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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 71 Fotos
Uganda
- Status: Illegal Penalty: A life sentence or even the death penalty can be handed down for homosexual sex or "aggravated homosexuality."
© Shutterstock
1 / 71 Fotos
Bhutan
- Status: Illegal Penalty: No known cases of charges brought against same-sex sexual activity in Bhutan (repeal of these laws is pending as Bhutan's parliament voted in 2020 to legalize same-sex sexual activity)
© Shutterstock
2 / 71 Fotos
Sudan
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Up to life imprisonment for a third offense
© Shutterstock
3 / 71 Fotos
Brunei
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Brunei is punishable by up to a death sentence for men (but currently commuted by moratorium); women face up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
4 / 71 Fotos
Cook Islands
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Not enforced, and legalization pending
© Shutterstock
5 / 71 Fotos
Tunisia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (but decriminalization has been proposed)
© Shutterstock
6 / 71 Fotos
Saudi Arabia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death
© Shutterstock
7 / 71 Fotos
Iran
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death
© Shutterstock
8 / 71 Fotos
Yemen
- Status: Illegal Penalty: The punishment for same-sex sexual activity in Yemen is up to death for men, and up to three years in prison for women
© Shutterstock
9 / 71 Fotos
Nigeria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Death penalty in Sharia states; up to 14 years in prison in non-Sharia states
© Shutterstock
10 / 71 Fotos
Somalia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death in parts of the country
© Shutterstock
11 / 71 Fotos
Mauritania
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Death penalty for men; imprisonment of up to two years and a fine for women
© Shutterstock
12 / 71 Fotos
United Arab Emirates
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death (but no known cases of such a sentence having been enforced)
© Shutterstock
13 / 71 Fotos
Afghanistan
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Less than 10 years in prison, but up to death where Sharia law applies
© Shutterstock
14 / 71 Fotos
Pakistan
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine; the Hudood Ordinances, which were part of the Islamicization of Pakistan, allow for execution, but this is not practiced
© Shutterstock
15 / 71 Fotos
Qatar
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to seven years in prison; for Muslims, the interpretation of Sharia law allows for execution in the instance of adultery (no known cases)
© Shutterstock
16 / 71 Fotos
Libya
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to four years in prison (or death in ISIS-controlled territories)
© Shutterstock
17 / 71 Fotos
Syria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (or death in areas controlled by jihadist militant groups)
© Shutterstock
18 / 71 Fotos
Iraq
- Status: Legal, but ambiguous Penalty: Homosexuals may face execution by vigilantes and Sharia courts
© Shutterstock
19 / 71 Fotos
Gambia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence
© Shutterstock
20 / 71 Fotos
Tanzania
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence for men; in Zanzibar, women can face up to five years in prison or a fine
© Shutterstock
21 / 71 Fotos
Myanmar
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Myanmar is punishable by up to life in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
22 / 71 Fotos
Guyana
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
23 / 71 Fotos
Sierra Leone
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to a life sentence (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
24 / 71 Fotos
Zambia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence for men; up to 14 years in prison for women (but both sentences are not actively enforced)
© Shutterstock
25 / 71 Fotos
Malaysia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 20 years in prison, and/or fines, corporal punishment
© Shutterstock
26 / 71 Fotos
Sri Lanka
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 20 years with a fine (but no one has been convicted under these laws since 1948, and they are considered "dormant" in Sri Lanka)
© Shutterstock
27 / 71 Fotos
Egypt
- Status: De jure legal; de facto illegal Penalty: Public morality and order-based laws allow for up to 17 years in prison, with or without hard labor and fines
© Shutterstock
28 / 71 Fotos
Ethiopia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 15 years in prison
© Shutterstock
29 / 71 Fotos
Kenya
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison
© Shutterstock
30 / 71 Fotos
Kiribati
