Rainbow Map

2025 rainbow map

The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls following anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our press release.

“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in reality designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”

• Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director, ILGA-Europe

Malta has sat on top of the ranking for the last 10 years. 

With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. 

Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.

The three countries at the other end of the Rainbow Map scale are Russia (2%), Azerbaijan (2%), and Turkey (5%). Romania now sits at the end of the EU ranking with 19% points, followed by Poland (21%) and Bulgaria (21%).

KEY FIGURES

• Conversion practices are only banned in 10 countries.

• 6 is the number of countries where LGBTI people do not have any protection from discrimination.

Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia and Spain are the only countries that have full coverage of SOGIESC in their anti-discrimination legislations.

Hate crime and hate speech on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics are prohibited in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Malta, and some regions in Spain and the UK. 

• Marriage equality for same-sex couples is only available in 22 countries.

• 18 is the number of countries without any legal protection of same-sex partnerships.

• Trans parenthood is fully recognised only in 8 countries. 

• Only Germany, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Portugal and Spain prohibit unnecessary surgical or medical interventions on intersex children.

• 11 countries still don’t have any legal or administrative procedure for legal gender recognition.

In addition, Bulgaria, Hungary and Russia have laws that make legal gender recognition completely impossible.

• Only in 12 countries, trans people can have legal gender recognition based on self-determination.

• Freedom of assembly and association for LGBTI communities are restricted or under attack in at least 14 countries. 

• Sexual orientation and gender identity are qualification criteria for seeking asylum in 27 countries. Intersex asylum seekers are protected in the law only in 6 countries.