LGBT+ rights across the world at the end of the decade

We've come to the end of the 2010s and it's been a pretty good decade for LGBT+ rights. In England same-sex marriage was legalised and 'gender reassignment' was added to the Equality Act, giving protection to trans people against discrimination.

At the end of 2019, take a look at which countries same-sex marriages are legal, which countries it's illegal to be gay, and which countries have laws concerning gender identity.

Countries where same-sex marriage is legal:

· Argentina

· Australia

· Austria

· Belgium

· Brazil

· Canada

· Colombia

· Denmark

· Ecuador

· England

· Finland

· France

· Germany

· Iceland

· Ireland (Republic of)

· Luxembourg

· Malta

· Netherlands

· New Zealand

· Norway

· Portugal

· Scotland

· South Africa

· Spain

· Sweden

· Taiwan

· United States

· Uruguay

· Wales

… and don’t forget that Northern Ireland passed same-sex marriage laws which will come into effect on 13th January 2020!

Countries where same-sex sexual activity is illegal*:

· Afghanistan

· Algeria

· Antigua & Barbuda

· Bangladesh

· Barbados

· Bhutan

· Brunei

· Burundi

· Cameroon

· Chad

· Comoros

· Cook Islands

· Dominica

· Egypt

· Eritrea

· Eswatini (also known as Swaziland)

· Ethiopia

· Gabon

· Ghana

· Grenada

· Guinea

· Guyana

· Indonesia

· Iran

· Iraq

· Jamaica

· Kenya

· Kiribati

· Kuwait

· Lebanon

· Liberia

· Libya

· Malawi

· Malaysia

· Maldives

· Mauritania

· Mauritius

· Morocco

· Myanmar

· Namibia

· Nigeria

· Oman

· Pakistan

· Palestine

· Papua New Guinea

· Qatar

· Saint Kitts and Nevis

· Saint Lucia

· Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

· Samoa

· Saudi Arabia

· Senegal

· Sierra Leone

· Singapore

· Solomon Islands

· Somalia

· South Sudan

· Sri Lanka

· Sudan

· Syria

· Tanzania

· The Gambia

· Togo

· Tonga

· Tunisia

· Turkmenistan

· Tuvalu

· Uganda

· United Arab Emirates

· Uzbekistan

· Yemen

· Zambia

· Zimbabwe

*Some of these countries have laws prohibiting sex between men but not sex between women. Find out more about LGBT+ rights in these countries on Human Dignity Trust

World map showing laws concerning gender identity

Map credit: AHC300 [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]