Gallup, using a worldwide poll, found that 28% of adults describe their areas as "a good place" to live as an openly gay or lesbian person, based on hospitable attitudes in 123 countries.
The most hospitable place, with 83% affirming it as such, is the Netherlands. Named as "not a good place" by an overwhelming near-consensus of 98%, Senegal is found to be the least hospitable.
The poll does not appear to have surveyed adults about conditions for people bisexual and did not inquire about hospitality towards transgender communities. Additionally, data was not included from 15 nations where it was deemed too dangerous to ask the question, including Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Yemen.
From each of the 123 countries included, 1,000 folks ages 15 and up were interviewed.
Almost all of the countries considered to be among the most hospitable are located in Europe and have laws in place allowing marriage equality, except for Canada and Ireland, respectively. Unsurprisingly, on the flip side, the least hospitable nations tend to have laws criminalizing their gay and lesbian citizens with prison sentences and fines, for example.
The countries deemed "not a good place" by their majorities, Gallup notes, are almost all in Africa. According to Gallup, the only country within the content with legalized marriage equality is South Africa, where those polled are split almost in half on whether or not it's "a good place" to be gay, with a slight majority leaning no.
"This helps to explain why legal and social change toward greater acceptance toward LGBT people can be so elusive in regions of the world like much of the African continent," explained Gary Gates of the Williams Institute. "When the vast majority of residents believe a country is not a good (and likely safe) place for gay and lesbian people, LGBT visibility remains low and progress toward a more supportive climate can be painfully slow."
Gallup's findings go to show once again that social and political equality go hand in hand; visibility, safety, and equal access to resources need each other to thrive, so people who are LGBT can thrive.
Check out the full results:
