How many countries have legalized gay marriage? UPDATED: 36!

On June 20th, 2023, the Estonian parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage, nicely coinciding with Pride Month! It took place just two months after the country's new liberal coalition government took office.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas confirmed the new law will take effect on January 1st, 2024.

This makes Estonia the first ex-Soviet country to legalize marriage!

The General Council of Andorra passed the gay marriage law on July 21, 2022, which came into effect on February 17, 2023.

On October 27, 2022, the state of Tamaulipas voted to allow gay marriage in Mexico, becoming the last of the country's 32 states to do so, which meant gay marriage was now legal nationwide.

Mexico's path to nationwide gay marriage began on December 21, 2009, when Mexico City became the first Latin American jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage and the first of Mexico's 32 states to do so. Over the next decade across the country, each state began to pass its gay marriage laws, particularly after June 2015 when the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that state bans on gay marriage violate the federal constitution.

First Caribbean and Communist country to legalize gay marriage!

Gay marriage in Cuba was legalized on September 27, 2022. This followed a referendum where 66.9% of Cubans voted in favor. Initially, the government announced it would legalize gay marriage in May 2019.

First country former Yougoslavic country to legalize gay marriage!

Gay marriage in Slovenia was legalized on July 8, 2022. It followed a ruling of the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, which gave the Slovenian Parliament 6 months to amend the law. The National Assembly passed the act implementing the decision on October 4, 2022, in a 48–29 vote.

Switzerland's gay marriage laws came into effect on July 1, 2022. The gay marriage law was initially passed by the Swiss Parliament in December 2020 and then opened up to the public in a referendum on September 26, 2021, where it won with a 64% majority.

Gay marriage in Chile came into effect on March 10, 2022. In June 2021, President Sebastián Piñera announced the gay marriage bill, which was eventually passed by the National Congress on December 2021. The law took effect 90 days later and the first gay marriage took place on March 10, 2022.

First country in Central America to legalize gay marriage!

Costa Rica legalized gay marriage on May 26, 2020. On August 8, 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica declared the sections of the Family Code prohibiting gay marriage to be unconstitutional, and gave the Legislative Assembly 18 months to reform the law accordingly.

Ecuador equalized gay marriage on July 8, 2019. This came after a Constitutional Court ruling on June 12, 2019, that stated the ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional under Ecuador's Constitution.

First place in Asia to legalize gay marriage!

On May 24, 2019, Taiwan made history by becoming the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage. It came after the ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Judicial Yuan on May 24, 2017, which gave the Legislative Yuan 2 years to equalize gay marriages.

Austria's gay marriage laws took effect on January 1, 2019. It started with the Constitutional Court's decision on December 4, 2017, which allowed the plaintiffs (a lesbian couple) to marry in Vienna on October 12, 2018 – famously becoming the first gay marriage in Austria. The law formally took effect nationwide on 1st January 2019 and gay marriages in Austria began from this date onwards.

Australia legalized gay marriage on December 9, 2017, following a voluntary postal survey in which 61.6% of Australians came out in support of gay marriage. Subsequently, the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 passed the Australian Parliament on December 7, 2017, received royal assent from the Governor-General on December 8 and came into effect the following day. The first gay wedding under Australian law was held on December 15, 2017.

First country in Central Europe to legalize gay marriage!

Germany's gay marriage law came into effect on October 1, 2017. The law passed the Bundestag on June 30, 2017, in a 393-226 vote, the Bundesrat on July 7, and signed into law on July 20 by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Malta's gay marriage law came into effect on September 1, 2017, following the passage of legislation in Parliament on July 12, 2017. The vote was almost unanimous despite criticism from the Catholic Church. The bill was signed into law by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca on August 1, 2017.

Finland legalized gay marriage on March 1, 2017, becoming the last Nordic sovereign state to do so. The gay marriage bill was approved by the Finnish Parliament in a 101-90 vote on December 12, 2014, and then signed into law by President Sauli Niinistö on February 20, 2015.

Colombia's gay marriage law came into effect on April 28, 2016, following a 6-3 ruling by the Constitutional Court. The decision took effect immediately and the first gay marriage was performed in Cali on May 24, 2016.

First country to legalize gay marriage through a popular vote. 

Ireland's gay marriage law came into effect on November 16, 2015. It followed a referendum on May 22, 2015, where 62% voted in favor. Subsequently, the Marriage Act 2015 passed the Oireachtas on October 22, 2015, and was then signed into law on October 29, 2015.

