20 years of gay marriage in the Netherlands: 20 thousand couples

More women than men have married a partner of the same sex. The number of male couples was only higher in the first two years after the introduction of same-sex marriages. Over the past five years, an average of 751 marriages between two women and 619 marriages between two men were concluded annually. In 2020, fewer marriages were concluded than in the previous years, also among opposite-sex couples. During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in particular, the number of marriage registrations decreased. Figures over 2020 are still provisional.

42 percent converted partnership into marriage in 2001

Of the couples who married in 2001, 42 percent had previously formalised their union through a registered partnership. More than 3 percent of the marriages concluded over the past five years was previously a partnership. Until the introduction of gay marriage in 2001, same-sex couples could only formalise their relationship through a registered partnership.

Registered partnership more popular

Even after gay marriage was introduced, relatively many same-sex couples have been opting for a registered partnership instead of a marriage. This concerned around 500 couples annually or approximately one-quarter of the couples who formalised their relationship at the civil registry. Since 2015, the share of gay couples opting for a partnership has increased. More and more heterosexual couples have entered into a partnership as well. In 2020, the share of partnerships in the total number of conclusions increased more sharply than in previous years. While the number of marriages fell, the number of registrations continued to rise as in previous years.

Lesbian marriages more likely to end in divorce

Every year, more than 400 same-sex marriages end in divorce. Marriages between two women are of a shorter duration than marriages between two men or between a man and a woman. Of the women who married another woman in 2010, 26 percent were divorced after almost ten years (on 1 January 2020). This is almost twice as much as for married male couples (14 percent). The divorce rate among heterosexual couples is comparable to that of gay male couples: 16 percent were divorced after ten years. Among married couples and registered partnerships in previous and subsequent years as well, lesbian marriages are most likely to end in divorce.

Majority of married gay couples in Amsterdam

In total, 17 in every one thousand people who have married since 2001 are in a relationship with someone of the same sex. This share is larger in urban areas. In Amsterdam, the share of same-sex marriages is highest at 45 per thousand, followed by Nijmegen (35 per thousand) and Arnhem (28 per thousand). A relatively large number of same-sex couples are found in some of the surrounding municipalities in these regions. The proportion is smaller in less urban municipalities, particularly in the Bible Belt. The share is smallest in Urk and Woudenberg; less than 1 per thousand marriages are same-sex in these two municipalities.