Lgbt in countries

Marriage Equality Around the World

The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to allow movements for marriage equality.

Current State of Marriage Equality

There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. 

These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions. 

Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in

Liechtenstein: On May 16, , Liechtenstein's gove

International Travel

Travelers can face singular challenges abroad based on their real or perceived sexual orientation. Laws and attitudes in some countries may affect safety and ease of travel. 

More than 60 countries consider consensual same-sex relations a crime. In some of these countries, people who participate in consensual same-sex relations may face severe punishment. Many countries do not acknowledge same-sex marriage.

Research your destination before you travel 

Review the explore advisory and destination facts page of the place you plan to stop by . Check the Local Laws & Customs section.  This has information specific to travelers who may be targeted by discrimination or violence on the basis of sexual orientation.  

Many countries only recognize male and female sex markers in passports. They undertake not have IT systems at ports of entry that can accept other sex markers, including valid U.S. passports with an X sex marker. If traveling with a valid U.S. passport with an X sex marker, verify the immigration regulations for your destination as acceptance can v

Rainbow Map

rainbow map

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

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

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 information 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 constructed 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 self, and sex characteristics. 

ILGA World maps are among the most shared visual representations of how LGBTIQ people are affected by laws and policies around the world.

The scope of our long-standing rights mapping has expanded thanks to the ILGA World Database. With that platform, ILGA maps have become interactive and constantly updated, to enhanced cover sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound feeling, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. More, gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More and expression, and sex characteristicsa word that refers to physical features relating to sex - including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty. More (SOGIESCabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender persona & expression, and sex characteristics. More)