Spain has taken first place in ILGA Europe’s Rainbow Map and LGBTQ+ rights index, replacing Malta after a decade at the top. Spain’s rise reflects depathologization of trans identities in healthcare, new legal protections, new national LGBTI and trans strategies, and an independent equal treatment and non-discrimination authority. Spain also shows a determined response to far-right efforts to dismantle national trans protections. The index is based on 76 criteria across seven categories covering equality and non-discrimination, legal gender recognition, and civil society space. Spain improved from 78% in 2025 to 88.7% this year. Malta lost only one criteria point, but ILGA cites stagnation and lack of continuous reform, including no anti-discrimination framework after a stalled 2019 Equality Bill.
""Spain's rise to the top reflects a combination of achievements, including a fully functioning depathologization of trans identities in healthcare, new legal protections, new national LGBTI and trans strategies, a new independent equal treatment and non-discrimination authority, and a determined fightback against far-right attempts to dismantle national trans protections.""
""The ILGA Rainbow Map is based on a survey of 76 criteria across seven categories covering laws and policies on 'Equality and Non-Discrimination,' 'Legal Gender Recognition,' 'Civil Society Space,' and more. Each country's ranking is then expressed as a percentage and you can view the color coded and interactive map here.""
""Malta has only lost one criteria point for explicit policies in 'Goods & Services (Sex Characteristics),' dropping it to 87.73%. But in contrast, Spain has improved greatly, moving from 78% which put it in fifth place in 2025, to 88.7% for a first place position this year.""
""ILGA notes that Spain has followed through on commitments it set out in 2023, while Malta's LGBTQ+ rights situation faces 'stagnation and a lack of continuous reform,' with no anti-discrimination framework brought in after a 2019 Equality Bill was tabled and stalled.""
Read at LGBTQ Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]