Switzerland has approved same-sex marriage - which other countries are yet to do so?

Switzerland has become just the 30th country in the world to approve same-sex marriage for its LGBT+ citizens as the Swiss people resoundingly voted for the new rules in a nationwide referendum on Sunday.

The Swiss justice minister Karin Keller-Sutter said that the government will now work a quickly as possible so that the law can come into effect by 1st July 2022.

The amendments to the law not only allow for same-sex couples to get married but to also adopt a child which is not related to them. Married lesbian couples will also be allowed to get pregnant through sperm donation, a privilege only previously given to heterosexual couples.

Supporters celebrated the victory in the nation’s capital, Bern, on Sunday with Antonia Hauswirth of the national ‘Marriage for All’ committee adding that “We are very happy and relieved,” as per Reuters. Amnesty International added that the result was a “milestone for equality.”

64.1 per cent of voters, cast their ballot to approve of same-sex marriage, making Switzerland one of the last remaining countries to recognise the union between two people of the same gender.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Depressingly the number of countries in the world that have not recognised same-sex marriage still greatly outnumber those that have.

Below we’ve created a map to show which countries have same-sex marriages or relative alternatives and those that do not.

Much of Europe has either approved same-sex marriage or civil partnerships however much of Eastern Europe, notably Poland, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine still having nothing for their LGBT+ citizens. Japan is the only G7 country to have no marriage representation for its LGBT+ citizens while South Africa is the only country in the entire continent of Africa to have approved same-sex marriage.

Israel currently has a ruling that is classified as a ‘common-law marriage’ which allows its citizens to get married outside of the country and then seek approval from one of the 15 religious marriage courts recognized by the state.