Right to change legal gender

You can change your legal gender in 105 countries and territories, but 33 require surgery.

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  • Legal, surgery not required
  • Illegal
  • Legal, but requires surgery
  • Unknown, N/A, or ambiguous

Recent Changes

  • Jun 15 2023Became Legal, surgery not required in New Zealand
  • Apr 3 2023Became Legal, surgery not required in Finland
  • Feb 21 2023Became Illegal in Bulgaria
  • Feb 17 2023Became Legal, surgery not required in Andorra
  • Feb 6 2023Became Legal, surgery not required in Hong Kong
  • Jan 31 2023Became Illegal in Hungary
  • Dec 22 2022Became Legal, surgery not required in Spain
  • Sep 19 2022Became Legal, surgery not required in Montana

Right to change legal gender

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

Summary

72
Legal
72 regions (31%)
Legal
33
Somewhere in between
33 regions (14%)
Somewhere in between
72
Illegal
72 regions (31%)
Illegal
55
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
55 regions (24%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
Europe
56%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
29 regions (56%)
Somewhere in between
10 regions (19%)
Illegal
8 regions (15%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
5 regions (10%)
Oceania
38%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
9 regions (38%)
Somewhere in between
regions (0%)
Illegal
12 regions (50%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
3 regions (13%)
South America
64%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
9 regions (64%)
Somewhere in between
regions (0%)
Illegal
4 regions (29%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
1 regions (7%)
North America
31%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
11 regions (31%)
Somewhere in between
1 regions (3%)
Illegal
14 regions (39%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
10 regions (28%)
Africa
10%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
6 regions (10%)
Somewhere in between
4 regions (7%)
Illegal
23 regions (39%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
26 regions (44%)
Asia
15%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
7 regions (15%)
Somewhere in between
18 regions (39%)
Illegal
11 regions (24%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
10 regions (22%)

Progress over time

Number of countries with equality for right to change legal gender over the past 60 years.

Recent changes

Right to change legal gender by country

(and dependent territories)

Legal, surgery not required

Right to change legal gender is legal, surgery not required in 72 regions.

  1. Asia (7)
  2. Bangladesh 2013
  3. Hong Kong 2023
  4. Israel 2015
  5. Macau
  6. Nepal 2013
  7. Pakistan 2018
  8. South Korea 2013
  9. South America (9)
  10. Argentina 2012
  11. Bolivia 2016
  12. Brazil 2018
  13. Chile 2019
  14. Colombia 2015
  15. Ecuador 2016
  16. French Guiana
  17. Peru 2016
  18. Uruguay 2018
  19. Antarctica (1)
  20. Antarctica

Legal, but requires surgery

Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires surgery in 33 regions.

  1. North America (1)
  2. Panama 2006

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