Right to change legal gender

You can change your legal gender in 68 countries, but 34 require surgery.

DATE

Right to change legal gender

Legal recognition of sex reassignment by permitting a change of legal gender on an individual's birth certificate.

Summary

34
Legal
34 regions (17%)
Legal
54
Somewhere in between
54 regions (27%)
Somewhere in between
99
Illegal
99 regions (50%)
Illegal
11
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
11 regions (6%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
Europe
34%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
17 regions (34%)
Somewhere in between
26 regions (52%)
Illegal
7 regions (14%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
regions (0%)
Oceania
7%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
1 regions (7%)
Somewhere in between
regions (0%)
Illegal
11 regions (79%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
2 regions (14%)
South America
58%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
7 regions (58%)
Somewhere in between
1 regions (8%)
Illegal
4 regions (33%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
regions (0%)
North America
13%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
3 regions (13%)
Somewhere in between
2 regions (9%)
Illegal
17 regions (74%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
1 regions (4%)
Africa
4%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
2 regions (4%)
Somewhere in between
6 regions (11%)
Illegal
42 regions (78%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
4 regions (7%)
Asia
9%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
4 regions (9%)
Somewhere in between
19 regions (43%)
Illegal
18 regions (41%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
3 regions (7%)

Timeline of right to change legal gender

Number of countries to allow changing legal gender over the past 61 years.

Recent & Upcoming Changes

Upcoming Changes

2024

2023

2022

Right to change legal gender by Country

Legal, no restrictions

Right to change legal gender is legal, no restrictions in 34 regions.

  1. Asia (4)
  2. Bangladesh 2013
  3. Israel 2015
  4. Pakistan 2023
  5. Taiwan 2021
  6. Europe (17)
  7. Andorra 2023
  8. Belgium 2018
  9. Croatia 2014
  10. Cyprus 2022
  11. Denmark 2014
  12. Estonia 1999
  13. Finland 2023
  14. France 2018
  15. Greece 2017
  16. Iceland 2019
  17. Ireland 2015
  18. Luxembourg 2018
  19. Malta 2015
  20. Norway 2016
  21. Portugal 2018
  22. Spain 2022
  23. Switzerland 2022
  24. North America (3)
  25. Canada 2017
  26. Costa Rica 2018
  27. Mexico 2009
  28. Africa (2)
  29. Botswana 2017
  30. Mozambique 2004
  31. Oceania (1)
  32. New Zealand 2023
  33. South America (7)
  34. Argentina 2012
  35. Bolivia 2016
  36. Brazil 2018
  37. Chile 2019
  38. Colombia 2015
  39. Ecuador 2016
  40. Uruguay 2018

Legal, but requires medical diagnosis

Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires medical diagnosis in 20 regions.

  1. Asia (3)
  2. Bhutan
  3. Sri Lanka 2016
  4. Uzbekistan 1998
  5. Europe (14)
  6. Austria 2009
  7. Belarus 2010
  8. Germany 2011
  9. Italy 2015
  10. Latvia 2012
  11. Lithuania 2022
  12. Netherlands 2013
  13. Poland 1995
  14. Serbia 2019
  15. Slovakia 2023
  16. Slovenia 2005
  17. Sweden 2013
  18. Ukraine 2016
  19. United Kingdom 2005
  20. Africa (2)
  21. Angola 2015
  22. South Africa 2004
  23. South America (1)
  24. Peru 2016

Legal, but requires surgery

Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires surgery in 34 regions.

  1. Asia (16)
  2. China 1986
  3. India 2019
  4. Indonesia 1973
  5. Iran 1987
  6. Japan 2022
  7. Jordan
  8. Kazakhstan 2011
  9. Kyrgyzstan 2020
  10. Laos 2009
  11. Lebanon 2016
  12. Mongolia 2009
  13. Singapore 1996
  14. South Korea
  15. Syria 2004
  16. Tajikistan
  17. Vietnam 2017
  18. Europe (12)
  19. Albania 2009
  20. Armenia 1972
  21. Azerbaijan 1972
  22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  23. Czech Republic
  24. Georgia 2008
  25. Kosovo 1989
  26. Moldova
  27. Montenegro
  28. North Macedonia 2019
  29. Romania 1996
  30. Turkey 2017
  31. North America (2)
  32. Cuba 2008
  33. Panama 2006
  34. Africa (4)
  35. Egypt
  36. Namibia
  37. Tunisia 2018
  38. Zimbabwe 1986

Illegal

Right to change legal gender is illegal in 99 regions.

  1. Asia (18)
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Bahrain 2014
  4. Brunei
  5. Cambodia
  6. Iraq
  7. Kuwait
  8. Malaysia 1965
  9. Maldives
  10. Myanmar
  11. Oman
  12. Philippines 2007
  13. Qatar 1915
  14. Saudi Arabia
  15. Thailand
  16. Timor-Leste
  17. Turkmenistan 1991
  18. United Arab Emirates 2019
  19. Yemen
  20. Europe (7)
  21. Bulgaria 2023
  22. Hungary 2020
  23. Liechtenstein 2016
  24. Monaco
  25. Russia 2023
  26. San Marino
  27. Vatican City
  28. North America (17)
  29. Antigua and Barbuda
  30. Bahamas
  31. Barbados
  32. Belize
  33. Dominica
  34. Dominican Republic
  35. El Salvador 2017
  36. Grenada
  37. Guatemala
  38. Haiti
  39. Honduras
  40. Jamaica
  41. Nicaragua
  42. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  43. Saint Lucia
  44. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  45. Trinidad and Tobago
  46. Africa (42)
  47. Algeria 1966
  48. Benin
  49. Burkina Faso
  50. Burundi
  51. Cameroon
  52. Cape Verde
  53. Central African Republic
  54. Chad
  55. Comoros
  56. Côte d’Ivoire
  57. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  58. Djibouti
  59. Equatorial Guinea
  60. Eritrea
  61. Eswatini
  62. Ethiopia
  63. Gabon
  64. Gambia
  65. Ghana
  66. Guinea
  67. Guinea-Bissau
  68. Liberia
  69. Libya
  70. Madagascar
  71. Malawi
  72. Mali
  73. Mauritania
  74. Mauritius
  75. Morocco
  76. Niger
  77. Nigeria
  78. Republic of the Congo
  79. Rwanda
  80. Sao Tome and Principe
  81. Senegal
  82. Seychelles
  83. Sierra Leone
  84. Somalia
  85. South Sudan
  86. Sudan
  87. Tanzania
  88. Togo
  89. Oceania (11)
  90. Federated States of Micronesia
  91. Fiji
  92. Kiribati
  93. Marshall Islands
  94. Nauru
  95. Palau
  96. Papua New Guinea
  97. Solomon Islands
  98. Tonga
  99. Tuvalu
  100. Vanuatu
  101. South America (4)
  102. Guyana
  103. Paraguay
  104. Suriname 2022
  105. Venezuela

No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous

Data on right to change legal gender is unclear, not applicable, or missing in 11 regions.

  1. Asia (3)
  2. Nepal
  3. North Korea
  4. Palestine
  5. North America (1)
  6. United States
  7. Africa (4)
  8. Kenya
  9. Lesotho
  10. Uganda
  11. Zambia
  12. Oceania (2)
  13. Australia
  14. Samoa
  15. Antarctica (1)
  16. Antarctica

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