New research has found that the Czech Republic and Spain are the most gay friendly countries in the world. Spain was the third country in the world to legalise gay marriage, where 55% of the respondents thought it morally acceptable, just behind the Czech Republic at 56%. However, just 6% of the people who answered the survey in Spain said that homosexuality was morally unacceptable, compared to more than double that number in Czech Republic. The rest were in between, saying it was not a moral issue.

Great Britain came sixth in the list of people finding homosexuality unacceptable, at just 17%.

In most of the 40 nations polled, more than half of the people questioned thought that homosexuality is unacceptable – and over 90% hold this view in seven nations, including Ghana, Jordan and Egypt. Europeans are much less likely to hold this view, especially true in western Europe, where about 20% or fewer express this opinion.

The questionnaire also asked about other moral issues, including gambling, extra martial affairs and abortion. African and predominantly Muslim countries tended to find most of these activities morally unacceptable, while places with advanced economies, such as those in Western Europe, Japan, and North America, people tend to be more accepting or to not consider these moral issues at all.

The survey was conducted by Pew Research, an American non-partisan think tank which informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They asked over 40,000 people their views.

In India, where homosexuality has recently been criminalised, 67% of those surveyed saw being homosexual as morally unacceptable, while Russia, which has received international attention over on its anti gay ‘homosexual propaganda’ laws, 72% found homosexuality morally objectionable.

Richard Lane, media manager at Stonewall, told So So Gay: ‘It’s heartening to see that more and more people are recognising that loving, committed same-sex couples are just like everyone else and equally worthy of respect and recognition. However, the figures from around the world starkly show just how much work remains to be done before all lesbian, gay and bisexual people can live free from fear and persecution.’