New Gallup data shows the world is still divided on whether local communities are good places for gay and lesbian people to live. While attitudes have improved over time in many places, the gap between acceptance and stigma remains wide.
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- Australia and New Zealand ranked among the top 10 most accepting countries.
- Countries in parts of Africa and post-Soviet Eurasia recorded the lowest acceptance levels.
- A global median of 39% said their area is a good place for gay & lesbian people to live.
- 45% said their area is not a good place.
- Acceptance is much higher in countries where same-sex relationships are legal.
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Gallup’s latest global data paints a familiar but still sobering picture: the world remains split on whether gay and lesbian people are treated well in their own communities. In 2024, a median of 39% across more than 120 countries said their city or area was a good place for gay and lesbian people to live, while 45% said it was not. news.gallup
That divide is smaller than it once was. When Gallup first began tracking the question in 2007, only 23% said their area was a good place, compared with 55% who said it was not. The share of seeing their communities as welcoming has nearly doubled since then, but the gap still remains.
The picture changes sharply depending on location and legal protections.
Gallup found that in countries where same-sex relationships are legal, 46% on average said their area was a good place for gay and lesbian people, compared with just 11% in countries where same-sex relationships remain illegal.
Nordic countries again ranked among the most accepting, with Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland all recording strong majorities. Australia and New Zealand also placed among the top 10 globally. At the other end of the scale, countries including Gambia, Senegal, Malawi and Ghana reported very low levels of acceptance.
Gallup says the findings underline a clear link between legal recognition and social attitudes, but also show that law alone does not guarantee safety or inclusion. Even in countries where same-sex relationships are legal, hostility can remain deeply rooted.
For queer readers, the report is a reminder that progress is real, but uneven. Some parts of the world are moving toward acceptance, while others remain stuck — or are moving backwards — leaving gay and lesbian people to navigate very different realities depending on where they live.
Gallup Source >World Split on Treatment of Gay and Lesbian People
