Culture > Sexuality > Homosexuality > Legality of homosexual acts: Countries Compared
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DEFINITION:
Same-sex sexual activity.
No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.
No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.
No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.
No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.
No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.
| COUNTRY | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Illegal (Penalty: Death) |
| Albania | Legal since 1995 UN decl. sign. |
| Algeria | Illegal (Penalty: Fine - Up to 2 years prison or viligante executions) |
| Andorra | Legal since 1791 (as part of France) UN decl. sign. |
| Angola | Illegal |
| Argentina | Legal since 1887 UN decl. sign. |
| Armenia | Legal since 2003 UN decl. sign. |
| Austria | Legal since 1971 UN decl. sign. |
| Azerbaijan | Legal since 2000 |
| Bahrain | Legal since 1976 |
| Bangladesh | Illegal (Penalty: 10 years to life) |
| Belarus | Legal since 1994 |
| Belgium | Legal since 1795 (as part of France) UN decl. sign. |
| Belize | Male llegal since September 19, 2003 (Penalty: 10 year prison sentence). Female legal. (Foreign gay males and females are rejected from entering the country due to the Belize Immigration Act) |
| Benin | Legal |
| Bhutan | Illegal (Penalty: prison sentence up to 1 year; no cases of penalty actually enforced) |
| Bolivia | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Legal since 1998 UN decl. sign. |
| Botswana | Illegal (Penalty: Fine - 7 years, Though never enforced) |
| Brazil | Decriminalized since 1824, Legal since 1830 UN decl. sign. |
| Brunei | Illegal (Penalty: fine or prison sentence up to 10 years) |
| Bulgaria | Legal since 1968 UN decl. sign. |
| Burkina Faso | Legal |
| Burma | Illegal (Penalty: up to life sentence) |
| Burundi | Illegal since 2009 (Penalty: 3 months to 2 years imprisonment and/or fine) |
| Cambodia | Legal |
| Cameroon | Illegal (Penalty: Fine to 5 years prison) |
| Canada | Legal since 1969 (Age of consent discrepancy, prohibition of anal intercourse in some cases) UN decl. sign. |
| Cape Verde | Legal since 2004 UN decl. sign. |
| Central African Republic | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| Chad | Legal since 1967 |
| Chile | Legal since 1998 (Age of consent discrepancy) UN decl. sign. |
| Colombia | Legal since 1981 UN decl. sign. |
| Comoros | Illegal (Penalty: 5 years imprisonment and/or fine) |
| Costa Rica | Legal since 1971 UN decl. sign. |
| Croatia | Legal since 1977 UN decl. sign. |
| Cyprus | Legal since 1998 UN decl. sign. |
| Czech Republic | Legal since 1962 UN decl. sign. |
| Denmark | Legal since 1933 UN decl. sign. |
| Djibouti | Legal |
| East Timor | Legal since 1975 UN decl. sign. |
| Ecuador | Legal since 1997 UN decl. sign. |
| Egypt | Not specifically illegal, but is illegalized through broadly written morality laws (Penalty: Fines, torture, up to 17 years in jail with or without hard labor, or viligante executions)| |
| El Salvador | Legal since 1800's UN decl. sign. |
| Equatorial Guinea | Legal |
| Eritrea | Illegal (Penalty: Up to 3 years imprisonment) |
| Estonia | Legal since 1992 UN decl. sign. |
| Ethiopia | Illegal |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| Fiji | Legal since 2010 UN decl. sign. |
| Finland | Legal since 1971 UN decl. sign. |
| France | Legal since 1791 UN decl. sign. |
| Gabon | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| Gambia | Illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years imprisonment) |
| Georgia | Legal since 2000 UN decl. sign. |
