Riskline has just launched the 2026 LGBTQ Risk Map, classifying 91 countries in the highest risk category, 62 as elevated concern, and 80 as normal concern.
The map highlights a growing wave of rights rollbacks, from new criminalization laws to stricter documentation requirements, raising concerns for travelers, travel managers, and duty-of-care professionals.
Western Europe remains the safest region for LGBTQ travelers, with all destinations rated normal concern. By contrast, the Middle East and North Africa are the most high-risk regions, where the vast majority of countries are classified as high concern, with only Israel rated as normal concern and Lebanon as elevated concern. Sub-Saharan Africa sees almost 80% of destinations rated high concern.
“Our annual map tracks legal and social developments worldwide to identify where LGBTQ travelers could face more risk. It combines legal frameworks, social attitudes, destination intelligence, and NGO data into regularly updated risk assessments, supported by our real-time Alerts and practical guidance for organizations managing traveler risk,” explains Lorena Peña, Riskline Travel Intelligence Team Leader.
Country Risk Overview
Over the past year, a small number of countries have taken steps to expand protections for LGBTQ people, but these gains are increasingly outweighed by reversals in other parts of the world.
In the Caribbean and Southern Africa, there have been notable legal shifts in a positive direction. In St. Lucia, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing male same-sex relations, which had previously carried penalties of up to ten years in prison. In Botswana, authorities removed Penal Code provisions that had long criminalized same-sex relations, eliminating the risk of prison sentences of up to seven years.
Elsewhere, however, the picture shifts towards restriction. Across Africa, several countries have moved to harden their legal stance. Burkina Faso introduced its first law criminalising homosexuality following the 2022 coup, with penalties of two to five years in prison and deportation for foreign nationals. Senegal doubled prison sentences for same-sex relations from five to ten years.
In Europe and parts of Eurasia, a similar tightening of restrictions is taking shape, though through different legal mechanisms.
In Kazakhstan, authorities introduced a ban on the dissemination of information on “non-traditional sexual orientation” in public spaces, media, and online platforms. In Slovakia, new legislation moves to restrict adoption rights for same-sex couples while reinforcing national authority over EU-level LGBTQ protections. In Belarus, lawmakers passed a sweeping bill criminalizing so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’, which could result in fines, community labor, or arrest; however, it is still pending presidential approval.
In Asia, legal and policy developments have moved in opposite directions to earlier rights-based progress. India’s 2026 Transgender Persons Amendment Bill removes the right to self-identification established by a landmark 2014 Supreme Court ruling, replacing it with medical and administrative verification. In Japan, the Tokyo High Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional, a decision that contradicts several earlier court rulings.
In North America, documentation policies have regressed for non-binary people. The United States Supreme Court upheld a policy banning the “X” gender marker on passports, requiring documents to reflect sex assigned at birth.
How Riskline calculates the level of concern for LGBTQ+ travelers
The assessment was produced using both human expertise and open sources. While some data are sourced primarily from ILGA World Database sources, other information was collected via Equaldex and other LGBTQ organizations. Annual reports produced by NGOs and civil society organizations were also consulted during the research, as well as blogs, forums, and traveler reviews.
Additionally, Riskline’s methodology is based on various criteria such as:
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Is homosexuality legal?
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Are transgender people legally accepted?
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Are same-sex marriage and civil unions allowed?
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What is the level of LGBTQ social acceptance?
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Is entry with passport X allowed?
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Is entry with passport X safe?
The Duty of Care Gap
“With 67 countries still criminalizing same-sex relations, travel policies should reflect this reality. For LGBTQ travelers, whether for work or leisure, these figures translate into real legal, cultural, and in some cases physical risk,” explains Peña.
That exposure is not experienced the same way globally. Legal enforcement, cultural attitudes, and documentation requirements create layered risks that standard travel policies often fail to capture. Just as importantly, these conditions are shifting quickly. Countries that posed no legal threat a few years ago may now criminalize LGBTQ identity outright.
Effective duty of care now requires dynamic, intelligence-led risk management that reflects who is traveling as much as where they are going. That means timely updates when laws change, destination-specific guidance grounded in real conditions, and policies flexible enough to adapt when risk shifts suddenly. Organizations that do this well can reduce exposure before travel takes place, support employees with relevant and personalized guidance, and demonstrate clear, defensible duty-of-care standards.
Riskline provides LGBTQ travel safety intelligence across 233 destinations, helping organizations assess and manage traveler risk. Its analysis combines legal frameworks, social attitudes, destination intelligence, and NGO data into continuously updated risk assessments, with destinations classified by level of concern and supported by real-time alerts and practical guidance to strengthen duty of care.
Link to a bigger map by clicking here.
