A new rainbow map of Europe shows where LGBT+ people live best. Why is the Czech Republic still only halfway there?
ILGA-Europe'sRainbow Map compares 49 European countries on how their laws and public policies protect LGBT and intersex people. So it's not a poll of where people feel best on holiday, or a ranking of the best Pride parades. The map measures something far less Instagram-able: legal reality. That is, whether the state protects against discrimination, recognises same-sex couples, tackles hate speech, allows legal recognition of gender, protects intersex children, gives space to civil society or considers LGBT+ people in asylum policy. ILGA-Europe reports that the data for the map and the annual review is verified by more than 250 experts from the region, including activists, lawyers and public policy specialists.
Meanwhile, this year's edition has a very strong story. For the first time in a decade, Malta is no longer in the top spot. It has been dethroned by Spain, which, with a score of 89%, became the European leader in legal protection for LGBT+ people. It is followed by Malta with 88%, Iceland with 86% and then Belgium and Denmark, both with a score of 85%. At the other end of the scale are Russia and Azerbaijan with 2% and Turkey with 5%.
Spain shows that politics can also be a tool of courage
Spain's rise is neither a coincidence nor a cosmetic adjustment in the table, according to ILGA-Europe. According to the organisation, the country has fulfilled some of its commitments under the 2023 trans and LGBT+ legislation, adopted action plans for LGBT+ and trans rights, created an independent equality office and introduced fully functioning depathologisation of trans people in the health service. The state has therefore decided that queer life will not be a problem to be suffered, but a reality to be protected by law.
This does not mean that Spain is a queer paradise without conflict. This year's map in particular is a reminder that laws are one thing and everyday experience is another. In its press release, ILGA-Europe points out that attacks on LGBT+ people are also on the rise in Spain and that a good score on the map does not automatically mean feeling safe on the streets, at school, in the family or in the workplace.
And that's where this year's Rainbow Map is perhaps most interesting. It doesn't just tell you where the situation is good and where it is bad. It shows that Europe is not simply divided into 'Western progress' and 'Eastern backwardness' when it comes to LGBT+ rights. Rather, it shows that rights are not a given even in countries that have long considered themselves safe, modern and tolerant. It depends on particular governments, courts, laws, and whether society allows queer people to become easy political targets again.
The Czech Republic has leapt, but celebratory fanfare would be premature
The Czech Republic came 26th in this year's ranking with a score of 37%. Compared to the previous year, it has improved by four places, which at first glance looks like good news. And to some extent it is. ILGA-Europe attributes the Czech progress mainly to changes in the legal recognition of gender - In the Czech Republic, it is now possible to change the official gender identity without undergoing sterilisation.
This is crucial, as forced sterilisation has long been one of the most problematic and cruel requirements of the Czech system. For many trans people, it was not an administrative detail, but a decision over their own bodies, dignity and future.
At the same time, it has to be said that 37% is not a result over which the Czech Republic can have a rainbow cake and pretend it is done. In the European context, we are somewhere in the second half of the ranking. Not only most Western European countries have a better score, but also Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Estonia and Albania. On the other hand, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania, among others, are behind the Czech Republic.
Partnership yes, marriage still no
One of the most visible Czech paradoxes remains family law. As of January 2025, a new regulation of same-sex partnerships is in force in the Czech Republic. The original proposal was aimed at marriage for all, but the parliament eventually limited the reform to the institution of partnerships. Although the word "registered" has disappeared from the title and partners have gained some additional rights, for example in the area of joint property or widow's and widower's pensions, restrictions remain, especially on adoptions.
This is why ILGA-Europe lists the introduction of marriage for same-sex couples among its recommendations for the Czech Republic. In addition, it also recommends access to assisted reproduction for all individuals and further reform of the legal recognition of gender so that remaining problematic requirements, including mandatory divorce or dissolution of partnerships, disappear and the process is fair, transparent and based on self-determination.
Laws are not everything. But life is worse without them.
A common objection to rankings like this is that, after all, "on paper" doesn't matter, because what matters more is how people behave in everyday life. But for LGBT+ rights, paper is often the difference between security and insecurity. The law decides whether you can visit your partner in hospital, adopt a child, change your documents without interference, defend yourself against discrimination at work or get protection if you are the target of a hate attack.
Rainbow Map is therefore not an abstract game for lawyers. It is a map of the everyday. Behind each percentage there is a concrete situation: a gay couple dealing with parenthood; a trans person who doesn't want his papers to complicate every official contact; a queer teenager who hears at school that his existence is an "ideology"; an intersex child whose body should not be modified to suit the wishes of adults without consent.
ILGA-Europe also reminds us of what is happening in education and public debate in the Czech overview. It mentions, for example, the possibility for people to obtain university diplomas corresponding to their current personal details after changing their gender identity, but also political attacks on public media or non-profit organisations when they cover LGBT+ issues.
Europe is not moving in one direction
This year's map is also important because the wider European context enters into it. ILGA-Europe points out that while some countries and courts are moving forward to protect LGBT+ people, there are increasing efforts to restrict rights elsewhere. The organisation cites, for example, Belarus and its new legislation inspired by the Russian model, the risks to Pride marches in Italy, proposals restricting trans and intersex rights in Portugal, and constitutional changes in Slovakia that could significantly complicate legal recognition of gender and family rights.
The CJEU's decision in the case of the Hungarian law restricting access to LGBT+ content is also a significant moment in recent months. The Court said in April 2026 that Hungary had breached EU law in a number of areas; the case concerned a 2021 law that restricted the portrayal of homosexuality or gender reassignment in media and education under the guise of protecting children.
