Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa

Last updated January 21, 2025

Debate has occurred throughout Africa over proposals to legalize same-sex marriage as well as civil unions.

Currently, South Africa is the only African country that performs and recognises same-sex marriage,^[1] and Namibia is the only other which legally recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad. In addition, the Spanish regions of the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Portuguese territory of Madeira, the French territories of Mayotte and Réunion and the British Overseas Territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha recognize and perform same-sex marriage.

Civil partnerships or de facto unions are also recognized in South Africa, and the French, Spanish and Portuguese territories.

Current situation

National level

Status	Country	Legal since	Country population (Last Census count)
Marriage (1 country)	South Africa	2006	54,956,900
Subtotal	—	—	54,956,900 (4.5% of the African population)
Recognition of foreign marriage (1 country)	Namibia	2023	2,113,077
Subtotal	—	—	2,113,077 (0.17% of the African population)
Subtotal	—	—	57,069,977 (4.67% of the African population)
No recognition (44 countries) * same-sex sexual activity illegal
	Algeria *	—	40,400,000
	Angola	—	25,789,024
	Benin	—	10,872,298
	Botswana	—	2,250,260
	Cameroon *	—	23,439,189
	Cape Verde	—	539,560
	Central African Republic	—	4,594,621
	Chad *	—	13,670,084
	Comoros *	—	795,601
	Djibouti	—	942,333
	Egypt *	—	96,474,100
	Equatorial Guinea	—	1,221,490
	Eritrea *	—	4,954,645
	Eswatini *	—	1,343,098
	Ethiopia *	—	102,403,196
	Gambia *	—	2,051,363
	Ghana *	—	27,043,093
	Guinea *	—	12,395,924
	Guinea-Bissau	—	1,815,698
	Ivory Coast	—	23,740,424
	Lesotho	—	2,203,821
	Liberia *	—	4,503,000
	Libya *	—	6,293,253
	Madagascar	—	24,894,551
	Malawi *	—	18,091,575
	Mauritania *	—	4,301,018
	Mauritius	—	1,262,132
	Morocco *	—	33,848,242
	Mozambique	—	28,829,476
	Niger	—	20,672,987
	Nigeria *	—	185,989,640
	Republic of the Congo	—	5,125,821
	São Tomé and Príncipe	—	199,910
	Senegal *	—	15,411,614
	Seychelles	—	94,228
	Sierra Leone *	—	7,075,641
	Somalia *	—	14,317,996
	South Sudan *	—	12,230,730
	Tanzania *	—	55,572,201
	Togo *	—	7,965,055
	Tunisia *	—	11,304,482
	Zambia *	—	16,591,390
Subtotal	—	—	873,514,764 (70% of the African population)
Constitutional ban on marriage (10 countries) * same-sex sexual activity illegal	Burkina Faso	—	20,107,509
	Burundi *	2005	10,524,117
	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2006	78,736,153
	Gabon	2024	1,979,786
	Kenya *	2010	49,125,325
	Mali *	2023	14,517,176
	Rwanda	2003	11,262,564
	Sudan *	—	39,578,828
	Uganda *	2005	41,487,965
	Zimbabwe *	2013	16,150,362
Subtotal	—	—	283,469,785 (23% of the African population)
Total	—	—	1,214,062,706 (99.6% of the African population)

Partially recognized and unrecognized states

Status	Country	Since	State population (last estimate)
No recognition (2 state) * same-sex sexual activity illegal	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic *	—	100,000
No recognition (2 state) * same-sex sexual activity illegal	Somaliland *	—	3,508,180
Subtotal	—	—	3,608,180 (0.3% of the African population)
Total	—	—	3,608,180 (0.3% of the African population)

Sub-national level

Status	Country	Jurisdiction	Legal since	Jurisdiction population (last census)
Marriage (9 jurisdictions)	France	French Southern and Antarctic Lands	2013	—
		Mayotte	2013	256,518
		Réunion	2013	865,826
	Portugal	Madeira	2010	289,000
	Spain	Canary Islands	2005	2,101,924
		Ceuta	2005	82,376
		Melilla	2005	78,476
	United Kingdom	Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	2017	5,633
Subtotal	—	—	—	3,679,753 (0.3% of the African population)
Total	—	—	—	3,679,753 (0.3% of the African population)

Public opinion

Indicates the country/territory has legalised same-sex marriage nationwide

Indicates that same-sex marriage is legal in certain parts of the country

Indicates that the country has civil unions or registered partnerships

Indicates that same-sex sexual activity is illegal

Opinion polls for same-sex marriage by country
Country	Pollster	Year	For	Against	Neutral^[a]	Margin of error	Source
Kenya	Pew Research Center	2023	9%	90%	1%	±3.6%	^[2]
Mozambique (3 cities)	Lambda	2017	28% (32%)	60% (68%)	12%		^[3]
Nigeria	Pew Research Center	2023	2%	97%	1%	±3.6%	^[2]
South Africa	Ipsos	2023	57%	29% [10% support some rights]	14%	±3.5% ^[b]	^[4]

Notes

↑ Also comprises: Don't know; No answer; Other; Refused.
↑ [+ more urban/educated than representative]

Related Research Articles

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The legal status of same-sex marriage has changed in recent years in numerous jurisdictions around the world. The current trends and consensus of political authorities and religions throughout the world are summarized in this article.

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Adoption by LGBT people in Europe differs in legal recognition from country to country. Full joint adoption or step-child adoption or both is legal in 23 of the 56 European countries, and in all dependent territories.

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Debate has occurred throughout Asia over proposals to legalize same-sex marriage as well as civil unions.

The recognition of same-sex unions varies by country.

References

↑ Wines, Michael (2 December 2005). "Same-Sex Unions to Become Legal in South Africa". New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
1 2 "How people in 24 countries view same-sex marriage" . Retrieved 14 June 2023.
↑ "Most Mozambicans against homosexual violence, study finds". MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online. June 4, 2018., (full report)
↑ LGBT+ PRIDE 2023 GLOBAL SURVEY (PDF). Ipsos. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.

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[kon-1] 1 2 Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.

[2] Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.

[4] Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.

[usa-5] 1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.

[israel-6] Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.

[eu-7] 1 2 3 4 5 The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.

[8] A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.

[9] Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.

[10] Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.

[11] Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya , nata pratha or maitri karar –type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.

[12] Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.

[13] Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.

[14] Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.

[notyet-3] Not yet in effect.

[neutral1-16] Also comprises: Don't know; No answer; Other; Refused.

[urban-19] [+ more urban/educated than representative]

[15] Wines, Michael (2 December 2005). "Same-Sex Unions to Become Legal in South Africa". New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

[temp-Pew_Survey_2023-17] 1 2 "How people in 24 countries view same-sex marriage" . Retrieved 14 June 2023.

[18] "Most Mozambicans against homosexual violence, study finds". MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online. June 4, 2018., (full report)

[temp-Ipsos_2023-20] LGBT+ PRIDE 2023 GLOBAL SURVEY (PDF). Ipsos. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.

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v t e Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)