The call for greater sexual liberalism might surprise some residents of progressive cities. After all, wasn't there a sexual revolution in the late 1960s? Didn't sex shops proliferate in the 1970s? Hasn't the BDSM and fetish scene been established since the 1980s? Isn't the LGBTQI community more accepted today than ever before? While these points are true, significant differences still exist between cities. Our research ranks the 27 most sexually liberal cities worldwide.

To ensure accurate results, we incorporated a wide range of data points across several categories. We examined each city in detail to identify prominent aspects of sexual liberalism.

These aspects include the number of gay bars, the existence of anti-discrimination laws, the allowance for gender transitions, the frequency of annual LGBTQI events such as pride parades, access to contraceptives, and the legalization of sex work to protect sex workers.

For each parameter, we awarded points. The higher the prevalence, the higher the score and ranking position. Some interesting results emerged from this. You can click on the map or the list to learn more about each city in our top 27.

When examining this study, the question arises as to why sexual liberalism is an important value that should be studied. Simply put: sexual liberalism, also known as sex positivity, is a factor that encompasses the developmental state of many societal aspects. It says a lot about a society in general if minorities such as the LGBTQI community or women are restricted in their opportunities. Such restrictions can be justified by so-called traditional values or political arguments. As the feminist movements of the 20th century have shown, the emancipation of genders or minority orientations is always linked to the acceptance of sexual liberalism.

A look at recent German history quickly shows how beneficial a liberal attitude of the state and society towards sexual liberalism is for an individual's development opportunities. It's easy to list what has happened in this area in recent decades. Looking at the history of the legal recognition of homosexuality in Germany, one notices that homosexual acts were still considered criminal offenses by law in both West and East Germany until 1968. It wasn't until 2001 that same-sex partners were allowed to enter into registered civil partnerships, giving them a certain level of legal recognition. Only since 2017 have same-sex couples in Germany been allowed to marry.

The same applies when looking at women's sexual self-determination: until 1970, homosexual or highly sexually active girls and young women were still sent to so-called reformatory homes, where they were often mistreated. Abortions were decriminalized only in 1974, but they are still fundamentally illegal today. Until 1986, mentally disabled people in Germany were still routinely sterilized without their consent. Until 1997, marital rape was legal, and until 2016, a rape was only considered such if the victim put up a fierce fight, which often doesn't happen out of fear for their life. What can we conclude from this?

The developmental steps in German law and society clearly show how closely linked sexual liberalism and individual freedom are. Only when sexuality is not demonized or criminalized can an individual enjoy freedom in society. Those who conform to societal norms, such as heterosexual white men without unusual erotic desires, may not be particularly affected by restrictions on sexual liberalism. However, this does not apply to the female part of German society, which makes up 51%, nor to the 7.4% of people who identify with the LGBTQI community in Germany. It is already evident that a majority of the German population benefits from laws that guarantee a relatively high degree of sexual liberalism and self-determination. We hope that our ranking can help those looking for a place to live where they can find happiness and thrive with as little discrimination as possible.

San Francisco takes the top spot in the Sexually Liberal City Index 2024. The Californian metropolis has jumped seven places compared to last year to secure the title of "Sexually Liberal City." It impresses mainly due to its enormous LGBTQI scene, which is unparalleled internationally.

The Dutch capital Amsterdam also climbs to a remarkable second place this year. Measured by population, there is a particularly vibrant sex-positive life here. The city also benefits from extremely liberal laws regarding sexual life.

After a surprising first place last year, Cologne ranks third in 2024. It remains on par with the world's major metropolises and benefits from a large number of LGBTQI events and a relatively stable legal situation for sexual minorities and sex workers. For comparison: Berlin ranks seventh.

Incidentally, Germany is home to the world's first sex shop, opened in 1962 by entrepreneur and pilot Beate Uhse. Germany's strong performance in this ranking is probably due to her work.

Lisbon is one of the biggest winners of this year's ranking. Making its debut this year, the Portuguese capital ranks an impressive fourth place. Hamburg, also new to the index, ranks directly in our top 10.

When we conducted the Sexually Liberal City Index for the first time back in 2021, New York City ranked first. Three years later, the city that never sleeps is "only" in 19th place. This is not because there is less sex-positive life there, but because global competition has become stronger. While sex positivity used to be a fringe issue, it is now an integral part of many areas of society.

At the bottom of our ranking are Santiago de Chile, Houston, and Dallas. But just because a city ranks low on this list doesn't mean it isn't sex-positive. In all the cities we analyzed, we found sex-positive elements. However, the competition is strong, which is a good sign for many people around the world.

Curious as to how we calculated these results? Click here to see our full methodology (opens a PDF, German)