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Gay-friendly

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gay-friendly or LGBTQ-friendly places, policies, people, or institutions are those that are open and welcoming to gay or LGBTQ people. They typically aim to create an environment that is supportive, respectful, and non-judgmental towards the LGBTQ community. The term "gay-friendly" originated in the late 20th century in North America as a byproduct of a gradual implementation of gay rights, greater acceptance of LGBTQ people in society, and the recognition of LGBTQ people as a distinct consumer group for businesses.

Businesses

Image
A shop in Amsterdam selling LGBTQ+ merchandise and goods

Many businesses now identify as gay-friendly, allowing for a more diversified employee and customer base. The Human Rights Campaign works to achieve equality for gays, lesbians, and other marginalized minorities, and publishes a list of companies in relation to issues concerning LGBT people. Companies that are noted for gay-friendly work environments include Dell and Coca-Cola. Companies such as R Family Vacations, Manspray, Volkswagen, Ginch Gonch, and numerous others offer niche products and services for gay customers. Others, such as LOT Polish Airlines sends the message of gay-friendliness by offering travel to major gay destinations with a rainbow flag.[1] Studies have shown that LGBT communities tend to favor gay-friendly businesses, even if the cost of a particular product or service is higher.[2]

Religious groups

Main article: LGBT-affirming religious groups
Image
Portal of the Church of Pilgrims, in Washington, DC, USA, with an LGBT banner

Some Christian and Jewish religious denominations, as well as Christian churches and affirming Jewish synagogues, have LGBT-friendly programs.[3]

World

Main article: LGBTQ rights by country or territory
See also: Equaldex § Equaldex Equality Index (2023)

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in 2019 to measure levels of acceptance of LGBTQ people around the globe.[4]

Country-specific percentage of people who say homosexuality should be accepted by society
Rank Country Percent
1 Image Sweden 94%
2 Image Netherlands 92%
3 Image Spain 89%
4 Image Germany 86%
4 Image France 86%
4 Image UK 86%
7 Image Canada 85%
8 Image Australia 81%
9 Image Argentina 76%
10 Image Italy 75%

Researchers at the Williams Institute at UCLA released a report in 2021 after analyzing findings from different surveys to develop their own LGBTQ Global Acceptance Index (GAI).[5]

Most gay-friendly countries
Rank Country GAI
1 Image Iceland 9.78
2 Image Netherlands 9.46
3 Image Norway 9.38
4 Image Sweden 9.18
5 Image Canada 9.02
6 Image Spain 8.77
7 Image Denmark 8.69
8 Image Ireland 8.41
9 Image Great Britain 8.34
10 Image New Zealand 8.23

Spartacus Gay Travel Index

The Spartacus International Gay Guide publishes the Gay Travel Index, a ranking of gay-friendly countries.[6] Points are added to countries for anti-discrimination legislation, equal marriage, partnership and adoption laws, and LGBT marketing. Meanwhile, points are subtracted for anti-LGBT laws, HIV travel restrictions, religious influence; with prosecution, murders, and death sentences resulting in the largest deductions.

In 2026, the Spartacus Gay Travel Index featured mostly Western European countries in the top 10 spots, with Iceland claiming the top spot. The last place went to Yemen.[7]

