STUDY: 2.7 Billion People Live In Countries Where Homosexuality Is A Crime

Via the Guardian:

More than 2.7 billion people live in countries where being gay is punishable by imprisonment, lashes or even death, new research obtained by the Guardian shows. The stark figure from the International Lesbian and Gay Association (Ilga) highlights the discrimination faced by gay people around the world; the full report shows there is not a single country where LGBT people enjoy equal legal rights with their heterosexual counterparts. Five countries – Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen – still have a statutory death penalty for homosexuality, while a further 71 countries punish same-sex couples with lesser sentences of imprisonment or corporal punishment. In total, 2.79 billion people live in countries where being gay can lead to prison or death – seven times as many as live in countries with same-sex marriage.

Now the good news: "More than 1.3 billion people live in countries with some form of legal protection against discrimination against LGBT people, while 780 million live in countries with same-sex marriage or civil unions. More than a billion people live in countries which bar workplace discrimination against LGBT people."

MAP: Via the Guardian's interactive map of LGBT rights around the world.