▸ 

Right to change legal gender

You can change your legal gender in 109 countries and territories, but 38 require surgery.

Loading map of LGBT rights...
  • Legal, surgery not required
  • Illegal
  • Legal, but requires surgery
  • Unknown, N/A, or ambiguous

Recent Changes

  • Feb 17 2023Became Legal, surgery not required in Andorra
  • Sep 19 2022Became Legal, surgery not required in Montana
  • Jun 23 2022Became Legal, surgery not required in North Carolina
  • May 23 2022Became Illegal in Montana
  • Jan 1 2022Became Legal, surgery not required in Mexico
  • Jan 1 2022Became Illegal in Oklahoma
  • Jun 30 2021Became Legal, surgery not required in Michigan
  • May 1 2021Became Legal, surgery not required in Ohio

Right to change legal gender

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

Summary

71
Legal
71 regions (31%)
Legal
38
Somewhere in between
38 regions (16%)
Somewhere in between
52
Illegal
52 regions (22%)
Illegal
71
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
71 regions (31%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
Europe
54%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
28 regions (54%)
Somewhere in between
12 regions (23%)
Illegal
5 regions (10%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
7 regions (14%)
Oceania
38%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
9 regions (38%)
Somewhere in between
1 regions (4%)
Illegal
3 regions (13%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
11 regions (46%)
South America
64%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
9 regions (64%)
Somewhere in between
regions (0%)
Illegal
5 regions (36%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
regions (0%)
North America
33%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
12 regions (33%)
Somewhere in between
1 regions (3%)
Illegal
14 regions (39%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
9 regions (25%)
Africa
14%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
8 regions (14%)
Somewhere in between
3 regions (5%)
Illegal
16 regions (27%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
32 regions (54%)
Asia
11%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Legal
5 regions (11%)
Somewhere in between
21 regions (46%)
Illegal
9 regions (20%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
11 regions (24%)

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 71 regions.

  1. Asia (5)
  2. Bangladesh 2013
  3. Israel 2015
  4. Macau
  5. Pakistan 2018
  6. South Korea 2013
  7. Europe (28)
  8. Andorra 2023
  9. Austria 2009
  10. Belarus
  11. Belgium 2018
  12. Croatia 2014
  13. Denmark 2014
  14. France 2018
  15. Germany 2011
  16. Greece 2017
  17. Iceland 2019
  18. Ireland 2015
  19. Isle of Man 2009
  20. Italy 2015
  21. Luxembourg
  22. Malta 2015
  23. Netherlands 2013
  24. Norway 2016
  25. Poland 1964
  26. Portugal 2018
  27. Russia 2018
  28. Serbia 2019
  29. Slovenia 2018
  30. Spain 2006
  31. Sweden 2013
  32. Switzerland
  33. Turkey 2017
  34. Ukraine
  35. United Kingdom 2005
  36. North America (12)
  37. Bermuda 2004
  38. Canada 2017
  39. Costa Rica 2018
  40. Cuba
  41. Greenland 2014
  42. Guadeloupe
  43. Guatemala 2017
  44. Haiti 2016
  45. Jamaica
  46. Martinique
  47. Mexico 2022
  48. Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  49. Africa (8)
  50. Botswana 2017
  51. British Indian Ocean Territory
  52. Equatorial Guinea
  53. Kenya
  54. Mayotte
  55. Réunion
  56. Saint Helena 2016
  57. Seychelles
  58. Oceania (9)
  59. Christmas Island
  60. Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  61. Cook Islands
  62. French Polynesia 2013
  63. New Caledonia 2018
  64. New Zealand 2020
  65. Niue
  66. Norfolk Island
  67. Wallis and Futuna
  68. South America (9)
  69. Argentina 2012
  70. Bolivia 2016
  71. Brazil 2018
  72. Chile 2019
  73. Colombia 2015
  74. Ecuador 2016
  75. French Guiana
  76. Peru 2016
  77. Uruguay 2018

Illegal

Right to change legal gender is illegal in 52 regions.

