The divorce rate for same-sex marriages is a highly controversial topic. Currently, same-sex marriage, and therefore same-sex divorce, is only recognized in 29 of the 195 countries throughout the world. Traditionally western countries have been the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage. The divorce rate is typically between 1% and 2%, but the statistics are different in each country.
USA
The USA is considered the leader of the democratic world. It tends to influence everything from global trends to core legislation, like same-sex marriage laws. Despite this, however, same-sex marriage wasn’t federally recognized in the US until 2015.
Before this, same-sex marriage was only legal in certain states. As a result, same-sex divorces were only an option for people residing in those states. Statistics from 2011 and 2014 show divorce rates for same-sex couples around the global average of 1.6%. However, since same-sex marriage became legalized across the whole US, those numbers have likely changed. Read more about same-sex marriage divorce rate in the US here. The divorce rate varies from state to state, for example in the state of Virginia, the divorce rate is the same as heterosexual marriage.
UK
In the UK, same-sex marriage and same-sex divorce have been legal since 2014. Divorce rates have remained practically the same for same-sex couples throughout this time; however, the number of marriages has dramatically increased. This shows while same-sex marriages are increasing, the percentage of those couples divorcing is staying the same. Other countries, like Australia, have seen similar patterns.
It is also interesting that of the same-sex couples getting divorced in the UK, 75% of them are female marriages. This is a very high proportion of divorces and would be interesting to study further.
Europe
Each country in Europe has its own statistics and legislation regarding same-sex divorce rates, making it difficult to compare rates.
In some countries, the divorce rates are comparable to the rates in the UK and US. In other countries, like the Netherlands, the rates are much higher. The Netherlands was the first country to legally recognize same-sex marriage back in 2001 and has adjusted its legislation for two decades. Sweden also has a high divorce rate for same-sex couples, which is surprisingly higher than the divorce rate for heterosexual couples.
Rest Of World
The rest of the world has very little legislation regarding same-sex marriage. Countries have been slow to accept same-sex marriage. For example, Australia took until 2017 to legalize same-sex marriages.
Regions like Asia are still actively preventing same-sex marriage. Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, but many countries still remain opposed to the changes. Some countries, such as Afghanistan, even enforce the death penalty for homosexual behavior. It proves that statistics really do differ by country regarding same-sex marriage.
There is still a lot of change that needs to occur for same-sex marriage to be legal in every country worldwide, but each change brings us one step closer to same-sex marriage becoming a global right. Read more about the cost of a divorce.