Lithuania has fallen one spot in an annual ranking of LGBTIQ rights in Europe, highlighting continued stagnation in legal protections and government action, according to advocacy groups.
The country now ranks 36th out of 49 in the Rainbow Europe Index published Wednesday by ILGA-Europe, an international LGBTIQ human rights organization. Lithuania received just 24% of the total possible score, a slight drop from 2023 when it ranked 35th.
“This year’s ranking is a clear signal that symbolic victories are far from enough,” said Vladimir Simonko, head of the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL), one of the country’s LGBTIQ rights organisations.
Simonko pointed to what he called a “significant lack of progress”, citing stalled legislative reforms, weak enforcement of hate crime laws, and the continued absence of legal recognition for same-sex relationships.
Although Lithuania has avoided the sharp declines seen in some European countries, the LGL says its low ranking reflects deep institutional inaction. It noted that while freedom of assembly and expression are generally respected, there are major legal gaps. Same-sex couples cannot marry or register civil unions, and gender identity recognition remains limited.
The Rainbow Index also does not reflect a major development earlier this year, when Lithuania’s Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s long-standing failure to pass a civil partnership law was unconstitutional. The ruling opened the door for unmarried couples – including same-sex couples – to register their partnerships through courts until legislation is enacted.
Simonko told BNS that the court’s decision would likely have improved Lithuania’s score if it had been considered in the latest index. “It would certainly add some points,” he said.
Still, activists say real change remains slow and fragile. A 2023 ruling by the same court found unconstitutional a provision that banned information promoting LGBTIQ families among minors. But LGL says public discourse and education reforms have not kept pace.
Among the three Baltic states, Lithuania now ranks lowest. Estonia, which legalised same-sex marriage last year, is ranked 21st, while Latvia rose to 34th following the adoption of a civil union law. Latvia is now the second Baltic country to formally recognise same-sex couples.
“Without a clear political commitment to adopt real legal reforms and ensure their implementation in practice, Lithuania will continue to trail even its neighbours,” Simonko warned.
Poland, once ranked lower, moved up to 39th place after scrapping so-called “LGBT-free zones” and easing restrictions on public events for the LGBTIQ community.
ILGA-Europe noted growing concern across the continent, as authoritarian and far-right forces have targeted LGBTIQ rights in several countries. Hungary, for example, has criminalised Pride events and stripped “gender identity” from its equal opportunity laws. Georgia has passed sweeping bans on LGBTIQ expression.
At the top of the index are Malta, Belgium, and Iceland. Russia and Azerbaijan remain at the bottom.
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