Olan McEvoy
Research expert covering the European Union for society, economy, and politics.
Get in touch with us nowLGBTQ Europe: quality of life for gay and lesbian people in European cities 2019
The cities in Europe where survey respondents most commonly indicated that they were a good place to live for gay and lesbian people were Oslo, Rekjavik, and Luxembourg in 2019. In general, the cities which ranked as the best place to live for lesbian and gay people in Europe were in Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Copenhagen, Sweden, Finland), western European countries (Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands), and southern European countries (Italy, Malta, Spain).
The five cities with the fewest respondents indicating that they were a good place to live were all in south-eastern Europe, with the bottom two both coming from Turkey (Ankara and Diyarbakir). Turkey tends to rank so lowly due to the influence of traditionalist and religious social norms, which do not recognize LGBTQ relationships as being on a par as heterosexual relationships and lead to more commonly held homophobic views.
The five cities with the fewest respondents indicating that they were a good place to live were all in south-eastern Europe, with the bottom two both coming from Turkey (Ankara and Diyarbakir). Turkey tends to rank so lowly due to the influence of traditionalist and religious social norms, which do not recognize LGBTQ relationships as being on a par as heterosexual relationships and lead to more commonly held homophobic views.