| Germany | Legal since 1969 (since 1968 in East Germany ) UN decl. sign. |
| Ghana | Male illegal (Penalty: up to 3 years imprisonment for consensual acts) Female uncertain |
| Greece | Legal in 1951 (Age of consent discrepancy). UN decl. sign. |
| Guatemala | Legal since 1871 UN decl. sign. |
| Guinea | Illegal (Penalty: 6 months to 3 years imprisonment) |
| Guinea-Bissau | Legal since 1993 UN decl. sign. |
| Guyana | Illegal (Penalty: Up to life imprisonment) |
| Holy See (Vatican City) | Legal |
| Honduras | Legal since 1899 UN decl. sign. |
| Hungary | Legal since 1962 UN decl. sign. |
| Iceland | Legal since 1940 UN decl. sign. |
| India | Illegal since 1860 . Penalties up to life imprisonment. |
| Indonesia | Legal except for Muslims in Aceh Province |
| Iran | Illegal (Penalty: Death) |
| Iraq | Legal since 2003 |
| Ireland | Legal since 1993 UN decl. sign. |
| Israel | Legal since 1963 de facto 1988 de jure UN decl. sign. |
| Italy | Legal since 1890 UN decl. sign. |
| Japan | Legal since 1880 (was illegal from 1872-1880; before that there were no laws forbidding same sex relationships) UN decl. sign. |
| Jordan | Legal since 1951 |
| Kazakhstan | Legal since 1998 |
| Kenya | Male illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years imprisonment) Female presumed to be illegal. |
| Kiribati | Male illegal Female legal |
| Kosovo | Legal since 1994 (as part of Yugoslavia) |
| Kuwait | Male illegal (Penalty: Fines or up to 6 year prison sentence) Female legal |
| Kyrgyzstan | Legal since 1998 |
| Laos | Legal |
| Latvia | Legal since 1992 UN decl. sign. |
| Lebanon | Illegal (Penalty: Up to 6 months in prison) |
| Lesotho | Male illegal Female legal |
| Liberia | Illegal (Penalty: 1 year imprisonment) |
| Libya | Illegal (Penalty: Up to 5 years prison). |
| Liechtenstein | Legal since 1989 UN decl. sign. |
| Lithuania | Legal since 1993 UN decl. sign. |
| Luxembourg | Legal since 1795 (as part of France) UN decl. sign. |
| Madagascar | Legal |
| Malawi | Illegal (Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment and/or whippings) |
| Malaysia | Male illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence (2-20 years), or whippings) Female legal |
| Maldives | Up to death . Shariah law applies. Whippings, house arrest, deportation, and up to 6 years in jail. Vigilante attacks and executions occur. |
| Mali | Legal |
| Malta | Legal since 1973 UN decl. sign. |
| Marshall Islands | Legal since 2005 UN decl. sign. |
| Mauritania | Illegal (Penalty: Death penalty. However, no executions for any crime since 1987) |
| Mauritius | Male illegal (Penalty: Up to 5 years imprisonment) Female legal (national debate over repeal of the law) UN decl. sign. |
| Mexico | Legal since 1872 UN decl. sign. |
| Moldova | Legal since 1995 |
| Monaco | Legal since 1793 (as part of France) |
| Mongolia | Legal since 2002 |
| Montenegro | Legal since 1977 UN decl. sign. |
| Mozambique | Legal |
| Namibia | Illegal (not enforced) |
| Nauru | Male illegal Female legal (legalisation proposed) UN decl. sign. |
| Nepal | Legal since 2007 UN decl. sign. |
| Netherlands | Legal since 1811 (as part of France) UN decl. sign. |
| New Zealand | Legal since 1986 UN decl. sign. |
| Nicaragua | Legal since 2008 UN decl. sign. |
| Niger | Legal |
| Nigeria | Illegal (Penalty: Prison time, fines, corporal punishment, to death penalty) |
| North Korea | Legal |
| Norway | Legal since 1972 UN decl. sign. |
| Oman | Illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence up to 3 years; however, only enforced when dealing with "public scandal") |