List of countries and regions by Gay Travel Index (2026)[8]
Rank Country/Region Score Change from last year
1 Image Iceland 14 Increase 1
2 Image Malta 13 Steady
Image Spain Steady
4 Image Belgium 12 Increase 2
Image Canada Decrease 1
Image Germany Steady
Image Portugal Decrease 1
8 Image New Zealand 11 Decrease 1
Image Norway Steady
Image  Switzerland Steady
11 Image Australia 10 Decrease 1
Image Chile Steady
Image France Increase 2
Image Uruguay Decrease 1
15 Image Austria 9 Steady
Image Colombia Increase 2
Image Cuba Increase 3
Image Denmark Decrease 1
Image Faroe Islands New entry
Image Finland Steady
Image French Polynesia Increase 1
Image Greece Steady
Image Greenland Steady
Image Luxembourg Steady
Image Netherlands Steady
Image New Caledonia Increase 2
Image Sweden Steady
28 Image Ireland 8 Decrease 1
Image Réunion Steady
Image Taiwan Decrease 1
31 Image India 7 Increase 4
32 Image Andorra 6 Decrease 2
Image Argentina Decrease 3
Image Brazil Decrease 1
Image Gibraltar Increase 3
Image Guadeloupe Steady
Image Martinique Steady
Image Mexico Increase 1
Image   Nepal Increase 5
Image United Kingdom Decrease 3
41 Image Costa Rica 5 Decrease 2
Image Ecuador Increase 2
Image Estonia Decrease 2
Image Israel Steady
Image Puerto Rico Increase 1
Image Slovenia Decrease 1
47 Image Aruba 4 Increase 3
Image Bolivia Increase 3
Image South Africa Steady
Image United States Increase 2
Image US Virgin Islands Increase 3
52 Image Cyprus 3 Increase 1
Image Czech Republic Increase 1
Image Guam Steady
Image Thailand Decrease 1
56 Image Croatia 2 Steady
Image Liechtenstein Steady
Image San Marino Increase 1
59 Image Curaçao -1 Steady
Image Italy Steady
Image Japan Increase 1
Image Latvia Steady
Image Lithuania Increase 2
Image Montenegro Steady
Image Poland Increase 6
Image Vietnam Steady
67 Image Bermuda -2 Decrease 1
Image Bosnia and Herzegovina Decrease 1
Image South Korea Steady
Image Northern Cyprus Increase 1
Image Romania Increase 1
Image Sint Maarten Increase 1
Image Suriname Increase 2
74 Image Albania -3 Decrease 1
Image Antigua and Barbuda Steady
Image Barbados Increase 1
Image Bhutan Decrease 2
Image Botswana Increase 1
Image British Virgin Islands Increase 2
Image Fiji Steady
Image Lesotho Increase 2
Image Monaco Steady
Image Namibia Decrease 1
Image Serbia Decrease 1
Image Singapore Decrease 1
Image Ukraine Decrease 1
87 Image Belize -4 Decrease 2
Image Cape Verde Steady
Image Cambodia Steady
Image Micronesia Steady
Image Moldova Increase 1
Image Mongolia Decrease 1
Image North Macedonia Decrease 1
Image Peru Decrease 1
Image Seychelles Increase 1
Image Slovakia Decrease 2
97 Image China (incl. Hong Kong) -5 Steady
Image Timor-Leste Steady
Image Kosovo Decrease 1
Image Macau Decrease 1
Image Marshall Islands Decrease 2
Image Mauritius Steady
Image Samoa Steady
104 Image Armenia -6 Decrease 1
Image Bulgaria Steady
Image Cook Islands Decrease 1
Image Panama Decrease 2
Image São Tomé and Príncipe Steady
Image Sri Lanka Steady
110 Image Angola -7 Decrease 4
Image El Salvador Decrease 2
Image Guinea-Bissau Decrease 1
Image Honduras Steady
Image Laos Decrease 4
Image Mozambique Decrease 3
Image Saint Kitts and Nevis Steady
Image Saint Lucia Decrease 3
Image Venezuela Increase 1
119 Image Benin -8 Decrease 2
Image Kiribati Decrease 1
Image Palau Decrease 1
Image Philippines Decrease 1
123 Image Dominican Republic -9 Increase 2
Image Ethiopia Increase 5
Image Gabon Decrease 1
Image Guinea Steady
Image Hungary Decrease 4
Image Nicaragua Decrease 1
Image Pakistan Decrease 2
Image Tuvalu Decrease 1
Image Vanuatu Decrease 3
132 Image Bahamas -10 Steady
Image Bahrain Steady
Image Bangladesh Steady
Image Belarus Increase 2
Image Central African Republic Steady
Image Equatorial Guinea Steady
Image Eswatini Increase 2
Image Grenada Decrease 2
Image Guatemala Decrease 1
Image Haiti Steady
Image Ivory Coast Increase 2
Image Kazakhstan Decrease 1
Image North Korea Increase 1
Image Lebanon Decrease 2
Image Paraguay Decrease 2
Image Rwanda Steady
Image Solomon Islands Increase 1
Image Tonga Decrease 1
Image Trinidad & Tobago Decrease 3
Image Vatican City Decrease 2
152 Image Chad -11 Steady
Image Comoros Decrease 1
Image Democratic Republic of the Congo Steady
Image Dominica Decrease 1
Image Gambia Steady
Image Guyana Decrease 1
Image Jamaica Increase 1
Image Madagascar Steady
Image Niger Decrease 6
Image Republic of the Congo Decrease 1
Image Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Decrease 1
Image Sierra Leone Decrease 2
Image Tajikistan Decrease 2
Image Togo Decrease 1
Image Turkey Decrease 1
Image Uzbekistan Steady
168 Image Georgia -12 Decrease 1
Image Ghana Steady
Image Indonesia Increase 1
Image Kenya Decrease 2
Image Kyrgyzstan Decrease 5
Image Liberia Decrease 1
Image Maldives Decrease 1
Image Myanmar Decrease 2
176 Image Azerbaijan -13 Decrease 6
Image Burundi Decrease 3
Image Djibouti Decrease 2
Image Malawi Increase 1
Image Mauritania Decrease 1
Image Papua New Guinea Decrease 3
Image Zambia Decrease 1
183 Image Algeria -14 Decrease 1
Image Burkina Faso Decrease 6
Image Cameroon Increase 1
Image Eritrea Decrease 1
Image Mali Decrease 6
Image Morocco Steady
Image Tunisia Steady
190 Image Brunei -15 Decrease 1
Image Aceh (Indonesia) Decrease 1
Image Jordan Decrease 3
Image Oman Decrease 3
Image Syria Decrease 2
195 Image Egypt -16 Decrease 2
Image Kuwait Steady
Image Libya Steady
Image Malaysia Decrease 1
Image Senegal Decrease 3
Image Sudan Decrease 4
Image Zimbabwe Decrease 2
202 Image Nigeria -17 Steady
Image Qatar Steady
Image Russia Steady
Image South Sudan Decrease 3
Image Tanzania Decrease 2
Image Turkmenistan Decrease 3
208 Image Iraq -18 Decrease 3
Image United Arab Emirates Decrease 2
210 Image Uganda -19 Decrease 1
211 Image Somalia -21 Decrease 2
212 Image Afghanistan -22 Steady
Image Chechnya (Russia) Decrease 1
Image Saudi Arabia Steady
215 Image Iran -23 Decrease 1
216 Image Yemen -24 Decrease 1

