Western countries with gay marriage
European countries where gay marriage is still illegal
Campaigners claim Northern Ireland is the only country "in western Europe" where same-sex couples can't get married.
But that very much depends on your definition of western Europe, although it is the last region of the UK not to contain changed its laws yet.
On Saturday an estimated 10,000 demonstrators marched through Belfast demanding LGBT couples be treated "equally" under the law.
The largest political party in Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), strongly opposes gay marriage.
Watch: Newsbeat investigates why Northern Ireland is the last place in the British Isles to allow same-sex marriage., external
It goes against the religious opinions of many of its supporters.
Because of the way the Northern Ireland Assembly was set up, the DUP also has the ability to block any legislation it doesn't like.
The others parties, including Sinn Fein, can also execute this on issues it feels strongly about.
Civil partnerships are legal in Northern Ireland but many gay couples state they still sense like "second class citizens".
Even where countries in Europe recognise marriage equality, children born to homosexual families remain at exposure of statelessness
Every year the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Chart shows that the rights of lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders, trans, intersex and lgbtq+ people (LGBTIQ*) are still not equally respected in the European Union. This gap also affects children of LGBTIQ* parents and while many (mostly Western) countries have permanently changed their laws and regulations within the last two decades to adequately recognise LGBTIQ* people and their families, there are still many legal gaps to fill.
By now, 14 out of 28 EU countries have introduced marriage equality. A further eight countries offer different forms of registered partnerships. However, six EU Member States – Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia –still don’t provide any caring of recognition for LGBTIQ* couples. Of course, restrictions in this area impact the children of LGBTIQ* parents: whenever their parents can’t get married or enter into a civil union, they might also be denied tax credits, inheritance rights, access to healthcare and social security entitlements such as parental leave on an identical footing w
Gay Marriage Around the World
A growing number of governments around the world are considering whether to grant legal recognition to queer marriages. So far, more than two dozen countries have enacted national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry, mostly in Europe and the Americas. In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to wed, while others execute not.
Countries That Allow Homosexual Marriage
Countries Where Gay Marriage is Legal in Some Jurisdictions
Countries That Authorize Gay Marriage
Australia (2017)
On Dec. 7, 2017, the Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. Channel came just three weeks after Australians voted in favor of legalizing homosexual marriage, by a 62% to 38% margin, in a non-binding, nationwide referendum. Along with New Zealand, Australia became the second country in the Asia-Pacific region to to create same-sex marriage legal.
Malta (2017)
Malta’s parliament almost unanimously voted to legalize same-sex marriage in July 2017, despite opposition from the Catholic Church on the miniature Mediterranean island.
Germany (2017)
On June 30, 2017, Germany became the 15th European territory to enac
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 Guide, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls tracking 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 squeeze 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 existence designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”
- Katrin Hugendubel, Lobbying Director, ILGA-Europe
Malta has sat on superior 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 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 enable movements for 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. Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025. Marriage Equality Around the World
Current State of Marriage Equality
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025