SafekipediaSame-sex marriage in Finland
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Finland since March 1, 2017.
Before that, a bill to allow same-sex marriages was approved by the Finnish Parliament in 2014. President Sauli Niinistö signed the bill into law in 2015. Additional laws to help same-sex couples were passed in 2016. Everything became official on March 1, 2017.
Before 2017, Finland allowed same-sex couples to have registered partnerships. These gave same-sex couples most of the same rights as married couples.
Many people in Finland support allowing same-sex marriage. Finland was the last country in the Nordic sovereign state area, the twelfth in Europe, and the twentieth country in the world to let same-sex couples marry.
Registered partnerships
Legislation for registered partnerships for same-sex couples was passed by the Parliament of Finland in 2001 and started in 2002. These partnerships gave same-sex couples many of the same rights as married opposite-sex couples, but they could not adopt children or share a family name. In 2009, the law changed to allow a person in a partnership to adopt their partner's biological children.
By 2017, registered partnerships were no longer allowed, but existing partnerships kept their status if the couples did not get married. Many registered partnerships were created in Finland between 2002 and 2017.
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Finland since March 1, 2017. A bill to allow same-sex marriages was approved by the Finnish Parliament on December 12, 2014. The president signed it into law on February 20, 2015.
More changes to other laws to match this were passed in 2016.
| Year | Same-sex marriages | Total marriages | Same-sex divorces | Total divorces | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Total | Female | Male | Total | |||
| 2017 | 373 | 181 | 554 | 26,542 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13,485 |
| 2018 | 242 | 145 | 387 | 23,799 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 13,145 |
| 2019 | 263 | 113 | 376 | 22,296 | 42 | 12 | 54 | 13,365 |
| 2020 | 272 | 123 | 395 | 22,082 | 63 | 25 | 88 | 13,478 |
| 2021 | 265 | 110 | 375 | 19,579 | 68 | 17 | 85 | 12,166 |
| 2022 | 291 | 132 | 423 | 21,942 | 80 | 26 | 106 | 11,370 |
| 2023 | 254 | 119 | 373 | 20,693 | 106 | 28 | 134 | 11,475 |
| 2024 | 291 | 134 | 425 | 21,420 | 89 | 29 | 118 | 11,869 |
Public opinion
Support for same-sex marriage in Finland has grown since the 2000s. In 2006, a survey showed 45% of people supported it. By 2010, this rose to 54%. In 2013, another survey found 57% in favor. By 2014, support reached 65%.
Surveys also looked at views from church leaders and different groups of people. In 2015, most Finns thought same-sex marriage should be allowed across Europe. By 2023, support had risen to 76%, showing that more and more people in Finland accept same-sex marriage.
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Same-sex marriage in Finland, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.