Backgrounder

Marriage Equality: Global Comparisons

A growing number of countries are legalizing same-sex marriage amid a steady advance in rights for
LGBTQ+ people, but opposition remains strong in many others.

WRITTEN BY
CFR.org Editors

UPDATED
Last updated December 22, 2022 9:30 am (EST)

Summary
More than two dozen countries have marriage equality, and more than half of these are in Western
Europe.

Cuba and Slovenia were the latest to legalize same-sex marriage, both in 2022.

The expansion of LGBTQ+ rights around the globe has been uneven, with bans on same-sex relationships
still in place in many countries.

Introduction
Thirty-three countries, including the United States, have legalized same-sex marriage, and
some others recognize same-sex civil unions. Yet same-sex marriage remains banned in many
countries, and the expansion of broader LGBTQ+ rights has been uneven globally.
International organizations, including the United Nations, have issued resolutions in support
of LGBTQ+ rights, but human rights groups say these organizations have limited power to
enforce them.
International Norms, Democracy, and LGBTQ+ Rights
Rights monitors find a strong correlation between LGBTQ+ rights and democratic societies;
the research and advocacy group Freedom House lists nearly all the countries with marriage
equality—when same-sex couples have the same legal right to marriage as different-sex
couples—as “free.” “Wherever you see restrictions on individuals—in terms of speech,
expression, or freedom of assembly—you see a crackdown on LGBT rights,” says Julie Dorf,
senior advisor to the Council for Global Equality, a Washington-based group that promotes
LGBTQ+ rights in U.S. foreign policy. “It’s the canary in the coal mine,” she says.

Javier Corrales, a professor at Amherst College who focuses on LGBTQ+ rights in Latin

America, points to income levels and the influence of religion in politics, as well as the
overall strength of democracy, to explain regional divergences [PDF].

The UN Human Rights Council, expressing “grave concern” over violence and discrimination
against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, commissioned the body’s
first study on the topic [PDF] in 2011. In 2014, the council passed a resolution to combat anti-
LGBTQ+ violence and discrimination. Two years later, the United Nations appointed its first-
ever independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity. “What is important here
is the gradual building of consensus,” says Graeme Reid, director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender rights program at Human Rights Watch. “There’s an accumulation of moral
pressure on member states to at least address the most overt forms of discrimination or
violence.”

Activists have focused on antiviolence and antidiscrimination campaigns rather than

marriage equality. “There’s no sensible diplomat who would think that pushing same-sex
marriage on a country that’s not ready for it is a good idea,” says Dorf. She adds that not all
countries with marriage equality allow same-sex couples to jointly adopt and cautions against
equating the right to marry with freedom from discrimination. Still, antidiscrimination laws
are gaining traction worldwide. In 2020, eighty-one countries and territories, including some
that retain sodomy laws, had protections against employment discrimination [PDF] based on
gender identity or sexual orientation.

 
Expanding LGBTQ+ Rights and Protections
 Same-sex marriage legal Some rights for same-sex couples Antidiscrimination laws

+
-

Countries listed as having antidiscrimination laws have at least one protection for
LGBTQ+ individuals.
Sources : CFR research; Pew Research Center; Marriage Equality USA; ILGA.

United States
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Constitution grants
same-sex couples the right to marry. The 5-4 ruling effectively legalized same-sex marriage in
the thirteen states where it remained banned and extended to U.S. territories. In 2022, amid
fears that the Supreme Court could rule to let states deny the validity of same-sex marriages,
Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, which
recognizes such marriages at the federal level. That year, 71 percent of Americans polled
approved of same-sex marriage, up from 27 percent in 1996.

