Hard Numbers: A Pride Month look at LGBTQ+ rights and challenges around the world

June is recognized in more than 100 countries in the world as “Pride Month,” marking 55 years since gay liberation marches began commemorating the Stonewall riots – a pivotal uprising against the police’s targeting of LGBTQ+ communities in New York. Here’s a look at where LGBTQ+ rights stand today:

47%: A recent poll of more than two dozen countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia found that openness towards LGBTQ+ communities has dipped in recent years, with the proportion of people who believe LGBTQ+ people should be open about their sexual orientation or gender identity falling 8 percentage points, to 47%, since 2021.

1.3 million: The US government on Tuesday ordered the closure of the Trevor Project, a national suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, which has served more than 1.3 million people since it was established in 2022. The official announcement omitted the “T” for transgender – a sign of the administration’s broader anti-transgender push.

61: As of 2024, 61 countries have laws criminalizing same-sex relations, with 7 countries – Yemen, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mauritania, Iran, Brunei– still imposing the death penalty for such acts.

9.3%: The percentage of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ+ has increased significantly since 2020, rising from 5.6% to 9.3%, according to a Gallup poll last year. The main driver of this growth is younger generations: more than one in five Gen Z adults now identify as LGBTQ+.

10: Since 2020, 10 countries have moved to recognize same-sex marriage, with Liechtenstein and Thailand legalizing it earlier this year. Still, only 38 countries out of 195 countries have legalized same-sex marriage—see our graphic here.

1: There has only ever been one openly transgender member of the US Congress: Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) became the first after winning her seat last November.