The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Map of World Laws

May 2015

www.ilga.org

ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association

Greenland
Iceland

Alaska

Sweden

Ireland
Minnesota

Washington

U. S. A.

Oregon
Nevada

Iowa

Colorado

California

Jalisco
Colima

Mexico:
Marriage: 25 states
and Federal District

Virgin Islands
Cuba
Puerto Rico
Jamaica Haiti
Belize
& Barbuda
St. Kitts & Nevis Antigua
Dominica
Honduras
St. Vincent St. Lucia
Guatemala
Grenada Barbados
Nicaragua
El Salvador
Trinidad
& Tobago
Panama
Costa Rica
Venezuela

PERSECUTION
Death penalty
6 countries and parts of Nigeria and
Somalia

Guyana
Suriname
French Guiana

Colombia
Ecuador

Portugal Spain

Morocco

Mauritania

Albania
Greece

Algeria

Cape Verde

Senegal
Gambia
Guinea Bissau Guinea

Mali

Niger

Chad

Angola
Namibia

Uruguay

Imprisonment up to 14 years

Pakistan

Tanzania
Malawi

U. A. E.

Bangladesh

Taiwan

Myanmar Laos
Thailand

Maldives

Sri Lanka
Aceh
Province

Vietnam
Cambodia

Seychelles

South
Sumatra

Mauritius

Philippines

7 cities

Brunei
Malaysia
Singapore
Palembang

Comoros

Zimbabwe Mozambique
Madagascar
Botswana

Japan

Nepal Bhutan

India

Oman

South Korea

Palau

Nauru
Kiribati
Solomon
Samoa
Islands
Papua New Guinea
Tuvalu

Indonesia

Timor-leste

Cook Islands

Nothern
Australia Queensland

Vanuatu

Western Australia
Australia
New South Wales
South

South Africa

Australia

RECOGNITION
Imprisonment, no precise indication
of the length /banishment

Recognition of same-sex unions

34 countries and 65 entities

Anti-Propaganda law without other

legislation persecuting on the basis
of sexual orientation

* See ILGA's SSHR for names of States.

When the majority of entities of one country
has equality marriage, the whole country is
attributed to the dark green color (Marriage).

JOINT ADOPTION
17 countries and 28 entities

Marriage
Equal (almost equal)
substitute to marriage
Clearly inferior substitute to
marriage

Joint adoption

PROTECTION
Anti-discrimination laws
69 countries and 85 entities

Norfolk Island

New Zealand

No specific
legislation
No specific legislation

Countries which introduced laws

prohibiting discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation

Fiji
Tonga

Australian
Victoria Capital Territory
Tasmania

Death penalty
= NOT IMPLEMENTED
Iraq: persecution by organised
non-state agents.

Kuwait

Yemen

China

Afghanistan

Bahrain Qatar

Eritrea

North Korea

Lesotho Swaziland

Rosario

Buenos Aires

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Zambia

Paraguay

Argentina

Iraq

Jordan

Egypt

Congo Burundi

Bolivia
Chile

Syria
Cyprus Lebanon
Gaza Israel

Malta

Libya

Turkey

Mongolia

Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan
Turkmenistan Tajikistan

Georgia Azerbaijan
Armenia

Burkina
Djibouti
Benin Nigeria
South
Ivory Togo
Sierra Leone
Ethiopia
Central African
Sudan
Coast Ghana
Somalia
Cameroon Republic
Liberia
Equatorial Guinea
Uganda
Congo
Gabon
Kenya
D.R. Rwanda

Brazil
14 entities

Peru

Kazakhstan

Moldova

Kosovo Mac.Bulgaria

Tunisia

Sao Tome & Principe

Imprisonment from 14 years

to a life-long sentence
"Anti-propaganda law"
restricting freedom of
expression and association

Andorra

AustriaHungary

Slovenia Croatia Romania

Crimea
Italy Bosnia Serbia

Western Sahara

Federal
District

These laws are aimed at lesbians, gay men

and bisexuals and at same-sex activities and
relationships. At times, they also apply to trans
and intersex people. This edition of the world
map (May 2015) was coordinated by Renato
Sabbadini and Alessia Valenza (ILGA). Design:
Eduardo Enoki. Data represented in this map is
based on State-Sponsored Homophobia: a World
Survey of Laws: criminalisation, protection and
recognition of same-sex love - 2015, an ILGA
report by Aengus Carroll & Lucas Paoli Itaborahy,
available in various languages on www.ilga.org.
ILGA thanks its member organizations which
contributed to the annual update.

Imprisonment
75 countries and 5 entities

Switzerland

Gibraltar

The Bahamas
Dom. Rep.

Quintana Roo

Denmark
Lithuania
Neth.
Belarus
Belgium Germany Poland
Lux. Liech. Czech Slovakia
Ukraine

U. K.

France

Canary Islands

Coahuila

Mexico

Hawaii

Europe:
41 countries
and 13 entities

Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Massachussets
New York
Rhode Island
Illinois
Connecticut
New Jersey
Washington D.C. Delaware
Maryland

23 states

New Mexico

US:
Marriage: 37 states

Wisconsin

Russia

Estonia
Latvia

Canada

Finland
(2017)

Norway

northamerica@ilga.org

ILGA is a world-wide network of local and national organizations

dedicated to achieving equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Trans, and Intersex (LGBTI) people everywhere.
Founded in 1978, ILGA enjoys consultative status at the United
Nations where it speaks and lobbies on behalf of 1200 member
organisations.

oceania@ilga.org

ILGAs vision is of a world where the human rights of all are

respected and where everyone can live in equality and freedom; a
world where global justice and equity are assured and established
regardless of the peoples sexual orientations, gender identities,
gender expressions and bodily diversities.
To become a member and/or to support our work by making a
donation, write to membership@ilga.org

asia@ilga.org

info@ilga-europe.org

ILGA
20 Rue Rothschild - 1202 Geneva - Switzerland
+41 22 731 3254
www.ilga.org
information@ilga.org

paiadmin@ilga.org

ilga-lac@ilga.org