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
31 / 71 Fotos
Papua New Guinea
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
32 / 71 Fotos
Solomon Islands
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
33 / 71 Fotos
Tuvalu
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
34 / 71 Fotos
Malawi
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced since 2012)
© Shutterstock
35 / 71 Fotos
South Sudan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
36 / 71 Fotos
Saint Lucia
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
37 / 71 Fotos
Bangladesh
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
38 / 71 Fotos
Grenada
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
39 / 71 Fotos
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
40 / 71 Fotos
Dominica
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, or admittance into a psychiatric institution
© Shutterstock
41 / 71 Fotos
Jamaica
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, or hard labor (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
42 / 71 Fotos
Tonga
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
43 / 71 Fotos
Maldives
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to eight years in prison and 100 lashes
© Shutterstock
44 / 71 Fotos
Samoa
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to seven years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
45 / 71 Fotos
Kuwait
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to six years in prison, and/or fines
© Shutterstock
46 / 71 Fotos
Cameroon
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
47 / 71 Fotos
Senegal
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
48 / 71 Fotos
Mauritius
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
49 / 71 Fotos
Comoros
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, and/or a fine
© Shutterstock
50 / 71 Fotos
Algeria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus fines
© Shutterstock
51 / 71 Fotos
Guinea
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus fines
© Shutterstock
52 / 71 Fotos
Togo
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
53 / 71 Fotos
Morocco
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Morocco is punishable by up to three years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
54 / 71 Fotos
Eritrea
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
55 / 71 Fotos
Oman
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
56 / 71 Fotos
Uzbekistan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
57 / 71 Fotos
Ghana
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
58 / 71 Fotos
Chad
- Status: Illegal (only since 2017) Penalty: Up to two years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
59 / 71 Fotos
Burundi
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to two years in prison
© Shutterstock
60 / 71 Fotos
Turkmenistan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity between men is punishable by up to two years in prison in Turkmenistan
© Shutterstock
61 / 71 Fotos
Singapore
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to two years in prison, but this is often unenforced in Singapore
© Shutterstock
62 / 71 Fotos
Zimbabwe
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to one year in prison, and/or a fine
© Shutterstock
63 / 71 Fotos
Liberia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to one year in prison, plus possible fines (but not actively enforced)
© Shutterstock
64 / 71 Fotos
Lebanon
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to one year in prison (but this sentence is not actively enforced in Lebanon)
© Shutterstock
65 / 71 Fotos
Eswatini
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Eswatini's sodomy law is not enforced
© Shutterstock
66 / 71 Fotos
Namibia
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: No known case of enforcement
© Shutterstock
67 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Indonesia
- Status: Illegal in the province of Aceh, and for Muslims in the city of Palembang Penalty: Punishable by up to 100 lashes and up to 100 months in prison
© Shutterstock
68 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Chechnya
- Status: De jure legal; de facto illegal Penalty: Reports of killings in this federal republic of Russia's have surfaced frequently since 2017
© Shutterstock
69 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Palestine
- Status: Illegal in the Gaza Strip for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison By contrast, find out all the countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
© Shutterstock
70 / 71 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 71 Fotos
Uganda
- Status: Illegal Penalty: A life sentence or even the death penalty can be handed down for homosexual sex or "aggravated homosexuality."
