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Most LGBTQ+ friendly countries

Legal recognition, anti-discrimination protections, healthcare access, and cost of living — ranked from ILGA Rainbow Index, Equaldex, and SortaRich's own lgbt-friendliness score per country.

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What "LGBTQ+ friendly" actually means

Friendliness for LGBTQ+ travelers and expats has at least four layers: legal recognition (marriage, civil partnership, gender recognition), anti-discrimination protections (employment, housing, hate crime), healthcare access (HIV/PrEP availability, gender-affirming care), and lived social acceptance. SortaRich aggregates the ILGA Rainbow Index, Equaldex public-policy scoring, and country-level safety data.

The top tier — Iceland, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Canada, Uruguay, New Zealand, Germany — combines full marriage equality with comprehensive anti-discrimination law and accessible gender-affirming healthcare. The bottom tier criminalizes same-sex relations (currently 60+ jurisdictions). The middle is wide and depends on what matters most to you.

What countries have full LGBTQ+ equality?

The countries currently scoring highest on the ILGA Rainbow Index — combining marriage equality, anti-discrimination law, gender recognition without surgery, and asylum protections — are Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Malta, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, and Uruguay. All recognize same-sex marriage, ban employment + housing discrimination, allow legal gender change, and have explicit hate-crime statutes covering sexual orientation and gender identity.

Source: ILGA-Europe Rainbow Index 2025 + Equaldex

Best countries for gay couples to retire?

Combining LGBTQ+ legal protection with retirement-visa accessibility and cost of living: Portugal (D7 passive-income visa, full marriage equality, ~$2,000-3,000/mo for a couple), Spain (Non-Lucrative Visa), Uruguay (residency via tax-holiday program), Costa Rica (Pensionado), and Mexico (Temporary Resident with civil unions in most states; full marriage in CDMX, Yucatán, Quintana Roo). All grant social benefits to same-sex spouses identical to opposite-sex.

Where can same-sex couples get married AND get residency?

Same-sex couples can get married AND get residency in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Uruguay, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia — all marriage-equality countries with spouse-of-citizen residency pathways. Some require the marriage to be performed locally; others recognize foreign same-sex marriages (Spain, Portugal, Canada, Argentina). Always confirm with the destination's immigration authority — some marriage-equality countries still don't recognize foreign same-sex marriages for visa purposes.