Gay-friendly

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

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

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

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 Sweden 94%
2 Netherlands 92%
3 Spain 89%
4 Germany 86%
4 France 86%
4 UK 86%
7 Canada 85%
8 Australia 81%
9 Argentina 76%
10 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 Iceland 9.78
2 Netherlands 9.46
3 Norway 9.38
4 Sweden 9.18
5 Canada 9.02
6 Spain 8.77
7 Denmark 8.69
8 Ireland 8.41
9 Great Britain 8.34
10 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 Iceland 14 Increase 1
2 Malta 13 Steady
Spain Steady
4 Belgium 12 Increase 2
Canada Decrease 1
Germany Steady
Portugal Decrease 1
8 New Zealand 11 Decrease 1
Norway Steady
 Switzerland Steady
11 Australia 10 Decrease 1
Chile Steady
France Increase 2
Uruguay Decrease 1
15 Austria 9 Steady
Colombia Increase 2
Cuba Increase 3
Denmark Decrease 1
Faroe Islands New entry
Finland Steady
French Polynesia Increase 1
Greece Steady
Greenland Steady
Luxembourg Steady
Netherlands Steady
New Caledonia Increase 2
Sweden Steady
28 Ireland 8 Decrease 1
Réunion Steady
Taiwan Decrease 1
31 India 7 Increase 4
32 Andorra 6 Decrease 2
Argentina Decrease 3
Brazil Decrease 1
Gibraltar Increase 3
Guadeloupe Steady
Martinique Steady
Mexico Increase 1
  Nepal Increase 5
United Kingdom Decrease 3
41 Costa Rica 5 Decrease 2
Ecuador Increase 2
Estonia Decrease 2
Israel Steady
Puerto Rico Increase 1
Slovenia Decrease 1
47 Aruba 4 Increase 3
Bolivia Increase 3
South Africa Steady
United States Increase 2
US Virgin Islands Increase 3
52 Cyprus 3 Increase 1
Czech Republic Increase 1
Guam Steady
Thailand Decrease 1
56 Croatia 2 Steady
Liechtenstein Steady
San Marino Increase 1
59 Curaçao -1 Steady
Italy Steady
Japan Increase 1
Latvia Steady
Lithuania Increase 2
Montenegro Steady
Poland Increase 6
Vietnam Steady
67 Bermuda -2 Decrease 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina Decrease 1
South Korea Steady
Northern Cyprus Increase 1
Romania Increase 1
Sint Maarten Increase 1
Suriname Increase 2
74 Albania -3 Decrease 1
Antigua and Barbuda Steady
Barbados Increase 1
Bhutan Decrease 2
Botswana Increase 1
British Virgin Islands Increase 2
Fiji Steady
Lesotho Increase 2
Monaco Steady
Namibia Decrease 1
Serbia Decrease 1
Singapore Decrease 1
Ukraine Decrease 1
87 Belize -4 Decrease 2
Cape Verde Steady
Cambodia Steady
Micronesia Steady
Moldova Increase 1
Mongolia Decrease 1
North Macedonia Decrease 1
Peru Decrease 1
Seychelles Increase 1
Slovakia Decrease 2
97 China (incl. Hong Kong) -5 Steady
Timor-Leste Steady
Kosovo Decrease 1
Macau Decrease 1
Marshall Islands Decrease 2
Mauritius Steady
Samoa Steady
104 Armenia -6 Decrease 1
Bulgaria Steady
Cook Islands Decrease 1
Panama Decrease 2
São Tomé and Príncipe Steady
Sri Lanka Steady
110 Angola -7 Decrease 4
El Salvador Decrease 2
Guinea-Bissau Decrease 1
Honduras Steady
Laos Decrease 4
Mozambique Decrease 3
Saint Kitts and Nevis Steady
Saint Lucia Decrease 3
Venezuela Increase 1
119 Benin -8 Decrease 2
Kiribati Decrease 1
Palau Decrease 1
Philippines Decrease 1
123 Dominican Republic -9 Increase 2
Ethiopia Increase 5
Gabon Decrease 1
Guinea Steady
Hungary Decrease 4
Nicaragua Decrease 1
Pakistan Decrease 2
Tuvalu Decrease 1
Vanuatu Decrease 3
132 Bahamas -10 Steady
Bahrain Steady
Bangladesh Steady
Belarus Increase 2
Central African Republic Steady
Equatorial Guinea Steady
Eswatini Increase 2
Grenada Decrease 2
Guatemala Decrease 1
Haiti Steady
Ivory Coast Increase 2
Kazakhstan Decrease 1
North Korea Increase 1
Lebanon Decrease 2
Paraguay Decrease 2
Rwanda Steady
Solomon Islands Increase 1
Tonga Decrease 1
Trinidad & Tobago Decrease 3
Vatican City Decrease 2
152 Chad -11 Steady
Comoros Decrease 1
Democratic Republic of the Congo Steady
Dominica Decrease 1
Gambia Steady
Guyana Decrease 1
Jamaica Increase 1
Madagascar Steady
Niger Decrease 6
Republic of the Congo Decrease 1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Decrease 1
Sierra Leone Decrease 2
Tajikistan Decrease 2
Togo Decrease 1
Turkey Decrease 1
Uzbekistan Steady
168 Georgia -12 Decrease 1
Ghana Steady
Indonesia Increase 1
Kenya Decrease 2
Kyrgyzstan Decrease 5
Liberia Decrease 1
Maldives Decrease 1
Myanmar Decrease 2
176 Azerbaijan -13 Decrease 6
Burundi Decrease 3
Djibouti Decrease 2
Malawi Increase 1
Mauritania Decrease 1
Papua New Guinea Decrease 3
Zambia Decrease 1
183 Algeria -14 Decrease 1
Burkina Faso Decrease 6
Cameroon Increase 1
Eritrea Decrease 1
Mali Decrease 6
Morocco Steady
Tunisia Steady
190 Brunei -15 Decrease 1
Aceh (Indonesia) Decrease 1
Jordan Decrease 3
Oman Decrease 3
Syria Decrease 2
195 Egypt -16 Decrease 2
Kuwait Steady
Libya Steady
Malaysia Decrease 1
Senegal Decrease 3
Sudan Decrease 4
Zimbabwe Decrease 2
202 Nigeria -17 Steady
Qatar Steady
Russia Steady
South Sudan Decrease 3
Tanzania Decrease 2
Turkmenistan Decrease 3
208 Iraq -18 Decrease 3
United Arab Emirates Decrease 2
210 Uganda -19 Decrease 1
211 Somalia -21 Decrease 2
212 Afghanistan -22 Steady
Chechnya (Russia) Decrease 1
Saudi Arabia Steady
215 Iran -23 Decrease 1
216 Yemen -24 Decrease 1