© Shutterstock
1 / 71 Fotos
Bhutan
- Status: Illegal Penalty: No known cases of charges brought against same-sex sexual activity in Bhutan (repeal of these laws is pending as Bhutan's parliament voted in 2020 to legalize same-sex sexual activity)
© Shutterstock
2 / 71 Fotos
Sudan
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Up to life imprisonment for a third offense
© Shutterstock
3 / 71 Fotos
Brunei
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Brunei is punishable by up to a death sentence for men (but currently commuted by moratorium); women face up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
4 / 71 Fotos
Cook Islands
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Not enforced, and legalization pending
© Shutterstock
5 / 71 Fotos
Tunisia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (but decriminalization has been proposed)
© Shutterstock
6 / 71 Fotos
Saudi Arabia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death
© Shutterstock
7 / 71 Fotos
Iran
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death
© Shutterstock
8 / 71 Fotos
Yemen
- Status: Illegal Penalty: The punishment for same-sex sexual activity in Yemen is up to death for men, and up to three years in prison for women
© Shutterstock
9 / 71 Fotos
Nigeria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Death penalty in Sharia states; up to 14 years in prison in non-Sharia states
© Shutterstock
10 / 71 Fotos
Somalia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death in parts of the country
© Shutterstock
11 / 71 Fotos
Mauritania
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Death penalty for men; imprisonment of up to two years and a fine for women
© Shutterstock
12 / 71 Fotos
United Arab Emirates
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to death (but no known cases of such a sentence having been enforced)
© Shutterstock
13 / 71 Fotos
Afghanistan
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Less than 10 years in prison, but up to death where Sharia law applies
© Shutterstock
14 / 71 Fotos
Pakistan
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine; the Hudood Ordinances, which were part of the Islamicization of Pakistan, allow for execution, but this is not practiced
© Shutterstock
15 / 71 Fotos
Qatar
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to seven years in prison; for Muslims, the interpretation of Sharia law allows for execution in the instance of adultery (no known cases)
© Shutterstock
16 / 71 Fotos
Libya
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to four years in prison (or death in ISIS-controlled territories)
© Shutterstock
17 / 71 Fotos
Syria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (or death in areas controlled by jihadist militant groups)
© Shutterstock
18 / 71 Fotos
Iraq
- Status: Legal, but ambiguous Penalty: Homosexuals may face execution by vigilantes and Sharia courts
© Shutterstock
19 / 71 Fotos
Gambia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence
© Shutterstock
20 / 71 Fotos
Tanzania
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence for men; in Zanzibar, women can face up to five years in prison or a fine
© Shutterstock
21 / 71 Fotos
Myanmar
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Myanmar is punishable by up to life in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
22 / 71 Fotos
Guyana
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
23 / 71 Fotos
Sierra Leone
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to a life sentence (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
24 / 71 Fotos
Zambia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to a life sentence for men; up to 14 years in prison for women (but both sentences are not actively enforced)
© Shutterstock
25 / 71 Fotos
Malaysia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 20 years in prison, and/or fines, corporal punishment
© Shutterstock
26 / 71 Fotos
Sri Lanka
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 20 years with a fine (but no one has been convicted under these laws since 1948, and they are considered "dormant" in Sri Lanka)
© Shutterstock
27 / 71 Fotos
Egypt
- Status: De jure legal; de facto illegal Penalty: Public morality and order-based laws allow for up to 17 years in prison, with or without hard labor and fines
© Shutterstock
28 / 71 Fotos
Ethiopia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 15 years in prison
© Shutterstock
29 / 71 Fotos
Kenya
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison
© Shutterstock
30 / 71 Fotos
Kiribati
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
31 / 71 Fotos
Papua New Guinea
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
32 / 71 Fotos
Solomon Islands
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
33 / 71 Fotos
Tuvalu
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
34 / 71 Fotos
Malawi
- Status: Illegal for men / uncertain for women Penalty: Up to 14 years in prison (but not enforced since 2012)
© Shutterstock
35 / 71 Fotos
South Sudan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
36 / 71 Fotos
Saint Lucia
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
37 / 71 Fotos
Bangladesh
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
38 / 71 Fotos
Grenada
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
39 / 71 Fotos
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison
© Shutterstock
40 / 71 Fotos
Dominica
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, or admittance into a psychiatric institution
© Shutterstock
41 / 71 Fotos
Jamaica
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison, or hard labor (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
