© UNICEF/BANA2013-01082/Kiron

tHE CUrrENt sitUatioN
Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. More than one in three
(about 250 million) entered into union before age 15.
Boys are also married as children, but girls are disproportionately affected. In Niger, for instance, 77 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 in contrast to 5 per cent of men in the same age group. Even in countries where child marriage is less common, the same gender differences are found. In the Republic of Moldova, for example, 15 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were married before age 18 compared to 2 per cent of men. Furthermore, girls are often married to considerably older men. In
Mauritania and Nigeria, more than half of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 who are currently married have husbands who are 10 or more years older than they are. Child marriage is a manifestation of gender inequality, reflecting social norms that perpetuate discrimination against girls.
Child marriage among girls is most common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and the 10 countries with the highest rates are found in these two regions. Niger has the highest overall prevalence of child marriage in the world. However,
Bangladesh has the highest rate of marriage involving girls under age 15. South Asia is home to almost half (42 per cent) of all child brides worldwide; India alone accounts for one third of the global total.
Child marriage affects girls in far greater numbers than boys
Number of women and men aged 18 years and older who were married or in union before ages 15 and 18
720 million
Married before age 15
Married after age 15 but before age 18
156 million
Women Men
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering around 50 per cent of the global population of women and men aged 18 years and older.
The highest rates of child marriage are found in
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before ages 15 and 18, by region
South Asia
West and Central Africa
Eastern and Southern Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East and North Africa
East Asia and the Pacific
CEE/CIS 14
21
24
30
38
46
56
Married before age 15
Married after age 15 but before age 18
Least developed countries
World
0 10 20 30
29
40 50
52
60 70 80 90
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering around 50 per cent of the global population of women aged 20 to 49 years. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the regional population. Data coverage is below 50 per cent for East Asia and the Pacific region due to the lack of comparable data on child marriage for China in UNICEF global databases.
100
Almost half of all child brides worldwide live in
South Asia; 1 in 3 are in India
Percentage distribution of women aged 18 years and older who were married or in union before age 18, by region
Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CEE/CIS), 4%
Middle East and North Africa, 5%
Eastern and Southern Africa, 6%
Industrialized countries, 2%
West and Central Africa, 7% India, 33%
Latin America and the Caribbean, 9%
South Asia, 42%
East Asia and the Pacific, 25%
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering around 50 per cent of the global population of women aged 18 years and older.
30
20
10
0
The 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage
Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before ages 15 and 18, in the 10 countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage
100
90
Married before age 15
Married after age 15 but before age 18
80
74
77
70
69
61
60 58 58 58 60
52
50
52
40

Girls most at risk
Not all girls face the same risk of becoming child brides, even within countries. In Ethiopia, the rate of child marriage is three times higher in the northern region of Amhara (75 per cent) than in the capital city of Addis Ababa (26 per cent). Child marriage is also more common among certain population groups. In Serbia, for example, 8 per cent of women overall were married as children; however, the share is more than half
(54 per cent) among women in Roma communities.
There is also a substantial gap in the prevalence of child marriage between the poorest and richest. Females in the poorest quintile are 2.5 times more likely to marry in childhood than those living in the wealthiest quintile. This disparity is particularly pronounced in certain countries. In India, the median age at first marriage is 19.7 years for women in the richest quintile compared to 15.4 for the poorest women. The same pattern is also observed in the Dominican Republic, where at least half of the poorest women entered into their first marriage or union at about age 17 compared to age
21 among the richest women. Across all regions, girls who live in rural areas are more likely to become child brides than their urban counterparts. This difference is especially striking in some countries in West and Central Africa and in
Latin American and the Caribbean, where the prevelence of child marriage in rural areas is about twice the level found in urban areas.
60
50
40
30
20
100
90
80
70
10
0
In every region, the poor are most at risk of child marriage
Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile and by region
Poorest quintile Second quintile Middle quintile Fourth quintile Richest quintile
CEE/CIS East Asia and the Pacific
Middle East and
North Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean
Eastern and
Southern Africa
West and
Central Africa
South Asia Least developed countries
World
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering around 50 per cent of the global population of women aged 20 to 49 years. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the regional population.
Data coverage is below 50 per cent for East Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the Dominican Republic and India, the wealthiest women marry about four years later than the poorest women
Median age at first marriage or union among women aged 25 to 49 years, by wealth quintile, in selected countries
22 years
21 years
20 years
19 years
18.3
19.6
21.3
19.7
Dominican
Republic
India
18 years
17.8
17.5
17.2
17 years
16.3
17.0
Bangladesh
16 years
15.4
15 years
15.0
14 years
Poorest quintile
15.6
15.0
Second quintile
15.2
Middle quintile
15.6
Fourth quintile Richest quintile
Child marriage is most common in rural areas
Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by place of residence
Each dot represents a country
60
50
40
100
90
80
70
Child marriage is more common in rural areas
30
20
10
0
Suriname
Togo
Ghana
Guyana
10 20
Senegal
Peru
30
Nigeria
40
Child marriage is more common in urban areas
50
Urban
60 70 80 90 100

