Legal status of polygamy

Polygamy is legal in 58 out of nearly 200 sovereign states, the vast majority of them being Muslim-majority countries situated in Africa and Asia. In most of these states, polygyny is allowed and legally sanctioned. Polyandry is illegal in virtually every state in the world. The rest of the sovereign states do not recognize polygamous marriages.

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

All countries in the American continent forbid polygamy.

In most countries, a person who marries a person while still being lawfully married to another commits bigamy. In all such cases, the second marriage is considered legally null and void. Besides the second and subsequent marriages being void, the bigamist is also liable to other penalties, which vary between jurisdictions.

The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand permit some benefits for spouses of polygamous marriages performed in other countries. On a case by case basis Sweden recognizes polygamous marriages performed abroad but without giving residence or social security rights to other spouses. In Switzerland polygamous marriages conducted in another country may be accepted or rejected on a case-by-case basis. see § Europe. In the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, which allows simultaneous, additional marital rights and obligations for already married persons, prior to married persons becoming divorced from their existing spouse.

The vast majority of Muslim majority sovereign states recognize polygamous marriages: these states span from West Africa to Southeast Asia. Exceptions to the legality of polygamy in the Middle East occur in Israel, Turkey and Tunisia. The Palestinian territories — consisting of West Bank and Gaza Strip — permit polygamous unions for Muslim citizens of the territories.

Predominantly Christian nations usually do not allow polygamy, with a handful of exceptions such as the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Zambia. Myanmar (formally known as Burma) is also the only predominately Buddhist nation to allow for civil polygamous marriages.

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Wikipedia