Countries where gay marriage is not legal
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 Combined Kingdom, the Merged 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.
Same-sex marriage represents a critical milestone in the Queer rights movement, allowing couples of the same sex to legally marry and receive the same marital benefits as heterosexual couples. The journey towards legalization has been varied across the globe, influenced by cultural, religious, and political factors. In some regions, the push for marriage equality has gained significant traction and achieved legal recognition, often after prolonged public and legal battles.
While full marriage equality is celebrated in many places, an alternative approach through civil unions or local partnerships persists in others. These frameworks typically grant a subset of rights that marriage offers, focusing on aspects like property rights or hospital visitation. However, they often collapse short in areas such as inheritance, pension rights, and parental responsibilities, spotlighting a gap in the legal recognition of relationships.
The acceptance and implementation of same-sex marriage have brought substantial legal benefits, including inheritance rights, tax reductions, and enhanced health insurance options, which are crucial for the security and well-being of families. This progr
Rainbow Map
2025 rainbow map
These are the main findings for the 2025 edition of the rainbow map
The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%.
The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls following anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our press release.
“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in reality designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”
- Katrin Hugendubel, Advocacy Director, ILGA-Europe
Malta has sat on top of the ranking for the last 10 years.
With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.
The three LGBT activists across Australia were celebrating Wednesday, as 61 percent of the population voted in favor of allowing queer couples to wed in an advisory referendum. While the referendum does not automatically render same-sex marriage legal, it will be used in Parliament as a persuasive argument in favor of swift legalization. Assuming lawmakers don't ignore the finding, Australia will be the 26th state in the earth to legalize queer marriage. But in other nations across the world, the fight to commit who you long continues. Here's a run-down of the situation across the globe. Europe Europe is starkly divided on the issue of equivalent marriage. The continent contains the Netherlands, which 19 years ago became the first country in the world to let same-sex couples to wed. Yet even within the European Union (EU), a bloc of 28 relatively wealthy, liberal nations, six states do not notice same-sex unions of any kind, and 15 do not permit same-sex marriage. Central and Eastern European states within the bloc are among the most conservative on the issue; Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria allow neither civil unions nor marriage for gay coupl Posted: 28/03/2024 On 29 March 2024, it will be the 10-year anniversary of the first lgbtq+ marriage ceremony in England. It is sometimes uncomplicated to forget that up until 1967 homosexuality was illegal in this region. Interestingly, it was never illegal to be sapphic, perhaps one of the few ways women were historically overlooked by regulation 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 unused 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 ruined if you move abroad. In contrast, cohabiting couples in England still face limited financial protection on separation despite calls for reform. Our International Family Rule Report: The Cohabitation Conundrum summarises the legal remedies for cohabiting couples on the breakdown of their relationship in England an
The tin anniversary – a review of the status of same-sex relationships around the world