Not Included in Data

United States

Main article: LGBT rights in the United States

Spartacus also publishes a Gay Travel Index for U.S. states, listing the 50 states plus the District of Columbia with the same criteria as the country rankings.[6]

In 2026, the top spot went to New York while Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee were the worst-ranked states for LGBT people.[7]

List of U.S. states by Gay Travel Index (2026)[8]
Rank Country/Region Score Change from last year
1 Image New York 16 Increase 1
2 Image California 14 Steady
Image Nevada Increase 1
Image Washington Increase 1
5 Image Colorado 13 Increase 1
Image New Jersey Increase 1
Image New Mexico Increase 2
Image Oregon Steady
9 Image Maine 12 Increase 3
Image Massachusetts Increase 1
Image Minnesota Increase 3
Image Vermont Increase 3
Image Washington, D.C. Steady
14 Image Hawaii 11 Increase 1
Image Illinois Steady
Image Maryland Increase 1
Image Michigan Increase 3
Image Rhode Island Increase 3
Image Virginia Increase 1
20 Image Connecticut 10 Steady
Image Delaware Increase 8
22 Image Utah 8 Steady
23 Image New Hampshire 6 Decrease 1
Image Pennsylvania Steady
25 Image Arizona 5 Steady
26 Image Wisconsin 3 Increase 1
27 Image Georgia 2 Steady
28 Image Alaska 1 Increase 1
29 Image Kentucky 0 Steady
30 Image Kansas -1 Increase 1
Image Louisiana Steady
Image North Carolina Increase 1
Image Ohio Decrease 5
34 Image Indiana -2 Decrease 1
Image Iowa Decrease 1
Image Missouri Decrease 2
Image Montana Increase 3
Image Nebraska Decrease 1
Image South Dakota Increase 1
40 Image Alabama -3 Increase 1
Image Florida Decrease 2
Image North Dakota Decrease 1
Image Texas Decrease 2
Image Wyoming Steady
45 Image Idaho -4 Decrease 4
Image Mississippi Decrease 1
Image South Carolina Steady
Image West Virginia Decrease 1
49 Image Arkansas -5 Decrease 1
Image Oklahoma Increase 1
Image Tennessee Decrease 2

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wyborcza.pl". Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Gay Consumers See Themselves as Tastemakers, Prefer Gay-Friendly Companies, Says Study". EDGE Media Network. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  3. ^ Adrian Thatcher, The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender, Oxford University Press, UK, 2015, p. 368
  4. ^ Andrew R. Flores (November 2021). "The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists (with a table of the 'LGBTI Acceptance Index' 2017-2020)". Williams Institute - UCLA School of Law. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Social Acceptance of LGBTI People in 175 Countries and Locations". November 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Spartacus Gay Travel Index (GTI)". Spartacus International Gay Guide. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  7. ^ a b "SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index 2026 – Between Progress and Backlash". Spartacus International Gay Guide. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2026" (PDF). Spartacus International Gay Guide. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
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