Marriage Equality: These Are the 38 Countries That Legalized It!

March 22, 2025
HANK ORSO

With our current administration wreaking havoc on queer, and especially trans lives, one must wonder when...not if...our billionaire overlords will set their sights on marriage equality in the States. Nine states so far have started the work to erode or eliminate gay marriage on the national level. So yer boy Hank here was wondering just how many countries, and where, marriage equality is enacted and going strong? At least, I hope they're still going strong. The Advocate, it turns out, already has that list.

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The Netherlands

Passed in 2000, The Netherlands had previously passed legal partnership in 1998. Yes, if you were born before April of 2000, you are older than Marriage equality!

Belgium

It took three years for anyone else to follow suit when Belgium passed the law, and it was approved by King Albert II.

Spain

Despite strong opposition from the Catholic church, of course, Spain passed marriage equality in June of 2005. Damn, that musta been a hell of a Pride Month there!

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Canada

Some provinces had started legalizing gay marriage in 2003, and in 2005 the country as a whole made the same move with their Civil Marriage Act, making it the first country outside Europe to do so.

South Africa

In 2006, South Africa became the first, and to date, still the only African country to legalize same-sex marriage. 9 years before the U.S.! South Africa!

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Norway

In 2008, the Land of Trolls passed the Gender Neutral Act which allowed for Same-Sex Marriage, as well as adoption and artificial insemination for LGBTQ+ couples.

Sweden

Spring of 2009 found Sweden passing their own "gender neutral act" which changed the wording of their marriage code to define marriage as that between "two spouses."

Portugal

Legalized in January of 2010, Portugal's marriage equality allowed for equality in "marriage, taxes, inheritance and housing, but not in adoption. A separate law allowing adoption was passed in 2016."

Iceland

This country's gender-neutral act passed in June of 2010, with no votes in opposition.

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Argentina

Passing in July of 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American country and the second in the Americas (after Canada) to legalize gay marriage.

Denmark

It's a bit surprising to see Denmark so far behind their Nordic brother countries, not passing marriage equality until June of 2012. Greenland, controlled by Denmark, wouldn't see it until 2016 when it passed in a separate bill with no opposition votes.

United Kingdom

Britain passed the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act of 2013, legalizing marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales. Scotland passed their own equality law in 2014, while Northern Ireland would not see marriage equality until 2020.

Brazil

Brazil ruled that "same-sex couples could not be denied marriage licenses on May 16, 2013." Adoption had been legal for a few years already.

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France

Two days after Brazil, France legalized same-sex marriage and adoption.

Uruguay

This Latin American country actually passed its equality in May of 2013, but it did not go into effect until August, after Brazil and France.

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New Zealand

Also in August of 2013, New Zealand amended its 19955 Marriage Act with the Definition of Marriage Amendment Act, making it the first Oceania country to do so.

Luxembourg

This small country passed same-sex marriage in June of 2014, but it didn't go into effect until January of 2015. The Prime Minister married his longtime partner shortly after.

United States

While several states had already passed their individual same-sex marriage laws starting with Massachusetts in 2003, it wasn't until the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized it nationally in 2015 with their landmark Obergefell v. Hodges. This is the case several states are looking to overturn.

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Ireland

This emerald isle was the first country to use a national referendum to pass marriage equality in May of 2015, with 62% of the populace voting in favor of it.

Columbia

Ruling in 2016, the Constitutional Court legitimized same-sex marriage with a 6-2 vote after waiting five years for Congress to pass marriage equality. "The court initially ruled in June 2011 that if Congress failed to do so within two years, same-sex couples would have the right to ask judges and notaries to 'formalize and solemnize' their 'contractual relationships.'"

Finland

Finland was the last Nordic country to pass it after a petition in support was signed by 167,000 citizens. Their Parliament approved it in 2014, though it did not go into effect until 2017.

Malta

Only one opposition vote was registered, next to 66 in favor, when Malta passed it in 2017. Surprisingly, this rabidly Catholic country is thought of as one of the most gay-friendly of places, having passed many pro-LGBTQ+ laws, including being the first European country to ban conversion therapy.

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Germany

Germany passed marriage equality in June 2017 by a Parliamentary vote of 393-226.

Australia

Australia passed marriage equality in 2017 by redefining "marriage" in their 1961 marriage act as that of "a union of two people." This was after a 61.6 "in favor of" response out of 80% of respondents asking whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

Austria

Their Constitutional Court voted to legalize gay marriage in December of 2017, though it would not go into effect until early 2019.

Taiwan

Taiwan became the first Asian country to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage through a court ruling in 2017 approving it, and the passing of legislation in 2019.

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Ecuador

Marriage Equality was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2019 after two couples challenged their civil union law.

Costa Rica

In 2018, their Supreme Court of Justice "nullified the sections of the nation's Family Code in August 2018 after determining them to be unconstitutional." A new law was written and enacted in May of 2020.

Chile

President Sebastián Piñera sponsored a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in June of 2020, and the law went into effect in March of 2021. "This also undid the requirement that married transgender people must divorce in order to legally change their gender."

Switzerland

Like Ireland, Switzerland used a public referendum to pass marriage equality, as well as adoption and in vitro fertilization by a 64.1% vote in September of 2021.

Slovenia

This country's Constitutional Court ruled a previous ban unconstitutional in July 2022. It went into effect the next day. It was the first "post-communist nation" to do so.

Cuba

Cuba's referendum to pass Marriage equality was the highest percentage in favor of, at 66.9%, than any other country using such a method.

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Mexico

When Tamaulipas became the last Mexican state to legalize gay marriage in October 2022, marriage equality was finally witnessed across the country, falling in line with a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that stated that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. Some states just took longer than others.

Andorra

While the General Counsel had voted to approve same-sex unions in 2014, it voted to expand those rights to full civil marriage in February of 2023

Estonia

When Estonia's Parliament voted in favor of marriage equality in June of 2023, it became the first Baltic state and the first "post-Soviet Union country" to do so in January 2024.

Greece

Greece became the first Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage, in February 2024. "The local church on the island of Corfu announced after it would deny communion and other religious ceremonies to the lawmakers who voted in favor."

Liechtenstein

In a vote of 25-1 in May 2024, , this small nation enacted Marriage Equality when it went into effect at the start of 2025.

And finally...

Thailand

This nation was the first Southeast Asian country to enact marriage equality when it was signed into law by its king in September of 2024 and went into effect this past January.