liFEloNG – somEtimEs iNtErGENEratioNal – CoNsEqUENCEs
Girls who marry are not only denied their childhood. They are often socially isolated – cut off from family and friends and other sources of support – with limited opportunities for education and employment. Households typically make decisions about girls’ schooling and marriage jointly, not sequentially, and education tends to lose out. Accordingly, lower levels of education are found among women who married in childhood. In Malawi, for instance, nearly two thirds of women with no formal education were child brides compared to 5 per cent of women who attended secondary school or higher levels of education.
Child brides are often unable to effectively negotiate safer sex, leaving themselves vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, along with early pregnancy. The pressure to become pregnant once married can be intense, and child brides typically end up having many children to care for while still young. In Nepal, for example, over one third of women aged 20 to 24 who married before their
15th birthday had three or more children compared to 1 per cent of women who married as adults. Child brides are also less likely to receive proper medical care while pregnant. In countries including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal and Niger, women who married as adults were at least twice as likely to have delivered their most recent baby in a health facility compared to women who married before age 15. This, along with the fact that girls are not physically mature enough to give birth, places both mothers and their babies at risk.
Child brides tend to have low levels of education
Percentage of women aged 20 to 49 years who were married or in union before age 18, by level of education
Each dot represents a country
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Child marriage is more common
among educated women
10 20 30
Child marriage is more common among uneducated women
Sierra Leone
Peru
Uganda
Ghana
40 50
No education
60
Malawi
70 80
Niger
90 100
Child brides end up having many children to care for while still young
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have had three or more children, by age at first marriage or union, in selected countries
Mozambique
Burkina Faso
Mali
Niger
Dominican Republic
Egypt
Ethiopia
Nepal
Viet Nam
Peru
Bangladesh
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Married before age 15
Married at age 18 or older
70 80 90
Child brides are less likely to receive medical care during pregnancy than women who married as adults
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years attended at least four times during pregnancy by any provider, by age at first marriage or union, in selected countries
100 98
90
Married before age 15
Married at age 18 or older
84
91
80 78
72
70
62
60
59 59
53
50
50
42
43
40
38
30
29
23
20
16
10
11
10
0
Ethiopia Bangladesh Niger Nepal Mali Egypt Burkina Faso Peru Viet Nam
100

ProGrEss to DatE
The practice of child marriage is slowly declining. Progress is most dramatic when it comes to the marriage of girls under
15 years of age. Globally, 1 in 4 young women alive today were married in childhood versus 1 in 3 in the early 1980s.
The proportion of young women who entered into marriage before age 15 declined from 12 per cent to 8 per cent over the same period.
But progress has been uneven across regions and countries.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the percentage of women married before age 18 has dropped by about half, from 34 per cent to 18 per cent, over the last three decades. In South
Asia, the decline has been especially marked for marriages involving girls under age 15, dropping from 32 per cent to 17 per cent; the marriage of girls under age 18, however, is still commonplace. Although rates of child marriage are lower overall in Latin America and the Caribbean, no significant change has been seen in the prevalence of child marriage.
In Indonesia and Morocco, the risk of marrying before age 18 is less than half of what it was three decades ago. In Ethiopia, women aged 20 to 24 are marrying about three years later than their counterparts three decades ago. However, in some countries where child marriage is common, including Burkina
Faso and Niger, the median age at first marriage has not changed significantly.
Globally, the practice of child marriage is declining, especially when it comes to the marriage of girls under age 15
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before ages 15 and 18
50
Married before age 15
Married after age 15 but before age 18
40
33
31 31 31
30 28
26
20
10
0
1985 1990 1995
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering at least 50 per cent of the global population of women aged 20 to 24 years.
2000 2005 2010
The Middle East and North Africa has made the fastest progress in reducing child marriage
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before age 18, by region
70
60
West and Central Africa
50
Eastern and Southern Africa
40
Middle East and North Africa
30
South Asia
20
East Asia and the Pacific
CEE/CIS
10
Latin America and the Caribbean
0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Note: Estimates are based on a subset of countries covering at least 50 per cent of the global population of women aged 20 to 24 years. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the regional population. Data coverage is below 50 per cent for East Asia and the Pacific region due to the lack of comparable data on child marriage for China in UNICEF global databases.
2010
In Ethiopia, young women are marrying later than their counterparts three decades ago
Median age at first marriage or union among women aged 20 to 24 years, in selected countries
20 years
19 years
18 years
18.0
Ethiopia
18.9
17.9
Burkina Faso
17 years
16 years
15.6
15.6
15 years
14 years
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Niger
15.8
2010