  1. Asia (9)
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Brunei
  4. Cambodia
  5. Malaysia 1965
  6. Myanmar
  7. North Korea
  8. Oman
  9. Timor-Leste
  10. United Arab Emirates
  11. Europe (5)
  12. Albania
  13. Azerbaijan
  14. Hungary 2020
  15. Kosovo
  16. Vatican City
  17. North America (14)
  18. Anguilla
  19. Antigua and Barbuda
  20. Aruba
  21. Bahamas
  22. Barbados
  23. Belize
  24. British Virgin Islands
  25. Dominican Republic
  26. El Salvador 2017
  27. Nicaragua
  28. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  29. Saint Lucia
  30. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  31. Trinidad and Tobago
  32. Africa (16)
  33. Algeria
  34. Cape Verde
  35. Comoros
  36. Côte d’Ivoire
  37. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  38. Ethiopia
  39. Gambia
  40. Libya
  41. Malawi
  42. Mauritania
  43. Morocco
  44. Nigeria
  45. Rwanda
  46. Somalia
  47. South Sudan
  48. Tunisia 1957
  49. Oceania (3)
  50. Kiribati
  51. Tonga
  52. Vanuatu
  53. South America (5)
  54. Falkland Islands 2014
  55. Guyana
  56. Paraguay 2017
  57. Suriname
  58. Venezuela

Legal, but requires surgery

Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires surgery in 38 regions.

  1. Asia (21)
  2. Bahrain 2014
  3. China
  4. Hong Kong 2013
  5. India 2020
  6. Indonesia 1973
  7. Iran 1987
  8. Japan 2004
  9. Jordan
  10. Kazakhstan 2003
  11. Kyrgyzstan
  12. Laos 2009
  13. Lebanon 2016
  14. Mongolia 2009
  15. Nepal 2013
  16. Saudi Arabia 1932
  17. Singapore 1996
  18. Sri Lanka 2010
  19. Syria 2004
  20. Taiwan 2013
  21. Tajikistan
  22. Vietnam 2017
  23. Europe (12)
  24. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  25. Czech Republic
  26. Estonia 1999
  27. Faroe Islands
  28. Finland 2003
  29. Georgia 2008
  30. Latvia 2009
  31. Moldova
  32. Montenegro
  33. North Macedonia
  34. Romania 1996
  35. Slovakia 2016
  36. North America (1)
  37. Panama 2006
  38. Africa (3)
  39. Egypt
  40. Namibia
  41. South Africa 2004
  42. Oceania (1)
  43. Fiji

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

Data on right to change legal gender is unclear, not applicable, or missing in 71 regions.

  1. Asia (11)
  2. Bhutan
  3. Iraq
  4. Kuwait
  5. Maldives
  6. Palestine
  7. Philippines
  8. Qatar
  9. Thailand
  10. Turkmenistan
  11. Uzbekistan
  12. Yemen
  13. Europe (7)
  14. Armenia
  15. Bulgaria
  16. Cyprus
  17. Liechtenstein
  18. Lithuania
  19. Monaco
  20. San Marino
  21. North America (9)
  22. Cayman Islands
  23. Curaçao
  24. Dominica
  25. Grenada
  26. Honduras
  27. Montserrat
  28. Sint Maarten
  29. Turks and Caicos Islands
  30. United States
  31. Africa (32)
  32. Angola
  33. Benin
  34. Burkina Faso
  35. Burundi
  36. Cameroon
  37. Central African Republic
  38. Chad
  39. Djibouti
  40. Eritrea
  41. Eswatini
  42. Gabon
  43. Ghana
  44. Guinea
  45. Guinea-Bissau
  46. Lesotho
  47. Liberia
  48. Madagascar
  49. Mali
  50. Mauritius
  51. Mozambique
  52. Niger
  53. Republic of the Congo
  54. Sao Tome and Principe
  55. Senegal
  56. Sierra Leone
  57. Sudan
  58. Tanzania
  59. Togo
  60. Uganda
  61. Western Sahara
  62. Zambia
  63. Zimbabwe
  64. Oceania (11)
  65. Australia
  66. Federated States of Micronesia
  67. Marshall Islands
  68. Nauru
  69. Palau
  70. Papua New Guinea
  71. Pitcairn Islands
  72. Samoa
  73. Solomon Islands
  74. Tokelau
  75. Tuvalu
  76. Antarctica (1)
  77. Antarctica

Spot an error? Visit the region and select "Accurate?: No" so Equaldex's editors can review it.