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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.
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 (45 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 | |
Gabon | — | 1,979,786 | |
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 | |
Namibia * | — | 2,113,077 | |
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 | — | — | 877,607,627 (72.1% of the African population) |
Constitutional ban on marriage (8 countries) * same-sex sexual activity illegal | Burkina Faso | — | 20,107,509 |
Burundi * | — | 10,524,117 | |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | — | 78,736,153 | |
Kenya * | — | 49,125,325 | |
Mali | 2023 | 14,517,176 | |
Rwanda | — | 11,262,564 | |
Sudan * | — | 39,578,828 | |
Uganda * | — | 41,487,965 | |
Zimbabwe * | — | 16,150,362 | |
Subtotal | — | — | 281,489,999 (23% of the African population) |
Total | — | — | 1,214,062,706 (99.6% of the African population) |
Status | Country | Since | State population (last estimate) |
---|---|---|---|
No recognition (2 state) * same-sex sexual activity illegal | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic * | — | 100,000 |
Somaliland * | — | 3,508,180 | |
Subtotal | — | — | 3,608,180 (0.3% of the African population) |
Total | — | — | 3,608,180 (0.3% of the African population) |
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) |
Country | Pollster | Year | For | Against | Neutral [lower-alpha 1] | 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% [lower-alpha 2] | [4] |
A civil union is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage.
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. As of 2024, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 37 countries, with a total population of 1.4 billion people. The most recent country to legalise same-sex marriage is Nepal. A 38th country, Liechtenstein, will begin performing same-sex marriages in 2025.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2004.
Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child.
This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.
Same-sex marriages are not performed in Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, which are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands were obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage registered in the Kingdom, but this primarily considers residency rights, and they do not have to give same-sex marriages the same legal effect as opposite-sex marriages. Marriage in the European territory of the Netherlands, as well as in the Caribbean municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, is open to any two people irrespective of sex.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Brazil since 16 May 2013 in accordance with a decision from the National Justice Council, ordering notaries of every state to license and perform same-sex marriages. Brazil became the second country in South America to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, after Argentina, and the twelfth worldwide to do so.
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.
Marriage in Israel is regulated by the religious courts of recognized confessional communities, none of which perform inter-faith or same-sex marriage. Domestic civil marriage is not recognized in Israel; however, civil marriages performed in foreign jurisdictions, including same-sex marriages, are recognized with full marital rights under Israeli law.
Several countries in the Americas grant legal recognition to same-sex unions, with almost 85 percent of people in both North America and South America living in jurisdictions providing marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are complex and diverse in the Americas, and acceptance of LGBT persons varies widely.
Same-sex unions in the United States are available in various forms in all states and territories, except American Samoa. All states have legal same-sex marriage, while others have the options of civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiary relationships. The federal government only recognizes marriage and no other legal union for same-sex couples.
Debate has occurred throughout Europe over proposals to legalise same-sex marriage as well as same-sex civil unions. Currently 33 of the 50 countries and the 8 dependent territories in Europe recognise some type of same-sex union, among them most members of the European Union (24/27). Nearly 43% of the European population lives in jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.
South Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage, civil unions or any other form of legal union for same-sex couples. On 21 February 2023, an appellate court ruled that government health insurance should offer spousal coverage to same-sex couples, the "first legal recognition of social benefits for same-sex couples" in South Korea.
The topic of same-sex unions and military service concerns the government treatment or recognition of same-sex unions who may consist of at least one servicemember of a nation's military.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2015.
[[File:Same-sex marriage map Oceania.svg|thumb|300px||1.5|Recognition of same-sex relationships in Oceania {{legend-shell|lang=en|title=Laws regarding same-sex sexuality in Oceania|
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.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights taking place in the year 2023.