It is pleasing to see that in recent years there has been a steady decline in the number of countries that still criminalise homosexuality. When this website was first developed in 2013, it was 78. But since then, consensual same-sex sexual conduct has been decriminalised by states in Africa, the Americas and the Pacific. This website was created by Professor Paula Gerber to provide authoritative data regarding which countries continue to criminalise homosexual conduct, including the precise text of the relevant criminal laws. Here, you will be able to not only identify with certainty which countries still criminalise homosexuality, but also see the exact nature of the offence and sentence that can be imposed.
This website also highlights which countries have ratified the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Optional Protocol, which allows individuals to take a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee. This data is important, because the criminalisation of consensual sexual conduct between adult males is a breach of the ICCPR. This was established unequivocally by the UN Human Rights Committee in its landmark decision in Toonen v Australia.
69 countries still criminalise homosexuality
A large number of countries have laws that criminalise homosexuality. In fact, homosexuality is currently considered a crime in 69 countries. Thirty-three of these countries are part of the Commonwealth, suggesting that the criminalisation of homosexuality maybe a legacy of the British Empire.
Additionally, 51 of the 69 countries that still criminalise homosexuality have ratified the ICCPR, while 24 have also ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. The effect of this is that in only one third of the countries that criminalise homosexuality, do lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons have the option of bringing a complaint of violation of their human rights to the UN Human Rights Committee via the communication procedure.
Regionally, most of the countries that criminalise homosexuality are found on the African continent. The Middle Eastern region has the second highest number of countries that consider homosexuality a crime, which is closely followed by the Asian region. After Northern Cyprus decriminalised homosexuality in 2014, Europe became the first region where homosexuality is legal in all countries. This is not to say that everything is rosy for LGBTI people in Europe. Many countries in Eastern Europe are enacting ‘Russia-style’ laws prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality and there is significant violence against trans people across Europe. For example, in the five year period between 2008 and 2012, there were 71 reported murders of trans people in European countries.[1]
While the majority of countries that criminalise homosexuality do so via legislation, there are several where it is the application of Sharia Law that leads to such an outcome.
The severity of penalties for homosexuality range from fines to the death penalty. Imprisonment is a common form of penalty, while corporal punishment is also imposed in some countries.
Fortunately, there are several organisations that are working hard to have these laws repealed or overturned. Details of some of these groups are provided on the Useful Links page. Let’s hope, that in time, their work, and the efforts of local activists, will see the number of countries that fail to respect the basic equality and dignity of LGBTI people, reduce to zero.
Finally, it is worth noting that the laws criminalising homosexuality are not just relics of a bygone era that governments just haven’t got around to formally repealing. In many countries, these laws are actively enforced, and in some cases authorities have recently broadened the laws and increased the severity of the penalties. The section on Developments provides a sobering insight into how these laws are being applied in practice.
[1] Trans Respect Versus Transphobia, Constant Rise in Murder Rates, March 2013, http://www.transrespect-transphobia.org/en/tvt-project/tmm-results/march-2013.htm.
You can view details of the countries that continue to criminalise homosexuality under the following sections:
All Countries
Commonwealth
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Pacific/Oceania
Last updated: 19 November 2023
Countries that still criminalise homosexuality 
Is there data on which corporations produce goods in those countries? Boycotting companies that produce there and sell goods to the U.S. could bring the issue up front among other benefits to the cause.
Thanks for your comment Sandra. I am not aware of any such data, but it would be useful research to be undertaken.
I grew up in fundamentalist Christianity but was recently surprised to be pointed to the dictionary meaning of sodomy as being any sexual act that could not lead to procreation which includes male-female oral sex and perhaps masturbation. I enjoyed your website but wondered about word usage and what jurisdictions think they mean which I understand can be very different to what is practised from the law. No doubt your readers have different perceptions too and I am reminded of the ‘Clinton definition’ of sexual relations.