Counting the number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ isn't like counting cars in a parking lot. It’s messy. You’ve got people in some countries who feel perfectly safe shouting their identity from the rooftops, and others where just whisper-saying it could land them in serious trouble. So, if you're asking what country has the most gay people, the answer depends entirely on whether you’re looking at raw population numbers or the percentage of people who feel comfortable enough to answer a survey honestly.
Honestly, the data changes every single year. According to the latest 2024 and 2025 reports from groups like Statista and Gallup, the map looks a lot different than it did even five years ago.
The Numbers Game: What Country Has the Most Gay People?
If we are talking about sheer volume—the highest number of individuals—the answer is almost certainly China or India. Why? Because math. When you have over 1.4 billion people, even a small percentage represents tens of millions of people. However, because of the political climate and social stigma in these regions, getting a "real" number is basically impossible.
Instead, researchers look at "identification rates" in countries where it's safe to ask.
As of early 2026, the United States frequently tops the list for the highest visible population. Gallup recently reported that about 9.3% of U.S. adults now identify as LGBTQ+. When you do the math on the total U.S. population, that’s roughly 25 to 30 million people. That’s more than the entire population of Australia.
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But the U.S. isn't alone at the top.
Recent Statista Consumer Insights data shows the Philippines, the United States, and Israel all tied with an 11% identification rate. Brazil isn't far behind either. In fact, Brazil often reports some of the highest rates of bisexual identification in the world, hovering around 7% for that specific group alone.
Why the percentages are jumping
You might wonder why these numbers seem to be skyrocketing. It’s not that more people are "becoming" gay; it's that younger generations are finally comfortable saying it out loud. In the U.S., more than one in five Gen Z adults (about 22-23%) identify as LGBTQ+. Compare that to Baby Boomers, where the rate is barely 2% or 3%.
It’s a generational shift that is fundamentally changing the demographic map of the world.
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The European Powerhouses
Europe is often seen as the "gold standard" for safety and rights, but the numbers vary wildly between the West and the East.
- Spain: Historically a leader. About 6% of people in Spain identify specifically as gay or lesbian, which is one of the highest specific "gay" (non-bisexual) rates globally.
- The Netherlands: The first country to legalize same-sex marriage. Recent 2024 Ipsos data suggests their total LGBTQ+ identification could be as high as 17% when including all identities.
- Germany and Sweden: These countries consistently show high visibility, with Sweden reporting high numbers of people identifying as asexual or non-binary compared to their neighbors.
On the flip side, you have countries like Romania and Poland. In these places, the percentage of people identifying as LGBTQ+ in surveys drops to 3% or 4%. Is it because there are fewer gay people there? Probably not. It’s more likely a reflection of the "Rainbow Map" rankings by ILGA-Europe, which show these countries having fewer legal protections, making people less likely to come out to a surveyor.
Thailand: The Southeast Asian Exception
Thailand is a fascinating case. It’s often cited in the 2024 and 2025 data as having one of the highest LGBTQ+ populations in Asia, with identification rates hitting 10% to 15% in various urban surveys. The social acceptance of "Kathoey" (often translated as third gender) and a generally more fluid view of gender and sexuality makes Thailand a massive outlier in the region.
The "Silent" Populations
We have to talk about the countries that don't show up on these lists. In places like Nigeria, Iran, or even Russia (which sits at the bottom of the 2025 Rainbow Map with a 2% identification rate), the data is effectively useless.
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When a country criminalizes your existence, you don't tell a pollster the truth.
This creates a "data gap." Experts like those at the Williams Institute at UCLA use "Global Acceptance Index" scores to estimate where populations might be hidden. They’ve found that as a country’s acceptance score goes up, the visible LGBTQ+ population follows. This suggests that the "true" number of gay people is likely similar across all human populations, roughly 5% to 10%, but visibility is a luxury of the safe.
Actionable Insights for Travelers and Researchers
If you're looking at this data to decide where to move, travel, or market a business, don't just look at the raw "most gay people" stat. Look at the Safety and Equality Indexes.
- Check the Equaldex Equality Index: This gives a real-time score of legal rights vs. social reality. A country might have a lot of gay people but zero legal protections.
- Look for "Gen Z" data: If you want to know where a culture is heading, look at the youth identification rates. Countries like Thailand and Brazil are seeing massive spikes here.
- Distinguish between "Friendly" and "Populous": Malta is ranked #1 for rights by ILGA-Europe, but its population is tiny. If you’re looking for a "scene" or a large community, the U.S. (specifically cities like NYC or San Francisco) or Brazil (Sao Paulo) remains the heavyweight champion due to sheer scale.
The reality is that what country has the most gay people is a moving target. As legal barriers fall in places like Thailand (which recently moved toward marriage equality) and parts of Latin America, we should expect those "official" numbers to keep climbing. The world isn't getting "gayer"—it's just getting more honest.
To get a truly accurate picture of the community in a specific region, prioritize data from the last 24 months. Older surveys are already obsolete because the pace of Gen Z coming of age is shifting the percentages by 1% or 2% every single year. Always cross-reference identification rates with the Spartacus Gay Travel Index to ensure the "high population" you're seeing in a country actually translates to a safe environment on the ground.