The United Kingdom has fallen six places to 22nd in ILGA-Europe’s latest Rainbow Map, which ranks the most and least LGBTI-friendly countries in Europe.
The decline marks the UK’s lowest-ever position and highlights a growing conservative backlash against LGBTI rights on the continent.
UK’s Sharp Decline Linked to Trans Rights Setbacks
Once a global leader in LGBTI equality, the UK held the top spot in the ranking in 2015. Its continued downward slide follows a series of legal and policy developments that have alarmed activists.
Most notably, the UK Supreme Court recently ruled that the legal definitions of “woman”, “man”, and “sex” must be interpreted strictly in terms of “biological sex”. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) then issued interim guidance aligning with this interpretation.
This means that transgender individuals, even those with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), will still be legally recognised based on their sex assigned at birth in various public settings.
The ruling had global repercussions, with anti-LGBTI groups citing the decision to support their own regressive agendas.
“Once a leader on LGBT+ rights, the UK has just plummeted to 22nd place in Europe’s equality rankings,” said British human rights advocate Peter Tatchell. “The fall reflects rising hostility, failure to ban conversion therapy and attacks on trans rights. We deserve better!”
Hungary and Georgia Also See Major Falls
Hungary dropped seven places to 37th following the adoption of a series of laws banning Pride events and criminalising organisers. The country also removed protections based on gender identity.
Similarly, Georgia fell to 44th after passing sweeping legislation that prohibits legal gender recognition, access to trans-specific healthcare, and adoption by same-sex couples. The laws also include bans on public expression and events related to LGBTI people.
ILGA-Europe noted that a rise in anti-trans measures across the continent—particularly through healthcare restrictions—poses a growing threat that is harder to measure but equally harmful.
The organisation also highlighted that “too few countries are adopting laws that advance LGBTI rights”, warning of a broader democratic erosion in Europe.
“The big headlines about the UK and Hungary draw attention, but democracy is being eroded quietly across Europe, like a thousand paper cuts,” said Katrin Hugendubel, ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director. “Centre and far-right actors in the EU are targeting NGO funding to weaken organisations that defend rights, while at the national level we are seeing laws introduced that do not address any genuine societal need but are designed purely to marginalise.”
Progress in Other Parts of Europe
Not all developments were negative. Positive legal reforms in Austria, Latvia, Germany, Czechia, and Poland resulted in those countries climbing the Rainbow Map rankings.
At the other end of the spectrum, the five lowest-ranked countries remained unchanged: Belarus, Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia continue to be the worst places in Europe for LGBTIQ people.
The Rainbow Map evaluates 49 European countries using 76 criteria across seven categories: equality and non-discrimination; family; hate crime and hate speech; legal gender recognition; intersex bodily integrity; civil society space; and asylum.
