The latest data from ILGA — the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, a global federation that monitors laws and rights affecting LGBT people — show that consensual same‑sex relations remain criminalized in a significant number of countries, with a small but deadly minority still prescribing the death penalty.
According to ILGA’s database, over 60 countries around the world still criminalize consensual same‑sex activity, mostly through prison sentences of varying lengths (from fines and short terms to long jail terms). A smaller group of roughly a dozen countries even retains the death penalty for such acts. This includes national laws in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as regional sharia provisions applied in parts of Nigeria and Somalia. Enforcement varies widely: in some places, the statutes are rarely applied but create a pervasive climate of legal insecurity and social stigma, while in others, capital punishment is actively enforced.
Recent spikes in prosecutions have sharpened human‑rights concerns in certain regions. Uganda significantly stepped up enforcement after a controversial law was introduced in 2023, and renewed legislative pressure in 2025 led to several high‑profile prosecutions. In Southeast Asia, Brunei’s expanded sharia penalties — first announced in 2019 and subsequently rolled out in stages, including provisions allowing death by stoning — continue to provoke international condemnation.
