Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Get in touch with us nowLGBTQ Europe: experience of discrimination due to being LGBT in past 12 months 2019
Discrimination against members of the LGBT Community is present in all European countries. The extent to which this discrimination affects gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or other queer identifying people in their day-to-day lives varies by country and region in the continent. In general, the countries of northern and north-western Europe show a smaller share of LGBT survey respondents saying they have experienced discrimination in the prior year.
Denmark and Finland both have less than a third of queer respondents saying they experienced discrimination based on their sexuality, with Czechia coming being the third least homophobic country in Europe in this respect. Czechia and Estonia are the only two post-communist countries in Europe to show lower levels of homophobia than the EU average, perhaps being related to their extremely low levels of religiosity compared to other former Eastern bloc countries, and their relatively high levels of economic well-being.
In terms of countries in Europe where discrimination is more widespread, there is a clear trend towards post-communist countries, particularly where religious adherence is stronger, as well as countries in south-eastern Europe. Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Greece all have more than half of LGBT respondents agreeing that they experienced discrimination, with other notable countries which rank above the EU average including Poland and Germany. Poland's conservative government have come in for criticism since they took office in 2015 for being particularly vocal against LGBT rights, having enacted laws which ban schools from teaching children about LGBT issues, make it more difficult for gay or lesbian couples to adopt, and having proposed a constitutional amendment which would outlaw gay marriage.
Denmark and Finland both have less than a third of queer respondents saying they experienced discrimination based on their sexuality, with Czechia coming being the third least homophobic country in Europe in this respect. Czechia and Estonia are the only two post-communist countries in Europe to show lower levels of homophobia than the EU average, perhaps being related to their extremely low levels of religiosity compared to other former Eastern bloc countries, and their relatively high levels of economic well-being.
In terms of countries in Europe where discrimination is more widespread, there is a clear trend towards post-communist countries, particularly where religious adherence is stronger, as well as countries in south-eastern Europe. Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Greece all have more than half of LGBT respondents agreeing that they experienced discrimination, with other notable countries which rank above the EU average including Poland and Germany. Poland's conservative government have come in for criticism since they took office in 2015 for being particularly vocal against LGBT rights, having enacted laws which ban schools from teaching children about LGBT issues, make it more difficult for gay or lesbian couples to adopt, and having proposed a constitutional amendment which would outlaw gay marriage.