Despite the increase in public support for same-sex marriage, debate continues between
advocates of legal equality and individuals and institutions that object to marriage equality
on the basis of religious belief. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker
who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of his religious beliefs,
violating the state’s civil rights law. However, the court chose not to issue a broader ruling on
whether businesses have a right to deny goods or services to LGBTQ+ people for religious
reasons. In 2020, the court ruled that a 1964 civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in
the workplace also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The ruling protected LGBTQ+ employees from being fired in more than half of states where
no such legal protections previously existed.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, a case that used the
fourteenth amendment to protect the right to have an abortion, sparked some concerns that
it would similarly overturn its 2015 decision on marriage equality. In his concurring opinion
on the 2022 ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that Obergefell v. Hodges was
“demonstrably erroneous” and that the court had a duty to overrule this and other decisions. 

Europe
More than half of the countries that have marriage equality are in Western Europe. Same-sex
marriage has been legalized in the Netherlands (2001), Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Norway
(2009), Sweden (2009), Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010), Denmark (2012), France (2013), the
United Kingdom (2013), Luxembourg (2015), Ireland (2015), Finland (2017), Malta (2017),
Germany (2017), Austria (2019), and Switzerland (2021). In Italy, the parliament approved
civil unions for same-sex couples in 2016, but same-sex marriage is not legal. Lawmakers in
Andorra voted in 2022 to convert all same-sex civil unions to civil marriages and legalize
same-sex marriage. The changes will take effect in early 2023. Meanwhile, Slovenia made
history in 2022 as the first country of the former Yugoslavia to legalize marriage and
adoption for same-sex couples.

Despite this, same-sex marriage remains restricted in much of Central and Eastern Europe. A
2019 Pew Research Center poll found that support for legal recognition of same-sex marriage
was 28 percent in Lithuania and 14 percent in Ukraine. Support in Poland and Hungary has
increased in recent years, to 47 percent and 49 percent, respectively, though both maintain
bans on same-sex marriage. At least ten other countries in Central and Eastern Europe have
such prohibitions. Estonia allows civil unions, though popular support for marriage equality
in the Baltic states is low. The Czech Republic and Hungary recognize same-sex partnerships.
In 2018, a Budapest court ruled that same-sex marriages performed abroad must be
recognized as partnerships. Since then, however, Hungarian lawmakers and populist Prime
Minister Viktor Orban have passed several anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including ones that prohibit
same-sex couples from adopting children and ban any content deemed to promote being gay
or transgender from being distributed to people under the age of eighteen. The European
Union (EU) condemned the laws as discriminatory.
In 2013, Russia made it a crime to distribute “propaganda of nontraditional sexual
relationships among minors.” Dozens of people have been fined for violations, including
participating in protests and sharing articles on social media. Human rights groups say the
law is a tool for anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and Europe’s top human rights court ruled that
it is discriminatory and violates freedom of expression. In 2022, Russian President Vladimir
Putin signed into law an expansion of the ban. It prohibited the distribution of such material
to adults, made it illegal to treat same-sex relationships as “normal,” and increased penalties
against people who violate the law. Meanwhile, in Chechnya, a semiautonomous republic
within Russia, dozens of men suspected of being gay have been detained, tortured, and even
killed in two separate official crackdowns since 2017.

The EU does not require its members to recognize same-sex marriage, though a 2018 ruling
[PDF] by the EU’s top court says they must uphold same-sex couples’ rights to freedom of
movement and residence. In 2021, the court ruled that all EU countries must recognize
children of same-sex couples, even countries that do not have marriage equality. The ruling
came after Bulgaria refused to grant identity documents to the daughter of a same-sex
couple. A 2013 European Parliament report on human rights and democracy “encourages” EU
institutions and member states to recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions as “a political,
social and human and civil rights issue” [PDF]; however, the EU is not able to impose such
policy changes on its members. 

Americas
In 2005, Canada became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to legalize same-sex
marriage. It was followed by Argentina in 2010, Brazil and Uruguay in 2013, Mexico in 2015,
Colombia in 2016, Ecuador in 2019, Costa Rica in 2020, and Chile in 2021. The only Central
American country to recognize same-sex couples is Costa Rica, though some others in the
region have limited antidiscrimination protections. 

