New Pew Research Center analysis shows that Western European countries are most heavily in favor of marriage equality. Pew has conducted surveys in 32 countries in the past two years. Support was highest in Sweden, where 92 percent of respondents favored equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Other countries in Western Europe were not far behind, with 89 percent support in the Netherlands, 87 percent in Spain, 82 percent in France, and 80 percent in Germany. Each of those countries has legalized same-sex marriage. In Italy, where legalization is being debated but hasn’t yet happened, 73 percent of respondents endorsed marriage equality. In the United Kingdom, support stood at 74 percent, and all parts of the U.K. have enacted marriage equality. The situation was much different in the Eastern European countries Pew has surveyed, with just 41 percent support in Poland and 31 percent in Hungary. In North America, 79 percent of Canadians and 63 percent of both U.S. residents and Mexicans backed marriage equality. In the U.S., there were stark differences along party lines. Eighty-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were supportive, compared to 44 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners. #LGBTQ+ Civil Rights