Not Included in Data

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 New York 16 Increase 1
2 California 14 Steady
Nevada Increase 1
Washington Increase 1
5 Colorado 13 Increase 1
New Jersey Increase 1
New Mexico Increase 2
Oregon Steady
9 Maine 12 Increase 3
Massachusetts Increase 1
Minnesota Increase 3
Vermont Increase 3
Washington, D.C. Steady
14 Hawaii 11 Increase 1
Illinois Steady
Maryland Increase 1
Michigan Increase 3
Rhode Island Increase 3
Virginia Increase 1
20 Connecticut 10 Steady
Delaware Increase 8
22 Utah 8 Steady
23 New Hampshire 6 Decrease 1
Pennsylvania Steady
25 Arizona 5 Steady
26 Wisconsin 3 Increase 1
27 Georgia 2 Steady
28 Alaska 1 Increase 1
29 Kentucky 0 Steady
30 Kansas -1 Increase 1
Louisiana Steady
North Carolina Increase 1
Ohio Decrease 5
34 Indiana -2 Decrease 1
Iowa Decrease 1
Missouri Decrease 2
Montana Increase 3
Nebraska Decrease 1
South Dakota Increase 1
40 Alabama -3 Increase 1
Florida Decrease 2
North Dakota Decrease 1
Texas Decrease 2
Wyoming Steady
45 Idaho -4 Decrease 4
Mississippi Decrease 1
South Carolina Steady
West Virginia Decrease 1
49 Arkansas -5 Decrease 1
Oklahoma Increase 1
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.

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.