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

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