Legal advances and demographic developments of same-sex unions in Scandinavia

In 2009, Norway and Sweden completed their process of granting same-sex couples the same rights to marriage as those granted to couples of opposite sexes. Following the introduction of a specific civil status for couples of the same sex, the registered partnership, in 1993 and 1995, both countries adopted fully gender-neutral marriage legislation in 2009. In the present article, we describe the road to gender-neutral marriage in Scandinavia and map out some of the demographic developments of same-sex partnerships and marriages. We demonstrate a recent switch to higher female than male same-sex union formation, and also a higher level of female than male same-sex marriage dissolution. These demographic patterns are similar across all countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.Sonderheft 7, 2010.Partnerschaft und Elternschaft bei gleichgeschlechtlichen Paaren.ISBN 978-3-86649-379-7.