[[File:Legality of polygamy.svg|thumb|300px | {{legend|#009e73|Polygamy is legal only for Muslims}} {{legend|#56b4e9|Polygamy is legal}} {{legend|#0072b2|Polygamy is legal in some regions (Indonesia)}} {{legend|#d55e00|Polygamy is illegal, but not criminalised in practice}} {{legend|#000000|Polygamy is illegal and criminalised in practice}} {{legend|#e0e0e0|Legal status unknown}} • In India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, polygamy is only legal for Muslims. • In Nigeria and South Africa, polygamous marriages under customary law and for Muslims are legally recognized. ]] The legal status of polygamy varies widely around the world. Polygamy is legal in 58 out of nearly 200 sovereign states, the vast majority of them being Muslim-majority countries. Some countries that permit polygamy have restrictions, such as requiring the first wife to give her consent. In countries that ban polygamy, the offence is commonly called bigamy, though the penalty varies between jurisdictions. In some countries where polygamy is illegal, the prohibition is not enforced.

Countries that recognize polygamous marriages

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Countries that only recognize polygamous marriages for Muslims

Note: These countries are included separately because they have specific legislation aimed only at Muslims.

Asia

Countries that only recognize polygamous marriages under customary law

Asia

🇮🇳 India (for Muslims and in Goa) [60 ] Africa

Countries that do not recognize polygamous marriages

Africa

Polygamy is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent, being most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in West Africa and Central Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger and Nigeria. In the region of sub-Saharan Africa, polygyny is common and deeply rooted in the culture, with 11% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in such marriages (25% of the Muslim population and 3% of the Christian population, as of 2019). Polygamous marriages occur, regardless of legality, as the practice is deeply rooted in culture and often supported by Islam in Africa.

Americas

[Bigamy laws throughout the United States{{legend|#FAA0A0|Infraction}}{{legend|#FF0102|Misdemeanor}}

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Asia

As in Africa, polygamy continues to be practiced in parts of Asia, regardless of laws.

Europe

Oceania

Current legislation

In most countries, a person who marries a person while still being lawfully married to another commits bigamy, a criminal offence, though penalties vary between jurisdictions. Besides, the second and subsequent marriages are considered legally null and void. The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand permit some benefits for spouses of polygamous marriages performed abroad. In the past, Sweden used to recognize polygamous marriages performed abroad; but since 2021, Sweden no longer recognizes such marriages, save in exceptional circumstances. In Switzerland polygamous marriages conducted abroad may be accepted or rejected on a case-by-case basis; see § Europe. In Canada, both bigamy (article 290 of the Criminal code of Canada) ) and de facto polygamy (article 293 of the Criminal Code) are illegal, but there are provisions in the property law of at least the Canadian province of Saskatchewan that consider the possibility of de facto multiple marriage-like situations (e.g. if an already married person enters into a second common-law relationship situation without first obtaining a legal divorce from their existing spouse). The vast majority of sovereign states with a Muslim-majority population recognize polygamous marriages: these states span from the West Africa to Southeast Asia, with the exceptions of Turkey, Tunisia, Albania, Kosovo and Central Asian countries. Predominantly Christian nations usually do not allow polygamy, with a handful of exceptions such as the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia. Almost a dozen countries that do not permit polygamous civil marriages recognize polygamous marriages under customary law. All the northern states in Nigeria governed by Islamic Sharia law recognize polygamous marriages. The autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland in northern Somalia also recognize polygamy, as does the country's Transitional Federal Government itself, since the country is governed by Sharia law. The recently independent country of Southern Sudan also recognizes polygamy. Polyandry is de facto the norm in rural areas of Tibet, although it is illegal under Chinese family law. Polygamy continues in Bhutan in various forms as it has since ancient times. It is also found in parts of Nepal, despite its formal illegality in the country. Debates of legalizing polygamous marriages continue in Central Asian countries.

International law

In 2000, the United Nations Human Rights Committee reported that polygamy violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), citing concerns that the lack of "equality of treatment with regard to the right to marry" meant that polygamy, restricted to polygyny in practice, violates the dignity of women and should be outlawed. Specifically, the reports to UN Committees have noted violations of the ICCPR due to these inequalities and reports to the General Assembly of the UN have recommended it be outlawed. Some countries where polygamy is legal are not signatories of ICCPR, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Brunei and South Sudan; so that ICCPR does not apply to these countries. It has been argued by the Department of Justice of Canada that polygyny is a violation of international human rights law.

Notable legislation

The tables below cover recent pieces of legislation that have been either debated, proposed or voted on; all of which concerns a form of polygamous union.

To permit polygamy

To outlaw polygamy