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Same-sex adoption

It's legal for same-sex couples to adopt children in 51 countries, but 7 require marriage first.

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Same-sex adoption

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

Summary

44
Legal
44 regions (19%)
Legal
137
Somewhere in between
137 regions (60%)
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
32%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
16 regions (32%)
Somewhere in between
22 regions (44%)
Illegal
7 regions (14%)
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
17%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
6 regions (17%)
Somewhere in between
26 regions (72%)
Illegal
1 regions (3%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
3 regions (8%)
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
12 regions (26%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
8 regions (17%)

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 44 regions.

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

Single only

Same-sex adoption is single only in 126 regions.

  1. Asia (19)
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Bangladesh
  4. Bhutan
  5. East Timor
  6. Iraq
  7. Kuwait
  8. Kyrgyzstan 2005
  9. Macau 2017
  10. Maldives
  11. Mongolia 2017
  12. Nepal 2017
  13. Palestine
  14. Philippines
  15. Syria
  16. Tajikistan
  17. Turkmenistan
  18. Uzbekistan
  19. Vietnam 2000
  20. Yemen
  21. Europe (18)
  22. Albania 2017
  23. Armenia
  24. Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017
  25. Bulgaria 2017
  26. Croatia 2003
  27. Faroe Islands
  28. Greece 1996
  29. Latvia
  30. Liechtenstein 2011
  31. Lithuania
  32. Macedonia
  33. Moldova 2012
  34. Montenegro
  35. Russia 1995
  36. San Marino
  37. Slovakia 2017
  38. Turkey
  39. Vatican City
  40. North America (26)
  41. Anguilla
  42. Antigua and Barbuda
  43. Aruba
  44. Bahamas 2017
  45. Barbados
  46. Belize
  47. British Virgin Islands
  48. Cayman Islands
  49. Cuba 2016
  50. Curaçao
  51. Dominica
  52. Dominican Republic
  53. Grenada
  54. Guatemala
  55. Haiti
  56. Honduras 2017
  57. Jamaica 2017
  58. Montserrat
  59. Nicaragua 2017
  60. Panama
  61. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  62. Saint Lucia
  63. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  64. Sint Maarten
  65. Trinidad and Tobago 1947
  66. Turks and Caicos Islands
  67. Africa (42)
  68. Angola
  69. Benin
  70. Botswana
  71. Burkina Faso
  72. Burundi
  73. Cameroon
  74. Cape Verde
  75. Central African Republic 2017
  76. Chad
  77. Comoros
  78. Côte d’Ivoire
  79. Democratic Republic of the Congo 2017
  80. Djibouti 2017
  81. Egypt
  82. Equatorial Guinea
  83. Eritrea 2010
  84. Gabon
  85. Gambia
  86. Guinea
  87. Guinea-Bissau
  88. Liberia
  89. Libya 2017
  90. Madagascar
  91. Malawi
  92. Mali 2011
  93. Namibia 2017
  94. Nigeria
  95. Republic of the Congo
  96. Rwanda
  97. Sao Tome and Principe
  98. Senegal 2017
  99. Seychelles
  100. Sierra Leone
  101. Somalia
  102. South Sudan
  103. Sudan
  104. Swaziland 1968
  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 4 regions.

  1. Europe (3)
  2. Estonia 2017
  3. Slovenia 2011
  4. Switzerland 2018
  5. Africa (1)
  6. Ghana

Illegal

Same-sex adoption is illegal in 28 regions.

  1. Asia (12)
  2. Bahrain
  3. Brunei 1951
  4. China 1982
  5. India
  6. Indonesia
  7. Iran
  8. Lebanon
  9. Oman
  10. Qatar 1915
  11. Saudi Arabia 1932
  12. Singapore
  13. United Arab Emirates
  14. Europe (7)
  15. Azerbaijan 1999
  16. Belarus
  17. Cyprus
  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 (8)
  2. Cambodia
  3. Hong Kong
  4. Japan
  5. Jordan
  6. Kazakhstan
  7. Laos
  8. North Korea
  9. Pakistan
  10. Europe (5)
  11. Czech Republic
  12. Georgia
  13. Germany
  14. Romania
  15. Serbia
  16. North America (3)
  17. Costa Rica
  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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