| Civil union
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| Recognised nationwide in:
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| Denmark (1989) | Norway (1993)
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| Israel2 (1994) | Sweden (1995)
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| Greenland (1996) | Hungary (1996)
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| Iceland (1996) | France (1999)
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| South Africa (1999) | Germany (2001)
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| Portugal (2001) | Finland (2002)
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| Croatia (2003) | Luxembourg (2004)
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| New Zealand (2005) | United Kingdom (2005)
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| Andorra (2005) | Czech Republic (2006)
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| Slovenia (2006) | Switzerland (starting 2007)
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Was recognised before legalisation of same-sex marriage in:
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| Netherlands (nationwide) (1998)
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| Spain (12 autonomous communities) (1998)
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| Belgium (nationwide) (2000)
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| Canada (QC and NS)1 (2000)
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| Recognised in some regions in:
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| Argentina (Buenos Aires, Rio Negro) (2003)
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| Australia (Tasmania, ACT) (2004)
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| Italy (10 regions) (2004)
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| Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) (2004)
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| United States: CU: VT (2000) , CT (2005); DP: HI (1997), CA (1999), DC (2002), ME (2004), NJ (2004)
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| Recognition debated in:
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| Austria
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| Greece
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| Ireland
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| Liechtenstein
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| Poland
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| Notes:
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| 1 - Explicitly referred to as "civil unions" in Quebec (2002), Nova Scotia (2001), and Manitoba (2002), common-law marriage extended to same-sex partners nationwide (2000).
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| 2 - In form of common-law marriage.
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| See also
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| Same-sex marriage
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| Registered partnership
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| Domestic partnership
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| Common-law marriage
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| Marriage, unions and partnerships by country
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Homosexuality laws of the world
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| Edit this box
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