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Legal recognition of non-binary gender

13 countries legally recognize non-binary or third gender identities.

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  • Recognized
  • Intersex only
  • Not legally recognized
  • Varies by region or ambiguous
  • Unknown or N/A

Recent Changes

Legal recognition of non-binary gender

Most countries around the world only legally recognize male and female on official documents such as passports, licenses, birth certificates, and other official identification documents. However, in recent years, some countries, provinces, and states have begun offering the ability for non-binary and intersex individuals to request a change to official documents.

Usually, official documents will be marked with an "X" gender marker (rather than "M" or "F" for male or female).

Summary

13
Recognized
13 regions (7%)
Recognized
4
Some recognition
4 regions (2%)
Some recognition
124
Not recognized
124 regions (63%)
Not recognized
57
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
57 regions (29%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
Europe
6%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
3 regions (6%)
Some recognition
3 regions (6%)
Not recognized
44 regions (88%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
regions (0%)
Oceania
7%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
1 regions (7%)
Some recognition
regions (0%)
Not recognized
4 regions (29%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
9 regions (64%)
South America
25%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
3 regions (25%)
Some recognition
regions (0%)
Not recognized
8 regions (67%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
1 regions (8%)
North America
9%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
2 regions (9%)
Some recognition
regions (0%)
Not recognized
17 regions (74%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
4 regions (17%)
Africa
0%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
regions (0%)
Some recognition
1 regions (2%)
Not recognized
21 regions (39%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
32 regions (59%)
Asia
7%
LEGAL EQUALITY
Recognized
3 regions (7%)
Some recognition
regions (0%)
Not recognized
30 regions (68%)
No data, no laws, N/A, or ambiguous
11 regions (25%)

Progress Over Time

Number of countries with equality for legal recognition of non-binary gender over the past 60 years.
There are no recent changes about Legal recognition of non-binary gender.

Legal recognition of non-binary gender by Country

Recognized

Legal recognition of non-binary gender is recognized in 13 regions.

  1. Asia (3)
  2. Bangladesh 2013
  3. India 2014
  4. Nepal 2013
  5. Europe (3)
  6. Denmark 2014
  7. Iceland 2019
  8. Malta 2017
  9. North America (2)
  10. Canada 2017
  11. Mexico 2023
  12. Oceania (1)
  13. New Zealand 2012
  14. South America (3)
  15. Argentina 2021
  16. Chile 2022
  17. Colombia 2022
  18. Antarctica (1)
  19. Antarctica

Intersex only

Legal recognition of non-binary gender is intersex only in 4 regions.

  1. Europe (3)
  2. Austria 2018
  3. Germany 2018
  4. Netherlands
  5. Africa (1)
  6. Kenya 2022

Not legally recognized

Legal recognition of non-binary gender is not legally recognized in 124 regions.

  1. Asia (30)
  2. Afghanistan
  3. Bahrain
  4. Brunei
  5. China
  6. Iran
  7. Iraq
  8. Israel
  9. Japan
  10. Kazakhstan
  11. Kuwait
  12. Kyrgyzstan
  13. Laos
  14. Lebanon
  15. Malaysia
  16. Mongolia
  17. North Korea
  18. Oman
  19. Pakistan 2023
  20. Philippines
  21. Qatar
  22. Saudi Arabia 1932
  23. Sri Lanka
  24. Syria
  25. Taiwan
  26. Tajikistan
  27. Thailand
  28. Turkmenistan
  29. United Arab Emirates
  30. Uzbekistan
  31. Vietnam
  32. Europe (44)
  33. Albania
  34. Andorra
  35. Armenia
  36. Azerbaijan
  37. Belarus
  38. Belgium
  39. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  40. Bulgaria
  41. Croatia
  42. Cyprus
  43. Czech Republic
  44. Estonia
  45. Finland
  46. France 2016
  47. Georgia
  48. Greece 2018
  49. Hungary
  50. Ireland
  51. Italy
  52. Kosovo
  53. Latvia
  54. Liechtenstein
  55. Lithuania
  56. Luxembourg
  57. Moldova
  58. Monaco
  59. Montenegro
  60. North Macedonia
  61. Norway
  62. Poland
  63. Portugal
  64. Romania
  65. Russia
  66. San Marino
  67. Serbia
  68. Slovakia
  69. Slovenia
  70. Spain
  71. Sweden
  72. Switzerland
  73. Turkey
  74. Ukraine
  75. United Kingdom 2004
  76. Vatican City
  77. North America (17)
  78. Antigua and Barbuda
  79. Bahamas
  80. Barbados
  81. Belize
  82. Cuba
  83. Dominican Republic
  84. El Salvador
  85. Guatemala
  86. Haiti
  87. Honduras
  88. Jamaica
  89. Nicaragua
  90. Panama
  91. Saint Kitts and Nevis
  92. Saint Lucia
  93. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  94. Trinidad and Tobago
  95. Africa (21)
  96. Angola
  97. Botswana
  98. Cameroon
  99. Cape Verde
  100. Central African Republic
  101. Democratic Republic of the Congo
  102. Egypt
  103. Equatorial Guinea
  104. Libya 1951
  105. Madagascar
  106. Mauritania
  107. Mozambique
  108. Niger
  109. Sao Tome and Principe
  110. Seychelles
  111. Somalia 1960
  112. South Africa
  113. Tanzania
  114. Uganda
  115. Zambia
  116. Zimbabwe
  117. Oceania (4)
  118. Federated States of Micronesia
  119. Fiji
  120. Nauru
  121. Vanuatu
  122. South America (8)
  123. Bolivia
  124. Ecuador
  125. Guyana
  126. Paraguay
  127. Peru
  128. Suriname
  129. Uruguay 2023
  130. Venezuela

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

Data on legal recognition of non-binary gender is unclear, not applicable, or missing in 57 regions.

  1. Asia (11)
  2. Bhutan
  3. Cambodia
  4. Indonesia
  5. Jordan
  6. Maldives
  7. Myanmar
  8. Palestine
  9. Singapore
  10. South Korea
  11. Timor-Leste
  12. Yemen
  13. North America (4)
  14. Costa Rica
  15. Dominica
  16. Grenada
  17. United States
  18. Africa (32)
  19. Algeria
  20. Benin
  21. Burkina Faso
  22. Burundi
  23. Chad
  24. Comoros
  25. Côte d’Ivoire
  26. Djibouti
  27. Eritrea
  28. Eswatini
  29. Ethiopia
  30. Gabon
  31. Gambia
  32. Ghana
  33. Guinea
  34. Guinea-Bissau
  35. Lesotho
  36. Liberia
  37. Malawi
  38. Mali
  39. Mauritius
  40. Morocco
  41. Namibia
  42. Nigeria
  43. Republic of the Congo
  44. Rwanda
  45. Senegal
  46. Sierra Leone
  47. South Sudan
  48. Sudan
  49. Togo
  50. Tunisia
  51. Oceania (9)
  52. Australia
  53. Kiribati
  54. Marshall Islands
  55. Palau
  56. Papua New Guinea
  57. Samoa
  58. Solomon Islands
  59. Tonga
  60. Tuvalu
  61. South America (1)
  62. Brazil

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