Rainbow Map
2026 rainbow map
Spain breaks Malta’s decade-long hold on the Rainbow Map top spot
As the rules-based international order fractures and democracy is under pressure, Spain’s top ranking stands as proof that political courage remains the most powerful answer. Read more in our press release.
“This year’s Rainbow Map tells two stories at once.
One of genuine courage, in Spain, in courtrooms, and in leaders who are choosing to stand with their communities rather than scapegoat them.
And one of real and growing danger that cannot be underestimated. The question every government in Europe must now answer is which story they want to be part of.”
- Katrin Hugendubel, Deputy Director of ILGA-Europe
The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%. It is supported by our Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia, which gathers and presents qualitative data, illustrating how these laws and policies impact politics, society, and the daily lives of LGBTI people.
The data for both the Rainbow Map and the Annual Review is verified by over 250 experts across the region, including activists, legal professionals, and policy specialists.
Spain sits on top of the ranking for the first time. The government has followed through on its commitments set out in the 2023 LGBTI and trans laws by adopting equality action plans for LGBTI and trans rights, establishing an independent authority for equal treatment, and fully implementing the depathologisation of trans people in the healthcare system.
Malta drops one place to 2nd in the ranking with a score of 88%. While the slide in the ranking is technically due to Spain’s rise, it also reflects Malta’s stagnation and lack of continuous reform. The country still lacks a comprehensive anti-discrimination framework, which could be addressed through the Equality Bill that was tabled in 2019 and has been stalled since.
Iceland retains the 3rd place in the ranking, but gains two points, resulting in a total score of 86%. The government renewed its equality action plan, reaffirming its commitment to legal progress. Some measures set in the action plan have started being implemented, such as a training framework for asylum caseworkers in cooperation with the LGBTI organisation.
The three countries at the other end of the Rainbow Map scale are Russia (2%), Azerbaijan (2%), and Turkey (5%).
Romania has a 19% score and drops one place to 42nd, remaining as the lowest ranked EU member state, followed by Bulgaria (20%) and Poland (22%).
KEY FIGURES
- 7 countries do not have any legal protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Montenegro and Spain are the only countries that have full coverage of SOGIESC in their anti-discrimination legal framework.
- Conversion practices are only banned in 10 countries.
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 of Spain and the UK.
- Marriage equality is available in 22 countries.
- 18 countries don’t have any legal protection of same-sex couples.
- Trans parenthood is fully recognised in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
- Only Germany, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Portugal and Spain prohibit unnecessary surgical or medical interventions on intersex children.
- 12 countries still don’t have any legal or administrative procedure for legal gender recognition.
Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom have explicit bans or other kinds of legal limitations which serve to make legal gender recognition practically 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 13 countries.
- Sexual orientation is a qualification criteria for seeking asylum in 34 countries. Gender identity is a qualification criteria for seeking asylum in 28 countries. Intersex asylum seekers are protected in the law only in 7 countries.
You can go ‘behind’ the points to see original information sources, download data sets and visuals on country or category pages and compare countries.
Categories Global Scores
Please, click on each category for further details
ASYLUM
This year, no countries adopted new laws protecting the rights of LGBTI asylum seekers. Iceland was the only country that introduced new policies, such as a training framework for asylum caseworkers, run in cooperation with the LGBTI organisation.
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