in south-eastern Europe, with the bottom two both coming from Turkey (Diyarbakir) and Albania (Tirania). Turkey tends to rank so lowly due to the influence of traditionalist and religious social norms, which do not recognize LGBTQ relationships as being on a par as heterosexual relationships and lead to more commonly held homophobic views.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Europe, the Netherlands and Denmark have the highest percentages of LGBTI people who feel free to be open about their sexual orientation. In a survey conducted in 2019, ** percent of respondents from the Netherlands and Denmark, declared that they were fairly or very open about their sexual orientation. Sweden, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom followed. In the European Union, lesbian and gay people are more likely to be open about their sexual orientation than bisexual, trans, and intersex people. In a survey conducted in 2019 in ** EU countries, bisexual men and intersex people were mostly never or almost never open about their sexual orientation.

Same-sex couples in Europe

In Europe, ** countries recognized same-sex couples as of 2020. There are various forms of recognition of rights and duties of same-sex couples, including civil unions, concubinary unions, de facto partnerships, registered partnerships, and other types of partnerships. Same-sex marriage, has been legalized in ** countries in Europe, with Switzerland the latest to do so. In ** European countries, same-sex couples can also jointly adopt children as of 2020. In America and Europe, more countries permitted homosexual couples to adopt children than in Oceania, Asia, and Africa.

LGBT+ in Eastern Europe

Among East European countries, support for the equal rights of LGBT+ people is low. According to a recent survey, about one half of respondents in Czechia expressed support toward equal rights for the LGBT+ community, the largest share among surveyed countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Parliament in Hungary approved in 2021 an anti-LGBT law, which was condemned by the European Union, as it breaches guarantees of freedom of expression and non-discrimination. This motion was openly supported by the Polish government.

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.

France, Portugal, and Greece are the three European countries with the greatest share of respondents indicating that homophobia is either fairly or very widespread in 2019. While this may indicate that these countries have a particular problem with homophobia, there is also a possibility that countries where people are more educated about LGBTQ issues, citizens are also more aware of discrimination.

For instance, some countries such as Bulgaria, Latvia, and Slovakia where most respondents say that discrimination against gay people is rare or non-existent also have higher shares of LGBT respondents indicating they have experienced discrimination in other surveys. It may be the case that in these countries, as LGBTQ issues are less widely discussed and education is less inclusive of the queer communities concerns, that the general public is less aware of homophobia.

On the other hand, countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK, where LGBTQ people report being able to have a greater level of openness about being gay in their daily lives, report more widespread homophobia. Paradoxically, it may be because of this widespread awareness and openness about LGBTQ issues that more respondents in the general public respond that homophobia is widespread.

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.

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.

In 2023, 15 percent of the Argentinian population surveyed identified as bisexual. Additionally, 9.4 percent of the interviewees in the South American country identified as transgender.

Germany was ranked ** out of 48 European countries in terms of the rights of its LGBTI citizens and residents in 2025, with Rainbow Europe awarding the country an overall score of ***** percent. ******* performs well with regard to its civil society space, as well as moderately well on its provisions for giving asylum to LGBTI people, as well as its transgender recognition laws. Compared to most other countries in Europe, Germany also has stronger laws protecting the bodily integrity of intersex people, although this is only relatively good and has a long way to go before full protection is offered.

Spain was ranked fifth out of 49 European countries in the annual Rainbow Europe rankings in 2025, with the country achieving an overall score of ***** percent for its legal, political, and human rights provisions. The country performed relatively well on most indicators, having particularly strong protections for LGBTI civil society, family rights, equality & non-discrimination provisions, and laws which ensure the gender recognition rights of transgender citizens and residents. Spain performs less well on intersex bodily integrity laws, although it must be noted that relative to most European countries the score of ** percent is still high.

South Africa is the most LGBT+ friendly country in Africa. It is the only country in Africa where same-sex marriage and partnership are legal and couples can joint adopt children. In the span of some years, acceptance of homosexuality in South Africa increased considerably. As of 2019, 54 percent of respondents from South Africa believed that homosexuality should be accepted by the society.