Support for marriage equality varies across the region. According to a 2016 survey [PDF] by
the International LGBTI Association (ILGA), 54 percent of Canadians, 48 percent of Chileans,
and 57 percent of Argentines were in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. In Central
America, support was much lower: 33 percent of Costa Ricans, 28 percent of Nicaraguans, and
27 percent of Ecuadorians supported legalizing it. In 2018, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights ruled in favor of marriage equality, but the decision has not spurred much
action among member states. 

Support for legalizing same-sex marriage also remains low in the Caribbean, at just 16
percent in Jamaica and 23 percent in the Dominican Republic, according to the ILGA.
Bermuda, a British territory, legalized domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in 2017,
but the government fought to reissue a ban. Same-sex marriage remains illegal there.
However, in 2022, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis struck down laws
criminalizing gay sex. 

The governments of Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Paraguay have enacted constitutional
bans on same-sex marriage. Although Brazil has legalized same-sex marriage, in 2019,  then-
President Jair Bolsonaro removed the Human Rights Ministry’s ability to consider LGBTQ+
concerns. He drew criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups during his campaign over
homophobic remarks.

Cuba, where homosexuality was once punished by internment in forced-labor camps, has
changed markedly in recent years. The National Assembly passed an antidiscrimination law
in 2013, and a new constitution in 2019 removed language defining marriage as between a
man and a woman. In September 2022, voters approved a referendum legalizing same-sex
marriage.

Pacific Rim
Australia and New Zealand are the only Pacific Rim countries in which same-sex marriage is
legal. Same-sex marriage became legal in Taiwan in 2019, as the legislature implemented a
ruling the top court issued two years earlier. In China, 43 percent of people supported
legalizing same-sex marriage in 2021. 

A district in Tokyo began recognizing same-sex unions in 2015, amid rapidly shifting public
opinion in Japan. In 2022, the city adopted legislation granting same-sex couples some
privileges enjoyed by married couples. A court in Sapporo ruled a year earlier that the
Japanese government’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, while a
court in Osaka ruled that it is constitutional. In a 2022 survey, public support for same-sex
marriage reached nearly 65 percent. 
In 2022, a court in Seoul, South Korea, ruled against recognizing same-sex partnerships and
rejected a same-sex couple’s claim to spousal health insurance, even though public opinion
supports antidiscrimination legislation. More than a third of people in South Korea
supported legalizing same-sex marriage in 2021.

Lawmakers in Thailand and Vietnam have considered bills to legalize same-sex marriage or
civil partnerships. However, in 2021, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that the nation’s
marriage law—which only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman—does not
violate the constitution. The country’s parliament is considering two proposals that will
essentially give lawmakers a choice between permitting civil partnerships for same-sex
couples and allowing them to marry. In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has
said that if there is popular support for same-sex unions, it is up to lawmakers to legalize it.
However, he has maintained his own opposition to same-sex marriage.

Same-sex relations between men are banned in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar.
Rights groups have reported increased threats and violence against LGBTQ+ people in
Indonesia since 2016, including discriminatory comments by several public officials.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong vowed in 2022 to decriminalize gay sex but said
this would not change the status quo on marriage. In Brunei, gay sex is punishable by stoning
to death, though following international outcry, the government said it won’t enforce the
law. 

South and Central Asia

Same-sex relations are illegal in much of South and Central Asia [PDF], including in
Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 2018, India lifted a colonial-era ban on gay sex, and in 2020,
Bhutan moved to decriminalize it. In 2022, India’s Supreme Court ruled to expand the
definition of family to include “atypical” families, such as same-sex couples, though same-sex
marriage remains illegal. Nepal has enacted some protections against discrimination based
on sexual orientation, and in 2015 a government-appointed panel recommended that
lawmakers legalize same-sex marriage. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan allow people
to register as a third gender in official documents. 
There is little information on public attitudes toward homosexuality in South and Central
Asia. ILGA found 35 percent of Indians and 30 percent of Pakistanis in 2016 thought same-sex
marriage should be legal. Support in Kazakhstan stood at 12 percent. 

