New Study: Countries With The Highest Approval Of Gay Marriage

21.12.2023 - 01:51 / forbes.com

Safety is top of mind for many travelers as they plan out their trips for 2024 and beyond. But for those in the LGBTQ community, and their allies, knowing which countries are welcoming towards gay travelers is an important consideration. Part of measuring that sentiment is knowing where residents stand on rights, including same-sex marriage. The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about issues and attitudes shaping the world, released a new study showing which country’s residents support same-sex marriage the most, and which countries have the lowest level of support.

Among those surveyed, the findings show that Sweden residents have the highest level of support for legal same-sex marriage, with 92% of adults favoring it. In Nigeria, only 2 percent of adults back same-sex marriage, which is the least amount of support, according to the Pew Research Center’s findings. Sweden also ranks high (No. 2, topped only by Canada) on the LGBTQ+ travel safety index that reviewed countries’ individual laws as part of its metrics.

The Pew research was conducted prior to this week’s news that Pope Francis formally approved same-sex blessings.

Researchers point out that support for gay marriage varies significantly throughout the world, with Western European residents among the strongest supporters of gay marriage. However, it has less support in other parts of Europe where just four in 10 of adults in Poland and three in 10 in Hungary support same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research findings.

In North American, Canadians are the most in favor of legalized-same sex marriage, with a total of 79% supporting the right. Sentiment towards legalized gay marriage is similar in the U.S. and Mexico, where 63% of adults in both countries are in favor of it. Same sex marriage was legalized in the USA in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees it.

Some interesting findings include that despite same-sex marriage not being legal in Italy, 73% of respondents were in favor of it. South Africa is the only place in Africa where same-sex couples can legally marry, but about 59% of South Africans surveyed oppose the practice. While public support is high for gay marriage in Japan, the country hasn’t legalized it.

The researchers found that support for legal same-sex marriage is lower in places where residents say religion is “somewhat” or “very important” in their lives.

The Pew Research analysis focused on public opinion of the legality of same-sex marriage in 32 places in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Here are the countries around the world where adults have the strongest approval of same-sex marriage,