42 / 71 Fotos
Tonga
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
43 / 71 Fotos
Maldives
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to eight years in prison and 100 lashes
© Shutterstock
44 / 71 Fotos
Samoa
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to seven years in prison (but not enforced)
© Shutterstock
45 / 71 Fotos
Kuwait
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to six years in prison, and/or fines
© Shutterstock
46 / 71 Fotos
Cameroon
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
47 / 71 Fotos
Senegal
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
48 / 71 Fotos
Mauritius
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
49 / 71 Fotos
Comoros
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to five years in prison, and/or a fine
© Shutterstock
50 / 71 Fotos
Algeria
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus fines
© Shutterstock
51 / 71 Fotos
Guinea
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus fines
© Shutterstock
52 / 71 Fotos
Togo
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
53 / 71 Fotos
Morocco
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity in Morocco is punishable by up to three years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
54 / 71 Fotos
Eritrea
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
55 / 71 Fotos
Oman
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
56 / 71 Fotos
Uzbekistan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to three years in prison
© Shutterstock
57 / 71 Fotos
Ghana
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to three years in prison (but rarely enforced)
© Shutterstock
58 / 71 Fotos
Chad
- Status: Illegal (only since 2017) Penalty: Up to two years in prison, plus a fine
© Shutterstock
59 / 71 Fotos
Burundi
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to two years in prison
© Shutterstock
60 / 71 Fotos
Turkmenistan
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Same-sex sexual activity between men is punishable by up to two years in prison in Turkmenistan
© Shutterstock
61 / 71 Fotos
Singapore
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to two years in prison, but this is often unenforced in Singapore
© Shutterstock
62 / 71 Fotos
Zimbabwe
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to one year in prison, and/or a fine
© Shutterstock
63 / 71 Fotos
Liberia
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to one year in prison, plus possible fines (but not actively enforced)
© Shutterstock
64 / 71 Fotos
Lebanon
- Status: Illegal Penalty: Up to one year in prison (but this sentence is not actively enforced in Lebanon)
© Shutterstock
65 / 71 Fotos
Eswatini
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: Eswatini's sodomy law is not enforced
© Shutterstock
66 / 71 Fotos
Namibia
- Status: Illegal for men / legal for women Penalty: No known case of enforcement
© Shutterstock
67 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Indonesia
- Status: Illegal in the province of Aceh, and for Muslims in the city of Palembang Penalty: Punishable by up to 100 lashes and up to 100 months in prison
© Shutterstock
68 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Chechnya
- Status: De jure legal; de facto illegal Penalty: Reports of killings in this federal republic of Russia's have surfaced frequently since 2017
© Shutterstock
69 / 71 Fotos
Special mention: Palestine
- Status: Illegal in the Gaza Strip for men / legal for women Penalty: Up to 10 years in prison By contrast, find out all the countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
© Shutterstock
70 / 71 Fotos
Uganda's president signs into law anti-LGBTQ bill that imposes death penalty
Here are all the countries where homosexuality is illegal
© Getty Images
We're well into a new decade, but equality for LGBTQ people around the world continues to not be a given. In fact, being part of the LGBTQ community can often mean a prison sentence, or even death.
Such is the case in the African nation of Uganda, a country with more than 45 million people. President Yoweri Museveni signed in one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, which prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as cases of having sex while HIV positive, as well as sexual relations with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. The bill also criminalizes sex education for the gay community, makes it illegal not to report perpetrators of so-called aggravated homosexuality, and calls for “rehabilitation”–widely discredited conversion therapy–for gay offenders, reports CNN.
The Ugandan parliament had previously voted for an earlier version of the bill that would introduce life imprisonment and the death penalty for those convicted of engaging in homosexual sex or “recruitment, promotion, and funding” of same-sex “activities," though the version of the bill signed by Museveni doesn't criminalize those who merely identify as LGBTQ+. Still, world leaders have condemned the bill and Uganda's government.
While it’s true that over 30 countries around the world have legalized same-sex marriage and that about as many allow for joint adoption by same-sex couples, it’s also true that same-sex sexual activity is illegal in more than 60 countries.
Several countries have legislation pending to rid their books of these archaic laws, but sadly, others are becoming even more extreme in their persecution of the LGBTQ community. To discover which, click through this gallery detailing all the countries where homosexuality is illegal.
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