Yemen — Gay Travel Index 2026

Name: Yemen — Gay Travel Index 2026
Creator: GayOut
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

5/100

Death-penalty risk #203 of 207

Score = Legal 5/60 + Scene 0/40 = 5/100 · thin scene coverage — legal-weighted provisional score

Updated 15 Oct 2026 · release 2026.3.

A live score, not an annual report — it recomputes as laws, rulings and the scene itself change. See what moved in 2026.

Legal composite · Legal milestones · Scene on the ground · Frequently asked questions

⚠ Criminalized — Death-penalty risk

Same-sex intimacy is criminalized or actively repressed here. Consult your government travel advisories before any trip; this listing is informational, not an endorsement of travel.

Legal composite — 5/60 points

Criminalization	Death penalty
Partnership	● No not recognised
Anti-discrimination	● No
Gender recognition	Not possible — no legal gender recognition
Enforcement reality	Severe — systematic state persecution

Research note: Amnesty/HRW 2024 Houthi death sentences, stoning, crucifixion — GayOut Index 2026.3 legal research (ILGA World / Human Dignity Trust / Rainbow Europe / Equaldex).

Legal composite, five components

Fulfilment per component (100 = maximum). Weights: criminalisation 35% · partnership 20% · enforcement 20% · anti-discrimination 15% · gender recognition 10%.

Legal milestones

Background, not travel advice — how the current status came to be. For planning a trip, rely on the current score, tier and scene sections above; 2026 movements are tracked in the sourced change log.

1937British-controlled Aden criminalized homosexuality through the imported Indian Penal Code. ↗
1976The socialist People's Democratic Republic of Yemen adopted a penal code with no laws against homosexuality. ↗
1994Unified Yemen's penal code imposed the death penalty on married men for homosexual acts, with lashes and prison for unmarried men. ↗
2024Houthi-run courts sentenced dozens of people to death, flogging or imprisonment on homosexuality accusations. ↗
TodaySame-sex activity remained punishable by death under Sharia-based law, with no legal protections and advocacy itself prohibited. ↗

Sources: ILGA World · Human Dignity Trust · Equaldex. Each milestone links to a reference source ↗.

Scene on the ground — 0/40 points

LGBTQ+ venues listed

Dedicated gay bars

Gay saunas

Cities with a scene

Pride parades

Queer film festivals

Detailed scene metrics (for researchers)

Gay bars per million	—
Saunas per million	—
Events per million	0
Coverage grade	—
Scene score	0/40 (raw scene index 0/100)

Frequently asked questions

Is Yemen safe for gay travellers?

Yemen is rated Death-penalty risk on the GayOut Gay Travel Index 2026: same-sex intimacy is criminalized and can carry the death penalty. Its legal safety component is 5/60. On enforcement reality, systematic state persecution is documented.

Is same-sex marriage legal in Yemen?

No. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Yemen. Overall legal status: Death penalty.

Does Yemen have a gay scene?

GayOut currently lists no LGBTQ+ venues in Yemen, so any gay scene is limited, informal or not publicly documented.