Same-sex marriage in Finland

Same-sex marriage in Finland

Finland is a beautiful country in Europe. In 2017, Finland made an important change. From that year, two people who love each other could get married, no matter if they were both men or both women.

Before 2017, Finland had something called "registered partnerships." This let two people who were not a man and a woman live together like a married couple. But they could not get married.

Many people in Finland think it is great that everyone can marry the person they love. Finland was the last country in the Nordic sovereign state area to allow this. It was the twelfth country in all of Europe to do so.

People in Finland have been more and more happy about this idea over the years. In 2006, about half of the people agreed. By 2023, most people, or 76%, thought it was a good idea.

Important dates

• 2002: Registered partnerships started in Finland.
• 2014: The Finnish Parliament voted to allow same-sex marriage.
• 2015: The President Sauli Niinistö signed the law.
• 2017: Same-sex marriage became official in Finland.

Finland shows that love and family can look different, and that is okay.