Where Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Katharina Buchholz

In 2024, three countries legalized same-sex marriage, among them a second location in Asia – Thailand. The country that joined the UN Human Rights Council the same year was lauded by the organization for its progress on equal rights and non-discrimination issues. The law change went into effect in early 2025. While same-sex Thai couples can now gain certain rights by having a marriage certificate, there are still law changes outstanding one year on, for example on joint adoption. Thailand has traditionally seen very high support for same-sex marriage.

In early 2024, The Greek parliament also legalized same-sex marriage - the first Orthodox Christian country and the first in Southeastern Europe to do so. After two days of debate, people rallied in Athens during the late-night vote. Streets filled with supporters of marriage equality but also with opponents, as the Greek Orthodox church continues to be vehemently against the right of same-sex couples to marry. The third country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2024 was Liechtenstein.

Same-sex marriage has advanced in countries and regions where acceptance of homosexuality is high and globally, half of countries that allow it are in Western Europe. More recently, countries in Latin America have also seen advances, with Cuba and Mexico legalizing same sex marriage in 2022, Chile in 2021, Ecuador in 2019 and Costa Rica in 2018 (in effect since 2020). It has been legal in Colombia since 2016, in Brazil since 2013 and Argentina since 2010.

South Africa for now remain the only places on the African continent where same-sex or queer couples can get married. Still, several European governments do not allow same-sex unions, notably Italy and much of Eastern Europe.

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