Same-sex marriage in Finland

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 on December 12, 2014, with 101 votes in favor and 90 against. President Sauli Niinistö signed the bill into law on February 20, 2015. Additional laws to make sure everything worked well for same-sex couples were passed in 2016, and everything became official on March 1, 2017.

Before 2017, Finland allowed same-sex couples to have something called registered partnerships. These gave same-sex couples most of the same rights as married couples, but they could not adopt children together or share a last name.

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 everywhere in the country.

Registered partnerships

Legislation for registered partnerships for same-sex couples was passed by the Parliament of Finland on 28 September 2001 and started on 1 March 2002. These partnerships gave same-sex couples most of the same rights as married opposite-sex couples, but they could not adopt children or share a family name. Later, 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. In total, 4,215 registered partnerships were created in Finland between 2002 and 2017.

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Finland since 1 March 2017. A bill to allow same-sex marriages was approved by the Finnish Parliament on 12 December 2014 with a vote of 101 to 90. The president signed it into law on 20 February 2015.

More changes to other laws to match this were passed in 2016. In the first month after the law started, 857 same-sex marriages were recorded in Finland.

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.

Eurobarometer, Yle, YouGov, Finns, Pew Research Center