ILGA Europe’s 2026 Rainbow Map shows a complex picture for LGBTQ+ rights across Europe and Central Asia. After leading the index for a decade, Malta has been displaced by Spain, which now ranks first among 49 countries assessed for laws and policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people.
Katrin Hugendubel, deputy director of ILGA Europe, said Spain’s improvement demonstrates what governments can achieve when they choose to advance equality. The report credits a string of measures under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left‑wing government — new equality legislation, national action plans, the creation of an independent equal treatment authority and the depathologization of trans identities in healthcare — for driving the rise despite pressure from conservative and far‑right forces.
Malta now sits just behind Spain, followed by Iceland, Belgium and Denmark. The map also records advances lower down the rankings: for example, Czechia and Sweden have made it easier for people to change their legal gender.
But the report also highlights serious backsliding and stark regional differences. The lowest ranks include Armenia, Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Russia. Romania is the lowest‑ranked EU member (42nd of 49). Reasons for poor scores vary: Turkey continues to ban Pride events and exerts legal pressure on activists; Belarus has passed an anti‑LGBTQ+ propaganda law modeled on Russia’s; and Slovakia has made legal gender recognition effectively impossible for trans people.
Hugendubel says trans rights emerged as a central battleground in this year’s assessment. She warns anti‑trans narratives spread quickly where public knowledge is limited and fear can be mobilized to divide societies. That dynamic, she argues, leaves even progressive legal frameworks vulnerable in daily life.
Remy Bonny, head of the Brussels‑based advocacy group Forbidden Colours, urges caution about celebrating formal gains. He says a Europe‑wide backlash has been under way for several years, and points to the growing influence of far‑right parties. In Spain, for example, the rise of Vox and the strengthened position of the conservative Partido Popular make key protections politically fragile; if those forces gain power they could seek to roll back reforms.
Bonny also highlights external influences, saying the international political climate has shifted in ways that affect rights work in Europe. He noted cuts to or changes in foreign aid programs that previously supported LGBTQ+ advocacy in parts of Eastern Europe, and warned that anti‑LGBTQ+ narratives are increasingly backed by state actors beyond Europe.
Both analysts stress the limits of the Rainbow Map: it measures laws and policies, not everyday experiences. Despite topping the index, Spanish LGBTQ+ organizations have reported a 15% rise in assaults against queer people since 2024, a trend they link to a climate of hate speech that emboldens violence.
For Bonny and Hugendubel, the state of minority rights is closely tied to the health of liberal democracy. They point to Hungary under Viktor Orbán as an example where attacks on LGBTQ+ people have accompanied broader restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and institutional independence. ‘‘They start with one minority group, then they take the rights of everyone,’’ Bonny says.
To counter rollbacks, Bonny urges the European Commission to use its tools — including infringement procedures — more decisively when member states ignore court rulings or curtail protections. He also calls on progressive parties in the European Parliament to be ready to challenge cooperation between mainstream groups and the far right when it blocks action on rights issues.
Hugendubel warns that several countries where direction remains unclear, such as Germany, could still swing toward or away from progress depending on political developments. The broader question for both experts is whether governments will protect minority rights not only on paper but in people’s daily lives — a core test, they say, of what liberal democracies should stand for.