{"id":6482,"date":"2025-06-02T11:56:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:56:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:44:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:44:46","slug":"same-sex-marriage-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"fact-sheet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/fact-sheet\/same-sex-marriage-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Same-Sex Marriage Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since the first same-sex marriages were legally recognized in the Netherlands<\/a> in 2001, nearly 40 other jurisdictions \u2013 mostly in Europe and the Americas \u2013 have enacted laws allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. This year, Thailand<\/a> and Liechtenstein<\/a> join the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use the interactive table below to sort the places allowing same-sex marriages by name, region and the year legal same-sex marriage took effect. The table also includes some key facts about the process in each jurisdiction.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place<\/th>Year<\/th>Region<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Andorra<\/td>2023<\/td>Europe<\/td>Parliament in the small mountainous country between France and Spain voted to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Argentina<\/td>2010<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>First country in Latin America to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.<\/td><\/tr>
Australia<\/td>2017<\/td>Asia-Pacific<\/td>Voters supported legalizing same-sex marriage 62% to 38% in a nonbinding nationwide referendum.<\/td><\/tr>
Austria<\/td>2019<\/td>Europe<\/td>A court ruling in 2017 eventually led to the change.<\/td><\/tr>
Belgium<\/td>2003<\/td>Europe<\/td>Second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage after its neighbor, the Netherlands.<\/td><\/tr>
Brazil<\/td>2013<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>About half of Brazil’s 27 jurisdictions had allowed same-sex marriage until a court ruling made it legal nationwide.<\/td><\/tr>
Canada<\/td>2005<\/td>North America<\/td>Same-sex marriage was legal in a majority of Canada’s provinces before Parliament passed national legislation.<\/td><\/tr>
Chile<\/td>2022<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>Sixth South American country to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Colombia<\/td>2016<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>Colombia’s Constitutional Court legalized same-sex marriage by a 6-3 vote.<\/td><\/tr>
Costa Rica<\/td>2020<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>First Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Cuba<\/td>2022<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>Legalization of same-sex marriage was part of a broader referendum on family law that passed by a 67% to 33% vote.<\/td><\/tr>
Denmark<\/td>2012<\/td>Europe<\/td>Same-sex marriage became legal through a separate process in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, in 2016.<\/td><\/tr>
Ecuador<\/td>2019<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>A court ruling made Ecuador the fifth South American country to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.<\/td><\/tr>
Estonia<\/td>2024<\/td>Europe<\/td>The law amended 2016 legislation recognizing same-sex civil unions and made Estonia the first Baltic country to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Finland<\/td>2017<\/td>Europe<\/td>The law, passed by Parliament in 2014, started out as a “citizens’ initiative” \u2013 a public petition with nearly 167,000 signatures. It came into effect in 2017.<\/td><\/tr>
France<\/td>2013<\/td>Europe<\/td>Then-President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande signed the law after an unsuccessful court challenge.<\/td><\/tr>
Germany<\/td>2017<\/td>Europe<\/td>Legislation passed after then-Chancellor Angela Merkel said members of her ruling Christian Democratic Union should vote their conscience even though the party formally opposed same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Greece<\/td>2024<\/td>Europe<\/td>First majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Iceland<\/td>2010<\/td>Europe<\/td>After the law took effect, the country’s prime minister at the time, J\u00f3hanna Sigur\u00f0ard\u00f3ttir, wed her longtime partner, J\u00f3n\u00edna Le\u00f3sd\u00f3ttir, becoming one of the first Icelanders to marry under the statute.<\/td><\/tr>
Ireland<\/td>2015<\/td>Europe<\/td>First country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular referendum, with 62% of Irish voters in favor.<\/td><\/tr>
Luxembourg<\/td>2015<\/td>Europe<\/td>The bill was championed by the country’s former prime minister, Xavier Bettel, who is openly gay.<\/td><\/tr>
Malta<\/td>2017<\/td>Europe<\/td>Parliament voted almost unanimously to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
Mexico<\/td>2022<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>Same-sex marriage eventually became legal nationally after the Supreme Court declared state bans unconstitutional in 2015.<\/td><\/tr>
Nepal<\/td>2024<\/td>Asia-Pacific<\/td>An interim Supreme Court order led to Nepal’s first federally registered same-sex marriage in 2023. However, local officials reportedly weren’t consistent in following that order. In 2024, the federal government directed all local governments to register same-sex marriages. While gay and lesbian couples can marry, there is not yet a marriage equality law on the books.<\/td><\/tr>
Netherlands<\/td>2001<\/td>Europe<\/td>First country to legalize same-sex marriage after its Parliament passed the law in December 2000.<\/td><\/tr>
New Zealand<\/td>2013<\/td>Asia-Pacific<\/td>First country in the Asia-Pacific region to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.<\/td><\/tr>
Norway<\/td>2009<\/td>Europe<\/td>The law replaced a 1993 statute permitting civil unions.<\/td><\/tr>
Portugal<\/td>2010<\/td>Europe<\/td>Portugal’s Parliament passed a measure allowing same-sex marriage, which was approved by the Constitutional Court.<\/td><\/tr>
Slovenia<\/td>2022<\/td>Europe<\/td>First country in formerly communist Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/td><\/tr>
South Africa<\/td>2006<\/td>Sub-Saharan Africa<\/td>Only African country where same-sex marriage is legal; several countries on the continent have passed laws in recent years that ban homosexuality.<\/td><\/tr>
Spain<\/td>2005<\/td>Europe<\/td>Third country globally to legalize same-sex marriage after a vote in its closely divided Parliament.<\/td><\/tr>
Sweden<\/td>2009<\/td>Europe<\/td>Gay and lesbian couples in Sweden previously had been allowed to register for civil unions since 1995.<\/td><\/tr>
Switzerland<\/td>2022<\/td>Europe<\/td>Nearly two-thirds of Swiss voters (64%) cast ballots in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in a 2021 referendum.<\/td><\/tr>
Taiwan<\/td>2019<\/td>Asia-Pacific<\/td>A court ruling prompted a change in the law that made Taiwan the first jurisdiction in Asia to permit gay and lesbian couples to wed.<\/td><\/tr>
United Kingdom<\/td>2014<\/td>Europe<\/td>Legal same-sex marriage took effect in Northern Ireland in 2020, six years after the change in England and Wales. Separate legislation was enacted in Scotland in 2014.<\/td><\/tr>
United States<\/td>2015<\/td>North America<\/td>Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia had legalized same-sex marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees it throughout the country.<\/td><\/tr>
Uruguay<\/td>2013<\/td>Latin America-Caribbean<\/td>Second Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, following Argentina.<\/td><\/tr>
Liechtenstein<\/td>2025<\/td>Europe<\/td>A same-sex marriage bill passed in the country’s parliament and received a royal assent from Prince Alois in 2024. The law took effect on Jan. 1, 2025.<\/td><\/tr>
Thailand<\/td>2025<\/td>Asia-Pacific<\/td>Thailand became the first nation in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on Jan. 23, 2025. The law passed in the National Assembly and received royal assent from King Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2024.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sort through nearly 40 jurisdictions that have enacted laws allowing gay and lesbian couples to 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