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Same-sex adoption

It's legal for same-sex couples to adopt children in 54 countries, but 7 require marriage first.

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  • Legal
  • Married couples only
  • Single only
  • Step-child adoption only
  • Illegal
  • Unknown, N/A, or ambiguous

Recent Changes

Same-sex adoption

The ability for same-sex couples to legally adopt a child.

Summary

47
Legal
47 regions (20%)
Legal
136
Somewhere in between
136 regions (59%)
Somewhere in between
28
Illegal
28 regions (12%)
Illegal
21
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
21 regions (9%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
Europe
35%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
18 regions (35%)
Somewhere in between
21 regions (40%)
Illegal
8 regions (15%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
5 regions (10%)
Oceania
29%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
7 regions (29%)
Somewhere in between
16 regions (67%)
Illegal
regions (0%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
1 regions (4%)
South America
43%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
6 regions (43%)
Somewhere in between
6 regions (43%)
Illegal
regions (0%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
2 regions (14%)
North America
19%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
7 regions (19%)
Somewhere in between
26 regions (72%)
Illegal
1 regions (3%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
2 regions (6%)
Africa
10%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
6 regions (10%)
Somewhere in between
44 regions (75%)
Illegal
8 regions (14%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
1 regions (2%)
Asia
7%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
3 regions (7%)
Somewhere in between
23 regions (50%)
Illegal
11 regions (24%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
9 regions (20%)

Progress over time

Number of countries with equality for same-sex adoption over the past 60 years.

Recent changes

Same-sex adoption by country

(and dependent territories)

Legal

Same-sex adoption is legal in 47 regions.

  1. Asia (3)
  2. Israel 2008
  3. Myanmar 2016
  4. Taiwan
  5. Europe (18)
  6. Andorra 2014
  7. Austria 2015
  8. Belgium 2006
  9. Denmark 2009
  10. Finland 2017
  11. France 2013
  12. Iceland 2006
  13. Ireland 2015
  14. Isle of Man 2011
  15. Luxembourg 2015
  16. Malta 2014
  17. Netherlands 2000
  18. Norway 2009
  19. Portugal 2015
  20. Spain 2005
  21. Sweden 2002
  22. Switzerland 2021
  23. United Kingdom 2002
  24. North America (7)
  25. Bermuda 2015
  26. Canada 1995
  27. Costa Rica 2020
  28. Greenland 2015
  29. Guadeloupe
  30. Martinique
  31. Saint Pierre and Miquelon 2013
  32. Africa (6)
  33. British Indian Ocean Territory
  34. Mauritius 2008
  35. Mayotte 2013
  36. Réunion 2013
  37. Saint Helena
  38. South Africa 2010
  39. Oceania (7)
  40. Christmas Island
  41. Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  42. French Polynesia 2013
  43. New Caledonia 2013
  44. New Zealand 2013
  45. Norfolk Island
  46. Wallis and Futuna
  47. South America (6)
  48. Argentina 2010
  49. Brazil 2000
  50. Colombia 2015
  51. Falkland Islands 2017
  52. French Guiana
  53. Uruguay 2009

Married couples only

Same-sex adoption is married couples only in 7 regions.

  1. Asia (4)
  2. Malaysia 1826
  3. South Korea 1948
  4. Sri Lanka 2017
  5. Thailand
  6. Africa (2)
  7. Rwanda
  8. Tanzania
  9. Oceania (1)
  10. Fiji

Single only

Same-sex adoption is single only in 126 regions.

