On April 1 2026, the world marked the 25th anniversary of the first nationally recognized same-sex marriages. These marriages took place in the Netherlands shortly after it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Today, same-sex marriage is legal in nearly 40 countries and territories around the world, according to data from the Pew Research Centre. In 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, followed by Canada and Spain in 2005. In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, requiring every state to both recognize and allow such marriages. Liechtenstein and Thailand were the most recent countries to legalize same-sex marriage in 2025, following Estonia, Greece and Nepal in 2024. Although dozens of countries now recognise same-sex marriage, many others allow same-sex relationships but stop short of allowing marriage. Japan, South Korea, India, Poland, Romania, and Hungary are among the countries where same-sex marriage is not recognized, despite same-sex relationships being legal. According to Pew Research Center data, same-sex unions typically account for 1-3.4% of all marriages in countries where they are legal. Pew Research data on same-sex marriages from 2020 to 2022 showed that Spain recorded the highest share, with same-sex couples making up 3.4% of all marriages registered in 2021. In US Census Bureau data from 2023, same-sex couples made up 1.3% of married couples heading households, although national marriage figures are not available for direct comparison with other countries.
