Gay-friendly

Last updated April 21, 2026

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 Gaytoys-rotterdam-2019.jpg — 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

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	1
2	Malta	13
2	Spain	13
4	Belgium	12	2
	Canada		1
	Germany
	Portugal		1
8	New Zealand	11	1
	Norway
	Switzerland
11	Australia	10	1
	Chile
	France		2
	Uruguay		1
15	Austria	9
	Colombia		2
	Cuba		3
	Denmark		1
	Faroe Islands		New entry
	Finland
	French Polynesia		1
	Greece
	Greenland
	Luxembourg
	Netherlands
	New Caledonia		2
	Sweden
28	Ireland	8	1
	Réunion
	Taiwan		1
31	India	7	4
32	Andorra	6	2
	Argentina		3
	Brazil		1
	Gibraltar		3
	Guadeloupe
	Martinique
	Mexico		1
	Nepal		5
	United Kingdom		3
41	Costa Rica	5	2
	Ecuador		2
	Estonia		2
	Israel
	Puerto Rico		1
	Slovenia		1
47	Aruba	4	3
	Bolivia		3
	South Africa
	United States		2
	US Virgin Islands		3
52	Cyprus	3	1
	Czech Republic		1
	Guam
	Thailand		1
56	Croatia	2
	Liechtenstein
	San Marino		1
59	Curaçao	-1
	Italy
	Japan		1
	Latvia
	Lithuania		2
	Montenegro
	Poland		6
	Vietnam
67	Bermuda	-2	1
	Bosnia and Herzegovina		1
	South Korea
	Northern Cyprus		1
	Romania		1
	Sint Maarten		1
	Suriname		2
74	Albania	-3	1
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Barbados		1
	Bhutan		2
	Botswana		1
	British Virgin Islands		2
	Fiji
	Lesotho		2
	Monaco
	Namibia		1
	Serbia		1
	Singapore		1
	Ukraine		1
87	Belize	-4	2
	Cape Verde
	Cambodia
	Micronesia
	Moldova		1
	Mongolia		1
	North Macedonia		1
	Peru		1
	Seychelles		1
	Slovakia		2
97	China (incl. Hong Kong)	-5
	Timor-Leste
	Kosovo		1
	Macau		1
	Marshall Islands		2
	Mauritius
	Samoa
104	Armenia	-6	1
	Bulgaria
	Cook Islands		1
	Panama		2
	São Tomé and Príncipe
	Sri Lanka
110	Angola	-7	4
	El Salvador		2
	Guinea-Bissau		1
	Honduras
	Laos		4
	Mozambique		3
	Saint Kitts and Nevis
	Saint Lucia		3
	Venezuela		1
119	Benin	-8	2
	Kiribati		1
	Palau		1
	Philippines		1
123	Dominican Republic	-9	2
	Ethiopia		5
	Gabon		1
	Guinea
	Hungary		4
	Nicaragua		1
	Pakistan		2
	Tuvalu		1
	Vanuatu		3
132	Bahamas	-10
	Bahrain
	Bangladesh
	Belarus		2
	Central African Republic
	Equatorial Guinea
	Eswatini		2
	Grenada		2
	Guatemala		1
	Haiti
	Ivory Coast		2
	Kazakhstan		1
	North Korea		1
	Lebanon		2
	Paraguay		2
	Rwanda
	Solomon Islands		1
	Tonga		1
	Trinidad & Tobago		3
	Vatican City		2
152	Chad	-11
	Comoros		1
	Democratic Republic of the Congo
	Dominica		1
	Gambia
	Guyana		1
	Jamaica		1
	Madagascar
	Niger		6
	Republic of the Congo		1
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		1
	Sierra Leone		2
	Tajikistan		2
	Togo		1
	Turkey		1
	Uzbekistan
168	Georgia	-12	1
	Ghana
	Indonesia		1
	Kenya		2
	Kyrgyzstan		5
	Liberia		1
	Maldives		1
	Myanmar		2
176	Azerbaijan	-13	6
	Burundi		3
	Djibouti		2
	Malawi		1
	Mauritania		1
	Papua New Guinea		3
	Zambia		1
183	Algeria	-14	1
	Burkina Faso		6
	Cameroon		1
	Eritrea		1
	Mali		6
	Morocco
	Tunisia
190	Brunei	-15	1
	Aceh (Indonesia)		1
	Jordan		3
	Oman		3
	Syria		2
195	Egypt	-16	2
	Kuwait
	Libya
	Malaysia		1
	Senegal		3
	Sudan		4
	Zimbabwe		2
202	Nigeria	-17
	Qatar
	Russia
	South Sudan		3
	Tanzania		2
	Turkmenistan		3
208	Iraq	-18	3
208	United Arab Emirates	-18	2
210	Uganda	-19	1
211	Somalia	-21	2
212	Afghanistan	-22
	Chechnya (Russia)		1
	Saudi Arabia
215	Iran	-23	1
216	Yemen	-24	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	1
2	California	14
	Nevada		1
	Washington		1
5	Colorado	13	1
	New Jersey		1
	New Mexico		2
	Oregon
9	Maine	12	3
	Massachusetts		1
	Minnesota		3
	Vermont		3
	Washington, D.C.
14	Hawaii	11	1
	Illinois
	Maryland		1
	Michigan		3
	Rhode Island		3
	Virginia		1
20	Connecticut	10
20	Delaware	10	8
22	Utah	8
23	New Hampshire	6	1
23	Pennsylvania	6
25	Arizona	5
26	Wisconsin	3	1
27	Georgia	2
28	Alaska	1	1
29	Kentucky	0
30	Kansas	-1	1
	Louisiana
	North Carolina		1
	Ohio		5
34	Indiana	-2	1
	Iowa		1
	Missouri		2
	Montana		3
	Nebraska		1
	South Dakota		1
40	Alabama	-3	1
	Florida		2
	North Dakota		1
	Texas		2
	Wyoming
45	Idaho	-4	4
	Mississippi		1
	South Carolina
	West Virginia		1
49	Arkansas	-5	1
	Oklahoma		1
	Tennessee		2

References

↑ "Wyborcza.pl" . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
↑ "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.
↑ Adrian Thatcher, The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender, Oxford University Press, UK, 2015, p. 368
↑ 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.
↑ "Social Acceptance of LGBTI People in 175 Countries and Locations". November 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
1 2 "Spartacus Gay Travel Index (GTI)". Spartacus International Gay Guide . Retrieved 19 April 2026.
1 2 "SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index 2026 – Between Progress and Backlash". Spartacus International Gay Guide . 27 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
1 2 "Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2026" (PDF). Spartacus International Gay Guide . 26 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.

External links

Human Rights Campaign, lobby group for LGBTQ rights

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[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.

[Spartacus-6] 1 2 "Spartacus Gay Travel Index (GTI)". Spartacus International Gay Guide . Retrieved 19 April 2026.

[recent-7] 1 2 "SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index 2026 – Between Progress and Backlash". Spartacus International Gay Guide . 27 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.

[GTI-8] 1 2 "Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2026" (PDF). Spartacus International Gay Guide . 26 February 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.

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