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Growing global acceptance of gay and lesbian people

Data: Gallup; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios Visuals

The share of people worldwide who say their area is a good place for gay or lesbian people to live doubled from 25% to 50% over 10 years, according to a Gallup Poll.

Zoom in: The countries with the highest percentage were Norway (92%), Sweden (91%) and the Netherlands (90%). The U.S. ranks 15th with 80%.


  • Countries with the largest increases since 2012 were Nepal (+63 percentage points), India (+42) and Bangladesh (+35).
  • In 44 countries, at least 50% of residents said their local area was a good place for gay or lesbian people in 2021.

Reality check: Progress was not uniform across all countries.

  • The share who felt their area was a good place declined in Nicaragua (-15 percentage points), El Salvador (-7) and Paraguay (-5).
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