The view that gay men and lesbians
should be accepted by society is most prevalent in Spain.
According to a Pew
Research Center survey of 39 countries, most European Union (EU)
countries surveyed overwhelmingly accept gays, including Spain (88%),
Germany (87%), the Czech Republic (80%), France (77%), Britain (76%),
Italy (74%) and Greece (53%).
The lone exception among EU nations was
Poland, where more people believe homosexuality should be rejected
(46%) than acceptance (42%).
South Korea, the United States and
Canada were among the nations where support has grown by at least ten
percentage points since 2007.
Support has grown by 21 percentage
points in South Korea, from 18 to 39 percent, eleven points in the
United States, from 49 to 60 percent, and 10 points in Canada, from
70 to 80 percent.
African and predominantly Muslim
countries remain strongly opposed to homosexuality.
While opposition is strongest in
Nigeria (98%), even in South Africa, where gay couples can legally
marry, 61 percent remain opposed. Overwhelming majorities in
predominantly Muslim countries are also opposed, including 97% in
Jordan, 95% in Egypt, 94% in Tunisia, 93% in the Palestinian
territories, 93% in Indonesia, 87% in Pakistan, 86% in Malaysia, 80%
in Lebanon and 78% in Turkey.
Large majorities in Russia (59%) and
China (57%) also say homosexuality should be rejected.