21 countries legal gay marriage
Here are the countries where same-sex marriage is officially legal
June 26 marks the fifth anniversary of gay marriage being legalized across the entire Merged States.
To commemorate this milestone in LGBTQ history, we are taking a glance at countries around the world that have officially legalized same-sex marriage. Nearly 30 out of 195 countries have passed laws allowing gay marriage, according to the Pew Investigate Center.
Below is a timeline for the countries where same-sex marriage is officially legal. The year marks when the law was first enacted in that country.
2000: The Netherlands
The nation became the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The tracking year, four couples married in the world’s first same-sex wedding in 2001. [Associated Press]
2003: Belgium
Three years after the new regulation was enacted, the country’s parliament granted same-sex couples the right to adopt in 2006. [Pew Analyze Center]
2005: Canada
The nation's traditional definition of civil marriage was changed to contain the union between lgbtq+ couples. [Pew Research Center]
2005: Spain
The new law gave same-sex couples all of the same marital and adoption righ
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the nature. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of collective, national and regional advocates and contribute tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the Merged Kingdom, the Combined States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
At-a-glance: Same-sex marriage around the world
Various countries and jurisdictions around the world hold legalised same-sex marriages, while others provide some forms of recognition and limited spousal rights to same-sex partners.
Full legalisation
Gays can marry, to be sure, to be sure. Source: Getty Images / AAP
The Netherlands (April 1, 2001)
Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba)
Belgium (June 1, 2003)
Spain (July 3, 2005)
Canada (July 20, 2005)
South Africa (2006)
Norway (January 1, 2009)
Sweden (May 1, 2009)
Portugal (June 5, 2010)
Iceland (June 27, 2010)
Argentina (July 22, 2010)
Denmark (15 June 2012)
Uruguay (April 2, 2013)
New Zealand (April 17, 2013)
France (April 23, 2013)
Brazil (May 14 2013)
England and Wales (July 17, 2013)
Luxembourg (June 18, 2014)
Scotland (February 4, 2014)
Finland (signed February 20, 2015, effective 2017)
Ireland (May 23 , 2015)
The 32 countries around the world where same-sex marriage is legal
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- There are currently 32 countries that let same-sex couples to marry.
- The latest country to hand over legislation was Slovenia, which did so on October 4, 2022.
- Most countries hold legalized same-sex marriage via legislation, but some were through court decisions.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
People fighting for queer marriage rights around the world have seen global support increase in recent years. Australia, Malta, and Germany legalized same-sex marriage in 2017, and Taiwan made history in 2019, becoming the first government in Asia to welcome legislation on marriage equality.
Slovenia became the first post-communist country to legalize it on October 4, 2022, after the Constitutional Court of Slovenia overturned a prior ban on homosexual marriages in July, arguing that it violated the country's constitution. The court gave the Slovenian government six
The tin anniversary – a review of the status of same-sex relationships around the world
Posted: 28/03/2024
On 29 March 2024, it will be the 10-year anniversary of the first queer marriage ceremony in England. It is sometimes simple to forget that up until 1967 homosexuality was illegal in this land. Interestingly, it was never illegal to be womxn loving womxn, perhaps one of the few ways women were historically overlooked by rule makers which had an inadvertently positive effect!
It may come as a shock to some same-sex couples who move abroad that their relationship might not be recognised, or they may even be treated differently than a heterosexual couple in their modern home country if their relationship or marriage ends.
In England, there are a myriad of financial claims arising from the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership, and these rights could be defeated if you move abroad.
In contrast, cohabiting couples in England still face limited financial protection on separation despite calls for reform. Our International Family Commandment Report: The Cohabitation Conundrum summarises the legal remedies for cohabiting couples on the breakdown of their relationship in England an