Next countries to legalize gay marriage
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Joined States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long clash for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
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From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to assure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize homosexual marriage began to pop up across the nation in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but identical standard. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1,100 federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage by the federal government as between a human and woman, thereby allowing states to deny m
Greece has legalised same-sex marriage, who's next?
Key Points
- Greece is the latest country to pass a law that legalises same-sex marriage.
- Same-sex marriage is legal in over 30 jurisdictions around the world.
- Czechia, Thailand and Nepal could be the next countries to fully legalise same-sex marriage.
Greece has joined the list of countries with a commandment that legalises same-sex marriage, making it the first Orthodox Christian country to do so.
While many countries have legalised lgbtq+ marriage, many more own yet to.
Here are some that might be next in the queue.
Map same sex marriage.
Where is same-sex marriage legal?
Same-sex marriage has been legalised in 36 jurisdictions around the world.
The Netherlands was the first country to legalise it in 2001.
Since then, 16 countries in Europe, six in Latin America, Canada, the United States, Australia, Unused Zealand, and South Africa have also legalised homosexual marriage. Self-governing island Taiwan has also changed the law.
Who could be next?
Since 2006, Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic) has allowed registered partnerships for lgbtq+ couples but has not permitted them to unite.
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to authorize 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 United Kingdom, the United 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 effe
What’s the context?
Pending laws, court cases and policy decisions in several countries will protect some LGBTQ+ individuals and restrict others
LONDON - After a year that saw both major gains and a spate of setbacks for rights, 2025 is set to be another mixed year for LGBTQ+ people, with some countries achieving marriage equality and others criminalising diverse sexualities and genders.
Last year progress was made through marriage equality in Greece and Thailand, the decriminalisation of homosexual sex in Namibia and Dominica and self-identification laws in Germany and Ecuador, which ease the process of changing legal gender.
However, other countries experienced considerable setbacks, with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passing in Ghana, Mali, Georgia and Bulgaria.
A grim threshold was crossed in 2024, when the number of trans and gender-diverse people who have been murdered surpassed 5,000 for the first time since a rights group began observing such cases in 2008.
In the United States, more than 570 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community were tracked by rights groups.
Here are the key things to look out for in 2025.
Liechtenstein's
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