UK drops to new low on European LGBT+ rights list

The UK has plummeted to a new low in European rankings for LGBT+ rights, having topped the list just a decade ago.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Britain dropped six places to 22nd in 2025's rankings - its lowest position - in The Rainbow Map and Index, which has been published annually since 2009.

The UK was ranked at the top of the list from 2011 to 2015 but has had all legal gender recognition-related points deducted following the recent Supreme Court ruling, which has defined a woman strictly by biological sex under the Equality Act.

The UK was given an overall score of 45.65 per cent in the rankings, meaning it has an above-average score for Europe, which is 41.85 per cent, but is lower than the European Union members’ average of 51.13 per cent.

The rankings give countries in Europe a score between zero and 100 per cent. A score of zero would mean the country grossly violates human rights for LGBT+ people, while 100 per cent means it champions them.

Malta tops the 2025 list with a score of 89 per cent, followed by Belgium in second with 85 per cent, Iceland with 84 per cent, Denmark with 80 per cent and Spain with 78 per cent.

ILGA Europe, the advocacy group that publishes the rankings, said it had removed all legal gender recognition-related points from the UK’s score in 2025, as the ruling had meant “legal gender recognition is no longer fully effective”.

“Legal gender recognition should enable a person to legally function and be recognised in their affirmed gender in all areas of life; this is no longer the case in the UK," it said.