Support for same-sex marriage has historically been low in Afghanistan. According to a 2022
Human Rights Watch report, the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 “dramatically worsened” LGBTQ+
people’s lives, with individuals reporting attacks, sexual assaults, and direct threats against
them or their families.

Middle East and North Africa

Same-sex relations are illegal in much of the region and are punishable by death in Iran,
Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Algeria, Morocco, Oman, Syria, Tunisia, and Gaza have laws
explicitly prohibiting same-sex acts. When Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, its anti-
LGBTQ+ laws were widely criticized; it prohibits gay sex, and security forces have assaulted
transgender women and other LGBTQ+ people, according to Human Rights Watch.

In 2018, Lebanese courts set a potential precedent for the decriminalization of gay sex, but
the country continued to crack down on peaceful LGBTQ+ gatherings in 2021 and banned
them outright in 2022. 

Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other countries, but a bill that would have
legalized same-sex marriages failed to pass in the Knesset, Israel’s legislative assembly, in
2018. Same-sex couples enjoy civil benefits, including residency permits for the partners of
Israeli citizens, and they were granted the right to use surrogates to have children in 2022. 

Israel stands apart from its neighbors in public attitudes toward same-sex couples: according
to the 2016 ILGA survey, 49 percent of Israelis said same-sex marriage should be legal,
compared to 19 percent of respondents in the United Arab Emirates, 16 percent in Egypt, and
14 percent in both Jordan and Morocco.

Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa is the only sub-Saharan African country where same-sex couples can marry. The
parliament legalized same-sex marriage in 2006, less than a decade after the constitutional
court struck down laws banning sex between men. The postapartheid constitution was the
world’s first to protect people on the basis of sexual orientation, though the 2016 ILGA poll
found only 40 percent of South Africans were in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, and
human rights monitors have reported failures by security forces to uphold rights of lesbians
and transgender men.

Same-sex relations are illegal on much of the continent and are punishable by death in
Mauritania and Sudan, as well as in parts of Nigeria and Somalia. Polling by Afrobarometer
between 2016 and 2018 found that 78 percent [PDF] of Africans across thirty-four countries
were intolerant of homosexuality. Although the African Union’s human rights commission
adopted a resolution condemning violence against LGBTQ+ people in 2014, a group of
African nations attempted to suspend the appointment of a UN expert charged with
investigating anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in 2016. In Ghana, where same-sex relations are an
imprisonable offense, draft legislation would make identifying as gay or an LGBTQ+ ally a
felony.

However, there have been recent advances: the Afrobarometer poll found that majorities in
three countries in addition to South Africa—Cape Verde, Mauritius, and Namibia—are
tolerant of homosexuality. In 2015 Mozambique decriminalized same-sex relations, followed
by the Seychelles in 2016, Angola and Botswana in 2019, and Gabon in 2020. And in recent
years, courts in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia have ruled in favor of LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.
Recommended Resources
On The President’s Inbox podcast, Council for Global Equality’s Julie Dorf discusses the advancement of
global LGBTQ+ rights.

Former CFR fellow Paul J. Angelo and CFR’s Dominic Bocci unpack the changing landscape of global
LGBTQ+ rights. 

This CFR event discusses how to report on LGBTQ+ issues. 

Human Rights Watch provides extensive coverage on global LGBTQ+ rights.

Equaldex tracks actions related to LGBTQ+ rights internationally. 

Pew Research Center measures the divide on acceptance of homosexuality around the world.
Zoltan Aguera, Eleanor Albert, Nathalie Bussemaker, Claire Klobucista, Laura Hillard, Alice Hickson, Jacqueline Jedrych, Lindsay
Maizland, Melissa Manno, Noah Morgenstein, Brianna Lee, Samuel Parmer, Danielle Renwick, and Avery Reyna contributed to this
Backgrounder.

For media inquiries on this topic, please reach out to communications@cfr.org.