First country to legalize gay
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the earth. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of society, 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 Together Kingdom, the Joined 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.
Since the Netherlands became the first country to permit same-sex marriage 12 years ago, many countries possess followed suit.
France is the latest and supporters of gay marriage wish it will soon dispel the final legal hurdles in Britain.
But where in the world can same-sex couples already obtain married?
Just after midnight on 1 April 2001, four couples - Anne-Marie Thus and Helene Faasen, and three male couples - were married by the mayor of Amsterdam, Career Cohen, in the first legal gay marriage ceremony in the world.
"We are so ordinary, if you saw us on the street you'd just step right past us," said Ms Thus of the fuss over the televised City Hall ceremony.
"The only thing that's going to take some getting used to is calling her my spouse."
Denmark was the first country to launch civil partnerships for homosexual couples, in 1989, but it stopped short of allowing church weddings.
Countries including Norway, Sweden and Iceland followed suit in allowing partnerships offering many - but not all - of the rights and
Where Can Same Sex Couples Get Married?
Sixteen countries own so far authorised marriages between people of the same sex.
- NETHERLANDS: In April 2001 became the first country in the nature to legalise marriage equality. Includes the right to adoption.
- BELGIUM: same sex couples in Belgium won the right to marry in June 2003 and in April 2006 parliament voted into law a bill allowing same sex couples to adopt children.
- SPAIN: In July 2005 became the third member of the European Union to move through a law to let marriage equality. Gay and lesbian couples can adopt children.
- CANADA: The law allowing same sex couples to marry and adopt children came into force in July 2005.
- SOUTH AFRICA: In November 2006 became the first African country to legalise marriage equality.
- NORWAY: A January 2009 law allows same sex couples to marry and adopt children and permits lesbians to be artificially inseminated.
- SWEDEN: Sweden's same sex couples contain been allowed to wed in religious or civil ceremonies since May 2009.
- PORTUGAL: Under a June 1, 2010 law Portugal legalised marriage equality, while excluding the right to adoption.
- ICELAND: Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir
The First Countries to Legalize Gay Marriage
To some, queer marriage is considered immoral, while to others it is viewed as a basic, or even God-given, right. Regardless of one's stance, it cannot be argued that, for the same-sex couples living in the countries listed below, they must have considered their respective nations' passing through of legislation allowing them to be married, and those marriages to be fully recognized to be nothing short of a personal and national victory.
10. Argentina (July 2010)
In July of 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages, attributing Argentine gay people the same marital rights as the nation's heterosexuals. A long and taxing national debate preceded the choice, with the Senate finally voting 33 to 27 in favor of the law. One of the leading proponents of gay marriages was the President of the country, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who constantly fought for recognition of the rights of the homosexuals, though against the will of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church bore an extremely bitter attitude regarding this decision, and held substantial protests across the state to derail the
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 Together 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 contain passed laws allowing gay marriage, according to the Pew Research 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 country became the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The following year, four couples married in the world’s first same-sex wedding in 2001. [Associated Press]
2003: Belgium
Three years after the recent law was enacted, the country’s parliament granted same-sex couples the right to adopt in 2006. [Pew Research Center]
2005: Canada
The nation's traditional definition of civil marriage was changed to include the union between queer couples. [Pew Study Center]
2005: Spain
The fresh law gave homosexual couples all of the same marital and adoption righ