The 10 Most Gay Friendly Countries in the World

Wondering which are the ten most gay friendly countries in the world? Societies the world over have made great progress in instituting gay-friendly policies and giving them the same rights as heterosexual people and couples. People’s acceptance has increased along with that, and each year more countries move forward towards expanding their legislation so as to recognize the rights of their homosexual populations. Same sex-marriage legislation is now firmly established in over 17 countries, and about 10% of all individuals on the planet now live in a country where same-sex unions are legal.

Although most countries have been developing inclusive legislation and anti-discriminatory programs, some other countries are yet enacting laws to restrict homosexual behavior, most of the time due to pressure from conservative religious organizations, and strong social rebuff is often the result.

In order to take a look at countries’ behavior regarding homosexuality, we have compiled a list with the ten most gay friendly countries in the world. It is interesting to note that the level of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) tolerance in different countries isn’t strictly related to its level of development, or quality of life. Taking a look at the Top 20 Countries With The Best Quality of Life, a list we have compiled featuring the top countries ranked according to how they fare on the Human Development Index, we can see that not all countries with best quality of life make it into the most gay-friendly countries. In fact, of the top 1o countries with best quality of life, only two, Germany and Japan are among the most gay friendly countries in the world.

Taking into account the recent Pew Research Center survey, we have gathered some information concerning the levels of acceptance of homosexuality. The study polled participants from 40 different countries on different topics, regarding what they considered morally acceptable or unacceptable. According to these results, Europe holds the most accepting countries, while the African continent trails behind. The lowest tolerance was seen in Ghana and Russia, where 98% and 72% of citizens replied that homosexuality was morally unacceptable, respectively.

Take a look at our list, and find out where the most gay friendly countries in the world are.