In addition to the United States, some other nations included the same-sex couples questions in their census.
Technically, the way most, if not all, census are designed, the statistics body in charge does collect information about same-sex householders. However, whether they tabulate or just ignore the results is another matter.
Even though I have searched many census databases, these are the basic data that I could come up with. If you know of other readily available information, please let me know.
Will ask explicitly about same-sex couples in the Relationship in Household category. Results will be available starting on March 2003. In the 1996 Census, Australia became one of the first nations to tabulate same-sex couples. Oddly, I was unable to find these results in the Australia Bureau of Statistics Page, so I reproduce them from a Rex Wocker news item. Any corrections and amplifications are welcome.
Australia's 1996 census shows that 19,722 same-sex couples declared themselves as such -- about one-fourth of one percent of the population. The state/territory breakdown was:
| State/Territory | Same-sex couples |
| New South Wales | 8,913 |
| Victoria | 4,613 |
| Queensland | 2,500 |
| Western Australia | 1,561 |
| South Australia | 1,254 |
| Tasmania | 256 |
| Australia Capital Territory | 137 |
| Total Australia | 19,722 |
Australian activist groups have bemoaned the low number in the previous census, which may be attributed to the incredible stolidity of the question/category: "Partner in de facto marriage, male same-sex couple".
See results here.
French law prohibits divulging the sex of partners taking the domestic partnership (pacte civil de solidarité, PACs). However, according to demographer M. Patrick Festy, approximately 40% of the 43,970 PACs celebrated between 1999 and 2001 were between homosexual couples.
In a very brief comment, Ireland's Central Statistical Office said that "the number of same sex cohabiting couples recorded in the census increased from around 150 in 1996 to almost 1,300 in the most recent census. Two thirds of these were male couples".
The Dutch Census did not publish figures on the total number of same-sex couples, although it included, as part of a record of vital statistics, all new marriages, heterosexual and homosexual.
Periods |
Total marriages | Marriage between two males | % Marriage between two males | Marriage between male and female | % Marriage between male and female | Marriage between two females | % Marriage between two females |
| 2001 March | 4,248 | ||||||
| 2001 April | 5,942 | 229 | 3.85% | 5,556 | 93.50% | 157 | 2.64% |
| 2001 May | 10,116 | 220 | 2.17% | 9,719 | 96.08% | 177 | 1.75% |
| 2001 June | 9,384 | 171 | 1.82% | 9,060 | 96.55% | 153 | 1.63% |
| 2001 July | 7,232 | 134 | 1.85% | 6,998 | 96.76% | 100 | 1.38% |
| 2001 August | 11,007 | 151 | 1.37% | 10,724 | 97.43% | 132 | 1.20% |
| 2001 September | 9,765 | 148 | 1.52% | 9,487 | 97.15% | 130 | 1.33% |
| 2001 October | 7,864 | 112 | 1.42% | 7,673 | 97.57% | 79 | 1.00% |
| 2001 November | 4,183 | 72 | 1.72% | 4,042 | 96.63% | 69 | 1.65% |
| 2001 December | 4,159 | 88 | 2.12% | 4,006 | 96.32% | 65 | 1.56% |
| 2001 Year total | 81,855 | 1,337 | 1.63% | 79,445 | 97.06% | 1073 | 1.31% |
| 2002 January | 3,970 | 51 | 1.28% | 3,873 | 97.56% | 46 | 1.16% |
| 2002 February | 5,068 | 93 | 1.84% | 4,914 | 96.96% | 61 | 1.20% |
| 2002 March | 4,593 | 60 | 1.31% | 4,485 | 97.65% | 48 | 1.05% |
| 2002 April | 6,241 | 76 | 1.22% | 6,091 | 97.60% | 74 | 1.19% |
| 2002 May | 10,695 | 118 | 1.10% | 10,451 | 97.72% | 126 | 1.18% |
| 2002 June | 12,491 | 96 | 0.77% | 12,275 | 98.27% | 120 | 0.96% |
| 2002 July | 7,534 | 63 | 0.84% | 7,401 | 98.23% | 70 | 0.93% |
| 2002 August | 9,479 | 86 | 0.91% | 9,303 | 98.14% | 90 | 0.95% |
| 2002 September | 11,836 | 98 | 0.83% | 11,646 | 98.39% | 92 | 0.78% |
| 2002 October | 7,988 | 60 | 0.75% | 7,850 | 98.27% | 78 | 0.98% |
| Source: Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) Ministry of Economic Affairs |
The Netherlands also kept a record, for the same period, of registered partnerships.
| Periods |
Total registered partner-ships | Partner-ship between two males | % Partner-ship between two males | Partner-ship between male and female | % Partner-ship between male and female | Partner-ship between two females | % Partner-ship between two females |
| 2001 March | 171 | 30 | 17.54% | 114 | 66.67% | 27 | 15.79% |
| 2001 April | 146 | 26 | 17.81% | 102 | 69.86% | 18 | 12.33% |
| 2001 May | 185 | 24 | 12.97% | 141 | 76.22% | 20 | 10.81% |
| 2001 June | 161 | 22 | 13.66% | 120 | 74.53% | 19 | 11.80% |
| 2001 July | 201 | 17 | 8.46% | 167 | 83.08% | 17 | 8.46% |
| 2001 August | 269 | 19 | 7.06% | 227 | 84.39% | 23 | 8.55% |
| 2001 September | 364 | 29 | 7.97% | 318 | 87.36% | 17 | 4.67% |
| 2001 October | 480 | 25 | 5.21% | 432 | 90.00% | 23 | 4.79% |
| 2001 November | 528 | 35 | 6.63% | 465 | 88.07% | 28 | 5.30% |
| 2001 December | 480 | 42 | 8.75% | 409 | 85.21% | 29 | 6.04% |
| 2001 Year total | 3,316 | 337 | 10.16% | 2,691 | 81.15% | 288 | 8.69% |
| 2002 January | 586 | 28 | 4.78% | 529 | 90.27% | 29 | 4.95% |
| Source: Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) Ministry of Economic Affairs |
2001 Census.
| Type of couple | Number | Percent |
| Opposite-sex Couples | 779,628 | 99.35% |
| Same-sex | 5,067 | 0.65% |
| Male Couples | 2,232 | 0.28% |
| Female Couples | 2,835 | 0.36% |
| Total | 784,698 |
These are the results for 1996:
| Description | Families | Population |
| Opposite Sex Couples | 777,897 | 2,425,668 |
| Male Couples | 1,443 | 3,198 |
| Female couples | 1,815 | 4,575 |
| Not in the Subject Population | 168,345 | 454,824 |
| Source: Statistics New Zealand |
All cells in this table have been randomly rounded to base 3. In addittion, the Kiwi census announced that there were 684 same-sex couples with children in 1996.
Although Norway's Census did not count same-sex couples, its
number of same-sex domestic partnerships were counted.
| Year | Tota domestic partnershipsl | Partnerships with two males | Partnership swith two females |
| 1994 | 133 | 86 | 47 |
| 1996 | 131 | 77 | 54 |
| 1997 | 117 | 74 | 43 |
| 1998 | 154 | 78 | 76 |
| 1999 | 131 | 77 | 54 |
| 2000 | 154 | 78 | 76 |
| 2001 | 185 | 108 | 77 |
| Source: Statistics Norway. |
Will begin releasing results in July 2004. .
2006 Census will tabulate same-sex couples.