Married before age 15
Married after age 15 but before age 18
ProsPECts
But that was the past. What does the future hold for present and future generations of girls?
Of the world’s 1.1 billion girls, 22 million are already married.
Hundreds of millions more are at risk, and the number will only grow as populations increase. Here are a couple of possible scenarios:
If there is no reduction in the practice of child marriage, up to 280 million girls alive today are at risk of becoming brides by the time they turn 18. Due to population growth, this number will approach 320 million by 2050. The total number of women married in childhood will grow from more than
700 million today to approximately 950 million by 2030, and nearly 1.2 billion by 2050. The number of girls under age 18 married each year will grow from 15 million today to 16.5 million in 2030 to over 18 million in 2050.
However, we know that progress has occurred over the last three decades. If the current rate of progress is sustained, the proportion of women married as children will continue to decrease: from 33 per cent in 1985 to 22 per cent by 2030 and to 18 per cent by 2050. Despite gains, this rate of decline is barely fast enough to keep pace with population growth. Even if progress continues, the total number of women married as children will still be around 700 million in 2050, although nearly 490 million girls will have avoided early marriage.
Unless progress is accelerated, the global number of child brides will remain at least as high as it is today
Number of women aged 18 and older who were married or in union before age 18
If prevalence remains at today's levels
If observed decline continues
If progress is accelerated
1.2 billion
720 million
710 million
450 million
Today 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045
If progress is accelerated, there will be 1 in 10 child brides in the world in 2050 compared to 1 in 4 today
2050
33% Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before age 18
26%
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 expected to be married or in union before age 18 if observed decline continues
18%
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 expected to be married or in union before age 18 if progress is accelerated
11%
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

To reduce the number to under 700 million, progress will need to accelerate. If the rate of decline seen over the past three decades is doubled, the total number of women who married as children would drop to approximately 570 million by 2030 and 450 million by 2050. We know such progress is possible since the rate of decline from 2000 is already faster than the average achieved over the past three decades.
Sub-Saharan Africa presents the most extreme scenario.
Even if the current pace of progress is maintained, it will not be fast enough to offset population growth. The number of women married as children will double by 2050, and the region will surpass South Asia in having the largest number of child brides from the current level. In this region, even doubling the current rate of decline would not be enough to reduce the number of child brides.
In Africa, Nigeria is expected to have the largest absolute number of child brides. The country has seen a decline in child marriage of about 1 per cent per year over the past three decades. At this pace, the total number of child brides is expected to double by 2050.
In contrast to global trends, some countries have experienced stagnant or even increasing levels of child marriage. In
Burkina Faso, prevalence has remained constant at around
50 per cent for the past three decades. If this persists, the number of child brides will increase substantially in the coming years as the population expands.
Sub-Saharan Africa will have the largest number and global share of child brides by 2050
Number of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before age 18, according to three scenarios
Prevalence remains at today’s levels Observed decline continues Progress is accelerated
90
11
72
14
34
72
14
72
14
Rest of world
South Asia
East Asia and the Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa
28
21
10
36
28
21
20
4
24
56
8
28
21
12
1
36
6
17
9 9 9
In Nigeria, a continued decline in child marriage will not be enough to offset population growth, in contrast to Indonesia
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years married or in union before age 18
Indonesia
Nigeria
Number of women aged 20 to 24 years married or in union before age 18
Indonesia
Nigeria
6,000,000
56%
5,000,000
44%
43%
4,000,000
33%
28%
3,000,000
17%
2,000,000
7%
4%
1,000,000
0
Due to rapid population growth, the number of child brides in Burkina Faso will increase dramatically, unlike Colombia
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years married or in union before age 18
Burkina Faso
Colombia
Number of women aged 20 to 24 years married or in union before age 18
Burkina Faso
Colombia
1,000,000
Steady around 52%
800,000
600,000
Steady around 23%
400,000
200,000
0

UNiCEF
Data and Analytics Section
Division of Data, Research and Policy
3 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA
telephone: +1 212 326 7000
E-mail: data@unicef.org
data.unicef.org
Data sources: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and other nationally representative surveys, 2005-2013. Population data are from: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population
Prospects: The 2012 revision, CD-ROM edition, United Nations, New York, 2013.
suggested citation: United Nations Children’s Fund, Ending Child Marriage: Progress and prospects, UNICEF, New York, 2014.