Many countries in the Americas grant legal recognition to same-sex unions, with almost 85 percent of people in both North America and South America living in jurisdictions providing marriage rights to same-sex couples.
In North America, same-sex marriages are recognized and performed without restrictions in Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States.[1]
Same-sex marriages are also performed in the Dutch territories of Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, and in all French overseas departments and collectivities (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin and Saint Pierre and Miquelon). Furthermore, Sint Maarten recognizes same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands. The British Territories of Bermuda and the Cayman Islands also perform civil partnerships.
In South America, same-sex marriages are recognized and performed without restrictions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay as well as the jurisdictions of French Guiana, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Free unions that are equivalent to marriage have begun to be recognized in Bolivia.
| Status | Country | Legal since | Country population (Last count, 2015 est.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marriage (11 countries) |  Argentina | 2010[2] | 43,590,400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Brazil | 2013[3] | 205,574,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Canada | 2005[4] | 35,819,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022[5] [6] | 18,191,900 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Colombia | 2016[7] | 48,509,200 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Costa Rica | 2020[8] | 4,851,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Cuba | 2022[9] | 11,252,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Ecuador | 2019[10] | 16,278,844 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022[11] | 121,006,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 United States | 2015[12] [13] | 321,234,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Uruguay | 2013[14] | 3,480,222 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subtotal | — | — | 829,786,566 (84.62% of the American population) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other form of recognition | Bolivia (free unions officially recognised starting in 2020; nationwide since 2023) | 2023[15] | 10,985,059 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subtotal | — | — | 10,985,059 (1.12% of the American population) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total - Countries with some form of recognition of same-sex unions | — | — | 840,771,625 (85.74% of the American population) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No recognition (19 countries) | Homosexuality is legal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Antigua and Barbuda | - | 89,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Bahamas | - | 379,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 283,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Belize | - | 369,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Dominica | - | 71,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 6,460,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 16,176,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 10,994,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 6,514,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 3,764,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 31,488,700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Saint Kitts and Nevis | - | 46,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - | 534,189 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trinidad and Tobago | - | 1,357,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Venezuela | - | 31,648,930 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Homosexuality is illegal but legislation is not enforced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Guyana | - | 746,900 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Saint Lucia | - | 172,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | - | 110,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Grenada | - | 104,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subtotal | — | 111,306,719 (11.35% of the American population) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constitutional ban on marriage (4 countries) * Homosexuality is illegal |  Dominican Republic | 2010[16] | 9,980,000|-|  Honduras | 2005[17] [18] | 8,950,000|-|  Jamaica*| 2011[19] | 2,729,000|-|  Paraguay | 1992[20] | 6,854,536|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#bcccbc;"|| Subtotal||—||—| 28,513,536 (2.91% of the American population)|-|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#bcccbc;"|| Total - Countries with no recognition of same-sex unions||—||—| 139,820,255 (14.26% of the American population)|-|} Sub-national level
2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinionOn 9 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an advisory opinion that states party to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage. The opinion was issued after the Government of Costa Rica sought clarification of its obligations to LGBT people under the convention.[74] The opinion sets precedent for all 23 member states, 19 of which did not recognize same-sex marriage at the time of the ruling: Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Suriname. Of these, all but Dominica, Grenada and Jamaica recognize the jurisdiction of the Court.[75] The Supreme Courts of Honduras,[76] Panama,[77] Peru[78] and Suriname[79] have rejected the IACHR advisory opinion, while the Supreme Courts of Costa Rica and Ecuador adhered to it. Future legislationMarriageOpposition proposals or proposals without a parliamentary majorityHonduras: In May 2022, the deputy of the Libertad y Refundación Party, Manuel Rodríguez, presented a bill in congress to legalize same-sex marriage.[80] In December 2022, the Minister of Human Rights, Natalie Roque, said that the legalization of same-sex marriage was "not on the agenda" of the Castro Administration.[81] Sint Maarten: Following the December 2022 court ruling that Aruba's and Curaçao's same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional, Melissa Gumbs, a member of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, said her party was planning on introducing a same-sex marriage bill to Parliament, noting that "there is precedent now within the Caribbean part of the kingdom (of the Netherlands) that it's not right to withhold same-sex marriage rights from people." See also
References | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Netherlands
United Kingdom