The USA shook us all when it legalized gay marriage nationwide in June 2015. It followed the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. This was so monumental that the hashtag #LoveWins almost immediately became the No. 1 trending hashtag in the world on Twitter!

Luxembourg's gay marriage law came into effect on January 1, 2015. The bill was enacted by the Chamber of Deputies on June 18, 2014, then signed into law by Grand Duke Henri on July 4.

In England and Wales gay marriage came into effect on March 13, 2014, in Scotland on December 16, 2014, and in Northern Ireland on January 13, 2020.

First country in Oceania to legalize gay marriage!

Gay marriage in New Zealand came into effect on August 19, 2013. The New Zealand Parliament passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage), Amendment Bill, by a margin of 77-44 on April 17, 2013, then received royal assent on April 19.

Uruguay's gay marriage law was legalized on August 5, 2013. It was passed by the Chamber of Representatives on December 12, 2012, in an 81-6 vote, the Senate on April 2, 2013, in a 23–8 vote, and back to the Chamber of Representatives on April 10 in a 71–21 vote, and subsequently signed into law by President José Mujica on May 3, 2013.

France legalized gay marriage on May 18, 2013. It applies to both metropolitan France as well as to all French overseas departments and territories. The law was introduced to the National Assembly by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on November 7, 2012.

Brazil legalized gay marriage on May 16, 2013. It followed a 14-1 decision from the National Justice Council ordering notaries of every state to perform gay marriages and convert any existing stable union into a marriage if requested to do so.

Denmark's gay marriage law came into effect on June 15, 2012. The gay marriage bill was introduced by the Thorning-Schmidt I Cabinet and approved by the Folketing (Danish Parliament) on June 7, 2012. It received royal assent from Queen Margrethe II on June 12 then took effect 3 days later.

First country in Latin America to legalize gay marriage!

Argentina legalized gay marriage on July 22, 2010. The law was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on May 5, 2010, by the Senate on July 15, and then President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner gave her assent on July 21.

First country to legalize gay marriage with a unanimous vote!

Iceland's gay marriage law came into effect on June 27, 2010. The gay marriage bill was passed by the Althing (the Icelandic Parliament) on June 11, 2010, and nobody voted against it.

Portugal's gay marriage law came into effect on June 5, 2010. The government introduced the law in December 2009, which was debated and then passed by the Assembly of the Republic in February 2010. It was then declared legally valid by the Portuguese Constitutional Court in April 2010, allowing President Aníbal Cavaco Silva to ratify it on May 17, 2010.

Sweden's gay marriage law came into effect on May 1, 2009. The Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament) initially passed the law on April 1, 2009. Subsequently, on October 22, 2009, the Church of Sweden voted 176–62 in favor of allowing its priests to wed gay couples. Gay weddings have been performed by the Church of Sweden ever since.

First country in Scandinavia to legalize gay marriage!

Norway's gay marriage law came into effect on January 1, 2009, after being passed by the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) in June 2008. One year after legalizing gay marriage, the country’s Lutheran Church voted to allow its pastors to marry gay couples in 2009. 

First country in Africa to legalize gay marriage!

The Civil Union Act 2006 came into force on November 30, 2006. It all began after the decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie on December 1, 2005, which extended the common-law definition of marriage to include gay spouses.

First country in the Americas to legalize gay marriage!

The Canadian Parliament passed the Civil Marriage Act on July 20, 2005, following the Court of Appeal for Ontario's decision on June 10, 2003. This made Canada the 4th country in the world (and first outside Europe), to legally recognize gay marriage throughout its borders.

On July 3, 2005, Spain became the 3rd country to legalize gay marriage. The campaign for it began in 2004 led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the Socialist Workers' Party. The law was passed by the Cortes Generales (the Spanish Parliament) on June 30, 2005, by a 187–147 vote. The law was published on July 2 and took effect the next day, beating Canada by 17 days.

On June 1, 2003, Belgium became the 2nd country in the world to legalize gay marriages. A bill for the legalization of gay marriage was passed by the Senate on November 28, 2002, by the Chamber of Representatives on January 30, 2003, then formally became law on June, 1 after King Albert II gave his royal assent.

Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage on April 1, 2001.

The Netherlands made herstory by becoming the first-ever country to legalize gay marriage. The bill was passed in the House of Representatives (109-33 votes) on September 12, 2000, and by the Senate (49-26 votes) on December 19, 2000.