National level The first legislation of
unregistered cohabitation was
introduced in the Netherlands in June 1979. However, the first substantial recognition of same-sex couples did not occur before the introduction of a new legal form, that of
registered partnerships, which was
first enacted in Denmark in June 1989. Many countries have followed with similar legislation since then. Legislation of these forms of legal unions still occur with a variety of different names, even after the introduction of same sex marriage, although sometimes they are overwritten by subsequent legislation of same-sex marriage. As of , certain alternative form of legal recognition other than marriage has been allowed on a national level in
Bolivia,
Croatia,
Cyprus,
Czechia,
Hungary,
Italy,
Latvia,
Monaco,
Montenegro, and
San Marino. As of , legislation to allow an alternative form of legal recognition of same-sex couples other than marriage is pending, or has passed at least one legislative house on a national level in
Kosovo,
Peru and
Poland. As of , same-sex marriage has been legal (nationwide or in some parts) in
Andorra,
Argentina,
Australia,
Austria,
Belgium,
Brazil,
Canada,
Chile,
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
Cuba,
Denmark,
Ecuador,
Estonia,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Iceland,
Ireland,
Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Mexico, the
Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Norway,
Portugal,
Slovenia,
South Africa,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
Taiwan,
Thailand, the
United Kingdom, the
United States, and
Uruguay. As of , legislation to allow same-sex marriage is pending or considered in at least one legislative house on a national level in
Japan.
Notes: Sub-national level In countries with a
federal system of governance,
states and
territories often may grant recognition to same-sex couples in their own jurisdictions, although
unitary states with a level of devolution, such as
Spain or the
United Kingdom, also offer such powers to local authorities. The first jurisdiction to enact unregistered cohabitation was
British Columbia in
Canada in July 1992. The first jurisdiction to legalize registered partnership was
Greenland as part of the
Kingdom of Denmark in April 1996. Finally, the first sub-national jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage was the
Canadian province of
Ontario in June 2003. As of , there are 32 sub-national jurisdictions worldwide that have legalized some kind of alternative form of legal union of same-sex couples other than marriage. Those are: • In
Japan: • 30
prefectures of Japan (Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hyōgo, Ibaraki, Kagawa, Mie, Nagano, Nara, Niigata, Osaka, Ōita, Saga, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, and Yamanashi); • Two British overseas territories (
Bermuda,
Cayman Islands). For the time being, 63 sub-national jurisdictions worldwide have legalized same-sex marriage in nations where same-sex marriage is not legal throughout the nation's territory. Those are: •
Fifty-one Native American Tribal Nations, namely the
Ak-Chin Indian Community, the
Bay Mills Indian Community, the
Blackfeet Nation, the
Blue Lake Rancheria, the
Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the
Cherokee Nation, the
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the
Chickasaw Nation, the
Choctaw Nation, the
Colorado River Indian Tribes, the
Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation,
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the
Coquille Indian Tribe, the
Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, the
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the
Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, the
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the
Hannahville Indian Community, the
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, the
Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, the
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the
Northern Arapaho Tribe, the
Oglala Sioux Tribe, the
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the
Osage Nation, the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the
Prairie Island Indian Community, the
Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the
San Carlos Apache Tribe, the
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, the
Stockbridge-Munsee Community, the
Suquamish Tribe, the
Tulalip, the
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, the
White Mountain Apache Tribe, the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, and the
Yavapai-Apache Nation. • The British Overseas Territories of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, the
British Antarctic Territory, the
British Indian Ocean Territory, the
Falkland Islands,
Gibraltar, the
Pitcairn Islands,
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the British Crown dependencies of
Guernsey, the
Isle of Man and
Jersey, and Guernsey's own dependencies of
Alderney and
Sark. •
Aruba and Curaçao, constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Note: ==Prohibition of same-sex unions==