  1. Asia (19)
  2. Bangladesh
  3. Bhutan
  4. Indonesia
  5. Iraq
  6. Kuwait
  7. Kyrgyzstan 2005
  8. Macau 2017
  9. Maldives
  10. Mongolia 2017
  11. Nepal 2017
  12. Palestine
  13. Philippines
  14. Syria
  15. Tajikistan
  16. Timor-Leste
  17. Turkmenistan
  18. Uzbekistan
  19. Vietnam 2000
  20. Yemen
  21. Europe (19)
  22. Albania 2017
  23. Armenia
  24. Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017
  25. Bulgaria 2017
  26. Croatia 2003
  27. Faroe Islands
  28. Greece 1996
  29. Kosovo
  30. Latvia
  31. Liechtenstein 2011
  32. Lithuania
  33. Moldova 2012
  34. Montenegro
  35. North Macedonia
  36. Russia 1995
  37. San Marino
  38. Slovakia 2017
  39. Turkey
  40. Vatican City
  41. North America (26)
  42. Anguilla
  43. Antigua and Barbuda
  44. Aruba
  45. Bahamas 2017
  46. Barbados
  47. Belize
  48. British Virgin Islands
  49. Cayman Islands
  50. Cuba 2016
  51. Curaçao
  52. Dominica
  53. Dominican Republic
  54. Grenada
  55. Guatemala
  56. Haiti
  57. Honduras 2017
  58. Jamaica 2017
  59. Montserrat
  60. Nicaragua 2017
  61. Panama
  62. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  63. Saint Lucia
  64. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  65. Sint Maarten
  66. Trinidad and Tobago 1947
  67. Turks and Caicos Islands
  68. Africa (41)
  69. Angola
  70. Benin
  71. Botswana
  72. Burkina Faso
  73. Burundi
  74. Cameroon
  75. Cape Verde
  76. Central African Republic 2017
  77. Chad
  78. Comoros
  79. Côte d’Ivoire
  80. Democratic Republic of the Congo 2017
  81. Djibouti 2017
  82. Egypt
  83. Equatorial Guinea
  84. Eritrea 2010
  85. Eswatini 1968
  86. Gabon
  87. Gambia
  88. Guinea
  89. Guinea-Bissau
  90. Liberia
  91. Libya 2017
  92. Madagascar
  93. Malawi
  94. Mali 2011
  95. Namibia 2017
  96. Nigeria
  97. Republic of the Congo
  98. Sao Tome and Principe
  99. Senegal 2017
  100. Seychelles
  101. Sierra Leone
  102. Somalia
  103. South Sudan
  104. Sudan
  105. Togo
  106. Uganda
  107. Western Sahara
  108. Zambia
  109. Zimbabwe
  110. Oceania (15)
  111. Cook Islands
  112. Federated States of Micronesia 2017
  113. Kiribati
  114. Marshall Islands
  115. Nauru
  116. Niue
  117. Palau
  118. Papua New Guinea
  119. Pitcairn Islands 2001
  120. Samoa 2017
  121. Solomon Islands
  122. Tokelau 2013
  123. Tonga
  124. Tuvalu
  125. Vanuatu
  126. South America (6)
  127. Bolivia 2002
  128. Chile
  129. Ecuador 2008
  130. Guyana 2017
  131. Suriname
  132. Venezuela

Step-child adoption only

Same-sex adoption is step-child adoption only in 3 regions.

  1. Europe (2)
  2. Estonia 2017
  3. Slovenia 2011
  4. Africa (1)
  5. Ghana

Illegal

Same-sex adoption is illegal in 28 regions.

  1. Asia (11)
  2. Bahrain
  3. Brunei 1951
  4. China 1982
  5. India
  6. Iran
  7. Lebanon
  8. Oman
  9. Qatar 1915
  10. Saudi Arabia 1932
  11. Singapore
  12. United Arab Emirates
  13. Europe (8)
  14. Azerbaijan 1999
  15. Belarus
  16. Cyprus
  17. Hungary
  18. Italy 1967
  19. Monaco
  20. Poland
  21. Ukraine
  22. North America (1)
  23. El Salvador
  24. Africa (8)
  25. Ethiopia
  26. Kenya 2002
  27. Lesotho 1966
  28. Mauritania 1983
  29. Morocco
  30. Mozambique 1886
  31. Niger
  32. Tunisia 1957

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

Data on same-sex adoption is unclear, not applicable, or missing in 21 regions.

  1. Asia (9)
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Cambodia
  4. Hong Kong
  5. Japan
  6. Jordan
  7. Kazakhstan
  8. Laos
  9. North Korea
  10. Pakistan
  11. Europe (5)
  12. Czech Republic
  13. Georgia
  14. Germany
  15. Romania
  16. Serbia
  17. North America (2)
  18. Mexico
  19. United States
  20. Africa (1)
  21. Algeria
  22. Oceania (1)
  23. Australia
  24. South America (2)
  25. Paraguay
  26. Peru
  27. Antarctica (1)
  28. Antarctica

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