70 Countries Where It's Illegal To Be Gay
It's 2019 and people are still being arrested for being gay.
All of the following statistics are from Human Rights Watch.
It should also be noted that in some of these countries these are very old laws and some are enforced more strictly than others. In most of these places there is still a robust gay community fighting for equality, so this isn't a plea to stop visiting these places! This list is just documenting where homosexual acts are technically illegal. Go to Human Rights Watch to read more about the specifics!
1. Algeria
Punishment for being gay: Two months to two years in prison.
2. Antigua & Barbuda
Punishment for being gay: Adults can get 15 years in prison, minors can get five.
3. Bangladesh
Punishment for being gay: 10 years to life in prison.
4. Barbados
Punishment for being gay: Life in prison.
5. Bhutan
Punishment for being gay: One month to one year in prison.
6. Botswana
Punishment for being gay: Up to seven years in prison.
7. Brunei
Punishment for being gay: Up to 10 years in prison, though, as you may know, a new law goes in effect soon that will make the punishment death by stoning.
8. Burundi
Punishment for being gay: Three months to two years in prison and/or anywhere from $30 to $60 fine.
9. Cameroon
Punishment for being gay: Six months to five years in prison and a fine of $35 to $350.
10. Chad
Punishment for being gay: Three months to two years in prison or a fine $87 to $870.
11. Comoros
Punishment for being gay: Two to five years in prison and a fine of anywhere from $120 to $2,320.
12. The Cook Islands
Punishment for being gay: Five to seven years in prison.
13. Dominica
Punishment for being gay: For an adult, four to 10 years in prison AND you have to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Five years in prison for a minor.
14. Egypt
Punishment for being gay: Three months to three years in prison and a fine between $3 and $40. An adult may be put in a "special reformatory" after they finish their prison sentence.
15. Eritrea
Punishment for being gay: Five to seven years in prison.
16. Eswatini
Punishment for being gay: "Unspecified," though in 2018 they had their first gay pride parade and 500 people showed up.
17. Ethiopia
Punishment for being gay: Up to 15 years in prison.
18. Gambia
Punishment for being gay: In 2014, Gambia passed a law against "aggravated homosexuality" with a life in prison sentence for "serial offenders" and those living with HIV. Before 2014, the punishment was up to 14 years.
19. Ghana
Punishment for being gay: Up to three years.
20. Grenada
Punishment for being gay: 10 years in prison.
21. Guinea
Punishment for being gay: Six months to three years in prison.
22. Guyana
Punishment for being gay: Two years for "gross indecency" between men and life if you commit (?) "buggery."
23. Iran
Punishment for being gay: 31 to 100 lashes for homosexual acts other than anal sex or thigh sex (IDK what that is). Also death.
24. Jamaica
Punishment for being gay: 10 years in prison and hard labor.
25. Kenya
Punishment for being gay: Five years for "indecent practices between males" and fourteen years for "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" (whatever that is).
26. Kiribati
Punishment for being gay: 14 years in prison.
27. Kuwait
Punishment for being gay: Up to seven years in prison.
28. Lebanon
Punishment for being gay: Up to one year in prison.
29. Liberia
Punishment for being gay: One year in prison.
30. Libya
Punishment for being gay: Up to five years in prison.
31. Malawi
Punishment for being gay: Sex "acts" between men get up to 14 years in prison. Sex "acts" between women get up to five.
32. Malaysia
Punishment for being gay: State Sharia laws will send you to prison for 20 years. You may also get whippings and fines.
33. Maldives
Punishment for being gay: 00 lashings for "unlawful sexual intercourse" and/or six to eight months in prison.
34. Mauritania
Punishment for being gay: If you're a man: Death by stoning. If you're a woman: Up to two years in prison and a $210 fine.
35. Mauritius
Punishment for being gay: Prison for five years.
36. Morocco
Punishment for being gay: Six months to three years in prison and $10 to $110 in fines.
37. Myanmar (Burma)
Punishment for being gay: Up to 10 years in prison and a fine.
38. Namibia
Punishment for being gay: "Unspecified."
39. Nigeria
Punishment for being gay: Up to 14 years in prison. In 2017, 40 men were arrested for performing homosexual acts.
40. Occupied Palestinian territory, Gaza Strip
Punishment for being gay: Prison for up to 10 years.
41. Oman
Punishment for being gay: Six months to three years in prison.
42. Pakistan
Punishment for being gay: Either life in prison orrrr two to ten years in prison plus a fine.
43. Papua New Guinea
Punishment for being gay: Prison for up to seven years.
44. Qatar
Punishment for being gay: One to three years in prison or flogging or...death.
45. Saint Kitts and Nevis
Punishment for being gay: Anywhere from four to 10 years in prison with a chance for hard labor.
46. Saint Lucia
Punishment for being gay: Anywhere from five to 10 years in prison.
47. Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Punishment for being gay: Prison for five to ten years.
48. Samoa
Punishment for being gay: Up to five years in prison.
49. Saudi Arabia
Punishment for being gay: Depends based on Sharia. The death sentence for certain homosexual acts or whippings or banishment.
50. Senegal
Punishment for being gay: Either one to five years in prison or a $170 to $2,600 fine.
51. Sierra Leone
Punishment for being gay: 10 years to life in prison.
52. Singapore
Punishment for being gay: Up to two years in jail.
53. Solomon Islands
Punishment for being gay: Up to 14 years in prison.
54. Somalia
Punishment for being gay: Anywhere from two months to three years in prison.
55. South Sudan
Punishment for being gay: A fine and up to 10 years in prison.
56. Sri Lanka
Punishment for being gay: 10 years in prison or a fine.
57. Sudan
Punishment for being gay: For your first or second offense you get lashes and five years in prison. For your third you get life in prison or death.
58. Syria
Punishment for being gay: Up to three years in prison.
59. Tanzania
Punishment for being gay: Anywhere from 30 years to life in prison.
60. Togo
Punishment for being gay: One to three years in prison and a $170 to $870 fine.
61. Tonga
Punishment for being gay: Up to 10 years in prison and whipping.
62. Tunisia
Punishment for being gay: Prison for three years.
63. Turkmenistan
Punishment for being gay: Two year in prison but 5-10 if you're a repeat offender.
64. Tuvalu
Punishment for being gay: Up to 14 years.
65. Uganda
Punishment for being gay: Life in prison.
66. United Arab Emirates
Punishment for being gay: Up to a year in prison and a fine.
67. Uzbekistan
Punishment for being gay: Prison for up to three years.
68. Yemen
Punishment for being gay: Unmarried men get 100 lashes and one year in prison. Married men get death by stoning. For women, it's 100 lashings and up to three years in prison.
69. Zambia
Punishment for being gay: Anywhere from seven years to life in prison.
70. Zimbabwe
Punishment for being gay: One year in prison and/or a fine.
Again, thanks to Human Rights Watch for this information. And here's another map from the ILGA.
Correction: Some of the wording has been changed, see the blurb in the beginning. Some of the pictures have also been replaced.