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.

Worldwide, **** in 10 respondents support LGBT people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity with everyone. In a global survey conducted in 2024, ** percent of respondents stated this. In addition, ** percent of interviewees supported openly lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes to be part of sports teams.

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 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 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.

There were estimated to be approximately **** million people in the United Kingdom who identified as being Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual in 2023, compared with ******* in 2014.

In 2023, Gen Z was the generation with the largest share of LGBT+ population worldwide at ** percent. Meanwhile, only *** percent of Gen X and **** percent of Boomers identified as LGBT+ in the same year.

In 2024, 14.2 percent of Millennials in the United States stated that they identify as LGBTQ+, while in 2012, less than six percent of respondents from the same generation said the same. Members of Generation Z were the most likely to identify as LGBTQ+, at over 23 percent.

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.

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.

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.

Worldwide, about **** in 10 respondents support companies and brands actively promoting equality for LGBT people. In a global survey conducted in 2024, ** percent of respondents stated this. In addition, ** percent of interviewees supported laws banning discrimination against LGBT people when it comes to employment, access to education, housing and social services, and similar.

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.

The LGBTQ+ population in Colombia has increased until 2024. In that year, 10 percent of the population self-identified as LGBTQ+. In 2025, five percent of the population said they were LGBT+.

The LGBTQ+ population in Peru has decreased since 2021. In that year, six percent of the population self-identified as LGBTQ+. In 2024, five percent of the population said they were LGBT+.

Worldwide, 64 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2024. Most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 12 countries, the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. These countries are Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Uganda.

As of April 2024, 55 percent of the LGBT population lived in the 50 states and the District of Columbia where private health insurance service providers weren't allowed to deny coverage for transgender-related health care services, such as sex reassignment surgery. However, only 40 percent lived in states where health insurance protections included sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT Americans The share of Americans self-identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender has grown in recent years. This suggests that insurance protections which cover LGBT-related health care services will also continue to grow in importance. The prevalence of younger Americans self-identifying as LGBT when compared with older generations confirms this. Millennials and Gen Xers are much more likely to personally identify as LGBT than previous generations were. Growing acceptance and tolerance in wider society means that more people are willing to be open about their gender identity and sexual orientation. For instance, support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. underwent a huge shift over the past two decades with the majority of Americans being in favor of it since 2011.

During a 2025 global survey, almost ************** of consumers surveyed in Thailand expressed support for companies actively promoting equality for LGBT people, while only *** percent of respondents in that Asian country opposed such brands. In Spain, the support share reached almost ** percent. Meanwhile, in Peru, Poland, Hungary, South Korea, and Turkey, the share of participants opposing pro-LGBT equality brands was higher than the share of respondents supporting them.

Worldwide, ***** in ** people declared themselves to be heterosexual. According to a global survey conducted in 2021, ** percent of respondents from ** countries declared to be sexually attracted only to people of the opposite sex. Five percent of interviewees, instead, stated to be homosexual, while some **** percent were bisexual.

Acceptance of homosexuality has notably increased in many countries across the globe. In South Africa and India, acceptance of homosexuality increased by ** percentage points between 2013 and 2019. Despite being still low, some countries in the world recorded significant increases over the last years. Acceptance tended to be highest among Western European countries.