With the exceptions of South Africa, Cape Verde, and Mauritius, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa are limited in comparison to the Americas, Western Europe and Oceania.
Out of the 55 states recognised by the United Nations or African Union or both, homosexuality is outlawed in 32 African countries as of October 2023. Human Rights Watch notes that another two countries, Benin and the Central African Republic, do not outlaw homosexuality, but have certain laws which discriminate against homosexual individuals. Many of the laws that criminalize homosexuality are colonial-era laws.
Homosexuality has never been criminalised in Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, and Rwanda, and has been decriminalised in Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Seychelles and South Africa. However, in 6 of these countries (Benin, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Madagascar), the age of consent for same-sex sexual relations is higher than for opposite-sex ones.
In November 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa and the fifth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. In May 2023, the Supreme Court of Namibia ruled foreign same-sex marriages must be recognized equally to heterosexual marriages. LGBT anti-discrimination laws exist in seven African countries: Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa.
In some of the countries with criminal punishments for homosexuality, governments have been recently enforcing the law more harshly, and many legislators have recently proposed stricter sentences for same-sex activity. Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, which allows the death sentence for certain types of consensual same-sex activities, has attracted international attention.
Since 2011, some developed countries have been considering or implementing laws that limit or prohibit general budget support to countries that restrict the rights of LGBT people. In spite of this, many African countries have refused to consider increasing LGBT rights, and in some cases have drafted laws to increase sanctions against LGBT people. Past African leaders such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni claimed that LGBT behaviour was brought into the continent from other parts of the world. Nevertheless, most scholarship and research demonstrates that homosexuality has long been a part of various African cultures.
Overview
In a 2011 UN General Assembly declaration for LGBT rights, state parties were given a chance to express their support, opposition or abstention on the topic. Only Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and South Africa expressed their support. Majority of the African countries expressed their opposition. State parties that expressed abstention were Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
In southern Somalia, Somaliland, Mauritania, northern Nigeria, and Uganda, homosexuality results in death penalty. In Sudan, Gambia, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone, offenders can receive life imprisonment for homosexual acts, although the law is not enforced in Sierra Leone. In addition to criminalizing homosexuality, Nigeria has enacted legislation that would make it illegal for heterosexual family members, allies and friends of LGBT people to be supportive. According to Nigerian law, a heterosexual ally "who administers, witnesses, abets or aids" any form of gender non-conforming and homosexual activity could receive a 10-year jail sentence.