| Pakistan | Illegal (Penalty: 2 years to life sentence) |
| Palau | Male illegal Female legal UN decl. sign. |
| Panama | Legal since 2008 UN decl. sign. |
| Papua New Guinea | Male Illegal (Penalty: 3 to 14 years imprisonment) Female Unknown |
| Paraguay | Legal since 1880 UN decl. sign. |
| Peru | Legal since 1836-37 |
| Philippines | Legal except for Muslims in Marawi City |
| Poland | Legal Never punished (Legal until 18th century, criminalized in 19th by laws of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, legal again since 1932) UN decl. sign. |
| Portugal | Legal since 1983 UN decl. sign. |
| Qatar | Male illegal (Penalty: fines, prison sentence up to 5 years) Female legal |
| Republic of Macedonia | Legal since 1996 UN decl. sign. |
| Republic of the Congo | Legal |
| Romania | Legal since 1996 Previously legal from 1864 to 1968. UN decl. sign. |
| Rwanda | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| San Marino | Legal since 2001 UN decl. sign. |
| Saudi Arabia | Illegal (Penalty: death or life imprisonment) |
| Senegal | Illegal (Penalty: 1 to 5 years imprisonment) |
| Serbia | Legal since 1994 UN decl. sign. |
| Seychelles | Male illegal (Penalty: Up to 14 years imprisonment) Female legal (decriminalisation proposed ) UN decl. sign. |
| Sierra Leone | Male illegal (Penalty: Life imprisonment) Female legal UN decl. sign. |
| Singapore | Male illegal (Penalty: up to 2 years prison sentence; no plan to repeal 377A and not enforced since 1999) Female legal |
| Slovakia | Legal since 1962 UN decl. sign. |
| Slovenia | Legal since 1977 UN decl. sign. |
| Solomon Islands | Illegal (Up to 14 years imprisonment) |
| Somalia | Illegal |
| South Africa | Male legal since 1998 (retroactive to 1994) Female always legal UN decl. sign. |
| South Korea | Legal UN decl. sign. |
| South Sudan | Illegal (Penalty: Up to 10 years.) |
| Spain | Legal since 1979 UN decl. sign. |
| Sri Lanka | Illegal |
| Sudan | Illegal (Penalty: Corporal Punishment. Death penalty for men on third offense. Death penalty on fourth offense for women) |
| Suriname | Legal since 1869 |
| Swaziland | Male illegal Female legal Pending law includes outlawing lesbian sex conduct. |
| Sweden | Legal since 1944 UN decl. sign. |
| Switzerland | Legal ( Geneva , Vaud , Valais and Ticino : since 1798 Nationwide since 1942) UN decl. sign. |
| Syria | Illegal (Penalty: prison sentence up to 3 years) |
| Tajikistan | Legal since 1998 |
| Tanzania | Illegal (Penalty: Up to life imprisonment) |
| Thailand | Legal since 1956 |
| Togo | Illegal (Penalty: Fine and/or a 3 year prison sentence) |
| Tunisia | Illegal (Penalty: Fine - 3 years) |
| Turkey | Legal since 1858 |
| Turkmenistan | Male illegal (Penalty: up to 2 year prison sentence) Female legal |
| Uganda | Male Illegal (Penalty: Up to life imprisonment) Female Illegal since 2000. (Penalty: Up to 7 years imprisonment) |
| Ukraine | Legal since 1991 UN decl. sign. |
| United Arab Emirates | Illegal (Penalty: deportation, fines or prison time) |
| United Kingdom | Legal in England and Wales since 1967 in Scotland since 1981 in Northern Ireland since 1982 UN decl. sign. |
| United States | Legal nationwide since 2003. UN decl. sign. See Lawrence v. Texas |
| Uruguay | Legal since 1934 UN decl. sign. |
| Uzbekistan | Male illegal (Penalty: up to 3 year prison sentence) Female legal |
| Vanuatu | Legal since 2007 UN decl. sign. |
| Venezuela | Legal since 1997 . UN decl. sign. |
| Vietnam | Legal (no laws against homosexuality have ever existed) |
| Yemen | Illegal (Penalty: Death) |
| Zambia | Illegal (Penalty: up to 14 years imprisonment) |
| Zimbabwe | Male illegal Female legal |
