Friendliest Countries For LGBT Travelers? Canada No. 1, U.S. No. 47

The friendliest countries for LGBT travelers are Canada, Portugal and Sweden, according to a newly released gay travel index.

The three countries finished in a tie for the top ranking, and 13 countries — nearly all in Europe — tied for No. 4, the Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2019 shows. Spartacus International Gay Guide, based in Berlin, Germany, provides tips for gay travelers on its website and mobile app.

The index ranked 197 countries based on 14 criteria, including antidiscrimination laws, marriage and civil partnership laws, adoption laws, transgender rights and persecution.

The United States did not rank in the top 45 countries. It ranked No. 47, a ranking shared with nine other countries: Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Macao, Seychelles and Thailand.

Supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community dance in New Delhi, India, during a protest in December to stop passage of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill. Members of the LGBT community expressed concerns that the bill will marginalize the people it is supposed to safeguard. In the Spartacus Gay Travel Index rankings of the friendliest countries for LGBT travelers, India ranks No. 57 of 197 countries.  (Photo: Manish Swarup/Associated Press)

The U.S. has been steadily dropping in the rankings. It ranked No. 34 in 2017 and fell to No. 39 last year, when Spartacus International Gay Guide pointed to President Trump’s “attempts to curtail transgender rights in the military” as a major factor for the decline.

Portugal’s ascent to a No. 1 ranking this year was a big jump from last year, when the country ranked No. 27 in the index. Portugal, Canada and Sweden received a top mark this year for their antidiscrimination laws.

The least friendly nation is Chechnya, No. 197, which has been involved, the Spartacus International Gay Guide says, in “state-organized persecution and killings of homosexuals.” Rounding out the bottom five are Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Yemen. All five were given negative marks for murders and death sentences involving the LGBT community.

Of 197 countries ranked in the Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2019, the following are the rankings of the 16 friendliest countries for LGBT travelers: 

1) Canada

1) Portugal

1) Sweden

4) Austria

4) Belgium

4) Denmark

4) Finland

4) Iceland

4) Luxembourg

4) Malta

4) The Netherlands

4) New Zealand

4) Norway

4) Reunion

4) Spain

4) United Kingdom

Here are the countries ranked No. 17 through No. 47:

17) France

17) Gibraltar

17) Greenland

17) Ireland

17) Switzerland

17) Uruguay

23) Colombia

23) French Polynesia

23) Germany

23) Israel

23) New Caledonia

28) Andorra

28) Argentina

28) Australia

28) Guadeloupe

28) Martinique

28) Slovenia

28) South Africa

35) Czech Republic

35) Estonia

35) Guam

35) Puerto Rico

39) Liechtenstein

39) Slovakia

41) Bolivia

41) Ecuador

41) Italy

41) Mozambique

41) Nepal
41) Taiwan
47) Bermuda

47) Bosnia-Herzegovina

47) Chile
47) Costa Rica
47) Croatia

47) Cuba
47) Macao
47) Seychelles
47) Thailand
47) USA