Updated 7 July 2015

(NOTE: Due to the current political situation we've listed Egypt with the Middle East.)

Algeria

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Angola

Same-sex sexual activity is not specifically outlawed, but other laws apply. "Habitual offenders" are sent to forced labor camps. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Ascension Island

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Benin

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Botswana

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Burkina Faso

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Constitutional ban against same-sex marriage since 1991.

Burundi

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal; there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships and there's been a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage since 2005.

Cameroon

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Central African Republic

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Chad

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Cape Verde

Same-sex sexual activity is legal since 2004, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Comoros

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Côte d'Ivoire

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Djibouti

It is unclear whether or not same-sex sexual activity is illegal. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Eritrea

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Equatorial Guinea

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Ethiopia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Gabon

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. In April 2014 the legislature dropped a plan to add gay sex to a list of crimes ineligible for presidential pardons. Gay Ethiopians face severe penalties for living in the open. Same-sex acts are punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a 25-year jail term is given to anyone convicted of infecting another person with HIV during same-sex acts.

Gambia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Ghana

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females, and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Guinea

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Guinea-Bissau

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Kenya

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, females aren't covered. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships and since 2010 the Constitution only addresses opposite-sex marriages. A draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill has been presented to the National Assembly and as of 11 August 2014 is before the Justice and Legal Affairs committee. The Republican Liberty Party has proposed stoning to death in public for any foreigner who commits a homosexual act, and life imprisonment for Kenyan nationals found guilty .

Liberia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal. On 22 July 2012 a Constitutional Amendment was passed banning same-sex marriages.

Libya

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Lesotho

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Madagascar

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Malawi

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Mali

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Mauritania

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal, punishable by death, and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Mauritius

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Morocco

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Mozambique

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. 

In July 2015, Mozambique decriminalized homosexuality in its new penal code, making it one of a few African countries where same-sex relationships are legal. However, same-sex relationships are still a divisive subject in a country where most people are either religious Christians or Muslims. 

Namibia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal but not enforced, and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Niger

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Nigeria

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males; for females it is illegal in areas covered by Sharia and legal in areas not covered by Sharia. On 7 January 2014 President Jonathan signed into the law the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2013, banning same-sex marriage, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail. The law also criminalizes homosexual clubs, associations and organizations and public displays of a "same-sex amorous relationship," punishable by lashings or up to 10 years in jail.

Republic of Seychelles

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males and legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Republic of the Congo

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Rwanda Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Réunion

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, and Pacte civil de solidarité have been in place since 1999. There is no same-sex marriage.

Saint Helena

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

São Tomé and Príncipe

Same-sex sexual activity is legal, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Senegal

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Sierra Leone

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males and legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Somalia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Somaliland

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal, punishable by expulsion from the country and/or imprisonment up to life, and in some areas by the death penalty. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

South Africa

In November 2006 the government of South Africa passed the Civil Unions Act, allowing for the "voluntary union of two persons, which is solemnized and registered by either a marriage or civil union". The law allows for churches to refuse performing civil unions.

South Sudan

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Sudan

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal, no legal recognition of same-sex relationships, and there is a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage.

Swaziland

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females, but there is a law pending which would outlaw lesbian sex. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Tanzania

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal punishable by up to life imprisonment, and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Togo

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Tunisia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Uganda

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal; there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships, and there's been a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage since 2005. On 20 December 2013 the Parliament of Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, which punished Ugandans charged with "aggravated homosexuality" with life imprisonment. Uganda faced a barrage of international criticism in response to the law. On 1 August 2014, the Constitutional Court of Uganda ruled the law invalid.

Western Sahara

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Zambia

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for males, legal for females. There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Zimbabwe

Laws passed in 2006 criminalize any actions perceived as being homosexual, by males or females. Section 4.78 of the new constitution, which was signed into law on 22 May 2013, reads, "Persons of the same sex are prohibited from marrying each other." Since 1995, the government has carried out campaigns against LGBT men and women. In 2006 the Zimbabwean government made it a criminal offense for two people of the same sex to hold hands, hug, or kiss. Speaking at a rally in Mutare on 23 July 2013, President Mugabe described LGBT people as "worse than pigs, goats and birds" and threatened to behead them. Mugabe has instructed journalists, most of whom work for state-owned institutions, to report unfavorably about gay relationships.