Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa A statistical overview and reflections on ending the practice © UNICEF/UN0297702/Adriko © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), June 2022 Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. To request permission or for any other information on this publication, please contact: UNICEF Data and Analytics Section Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Telephone: +1 212 326 7000 Email: data@unicef.org All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify the information contained in this publication. For any data updates subsequent to release, please visit <data.unicef.org>. Suggested citation: United Nations Children’s Fund, Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa: A statistical overview and reflections on ending the practice, UNICEF, New York, 2022. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this publication was led by Claudia Cappa and Colleen Murray (Data and Analytics Section, UNICEF Headquarters), with inputs from Munkhbadar Jugder (Data and Analytics Section, UNICEF Headquarters), Lisa Fleming and Isabel Jijon (independent consultants), Mona Aika (UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa) and Nankali Maksud (Child Protection Programme Team, UNICEF Headquarters). The report was edited by Lois Jensen and Tina Johnson and designed by Elwa Design Studio and Era Porth (independent consultants). Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa A statistical overview and reflections on ending the practice Foreword Child marriage robs girls of their childhood. It forces them to take on adult roles and responsibilities, curtails their educational opportunities and increases their health risks. Children should spend their childhood developing the skills and identities needed to transition into adulthood. Unfortunately, those who marry in childhood are not afforded the time, space or support to make this transition effectively. Eastern and Southern Africa is among the regions with the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world. Currently, nearly one third (32 per cent) of the region’s young women were married before age 18. Working towards the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending harmful practices is a priority for UNICEF at the global level and in Eastern and Southern Africa. The region is supported in these efforts through the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage and the Spotlight Initiative. These interventions complement UNICEF’s work alongside national governments and local authorities to strengthen child protection systems and build a sustainable support system for responding to harmful practices. Ending child marriage requires collaborative effort on the part of many actors – from the community to the national, regional and global levels. The findings in this report should become a key reference to guide advocacy efforts, inform policies and strengthen programming. Though the situation depicted in the region is dramatic in its scale and extent, there are signs of change. The commitment of governments and the many partners who make girls’ rights a priority offers grounds for optimism. The cost of inaction – for every girl in the region and for future generations – is simply too great to be tolerated. Mohamed M. Malick Fall UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Contents 06 08 Child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa and in the global development agenda Regional overview 13 Country profiles 14 How to read the profiles 16 Angola 20 Burundi 24 Comoros 28 Eritrea 32 Eswatini 36 Ethiopia 40 Kenya 44 Lesotho 48 Madagascar 52 Malawi 56 Mozambique 60 Namibia 64 Rwanda 68 Somalia 72 South Africa 76 South Sudan 80 Uganda 84 United Republic of Tanzania 88 Zambia 92 Zimbabwe 96 Ending child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa 98 Technical notes Child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa and in the global development agenda Child marriage is a violation of human rights. Every child has the right to be protected from this harmful practice, which has devastating consequences for individuals and for society. Child marriage is now firmly on the global development agenda, most prominently through its inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5.3, which calls for the elimination of the practice by 2030. An estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married before their 18th birthdays. Over 50 million of them reside in Eastern and Southern Africa. This publication provides a statistical overview of child marriage in the region. It highlights levels and trends overall and presents country profiles that allow a closer look into how the practice varies throughout the region. It also offers insights into the characteristics of early unions and the lives of child brides and identifies what is needed to eliminate child marriage by 2030. 6 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA SDG 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. TARGET 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. INDICATOR 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18. © UNICEF/UNI87065/Noorani CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA AND IN THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA 7 Regional overview Eastern and Southern Africa is among the regions with the highest prevalence of child marriage Figure 1. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 100 80 60 40 37 32 28 21 20 19 10 7 World East Asia and the Pacific Eastern Europe and Central Asia Latin America and the Caribbean South Asia Eastern and Southern Africa West and Central Africa 0 NOTES: In this publication, data for the region of Eastern and Southern Africa reflect the set of countries outlined by the mandate of UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, thus aggregate values may differ from those included in other UNICEF publications that are based on a geographical classification of countries. Data coverage was insufficient to calculate regional estimates for the Middle East and North Africa, North America and Western Europe. The region is home to over 50 million child brides, with the largest share in Ethiopia Figure 2. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before age 18 South Sudan 1.3 million Other countries 3.9 million Zimbabwe 1.4 million Somalia 1.4 million South Africa 1.6 million Ethiopia 17.3 million Zambia 1.8 million Malawi 2.2 million Angola 2.5 million Eastern and Southern Africa 55 million Madagascar 2.9 million Kenya 4.2 million Mozambique 4.4 million NOTE: Figures do not add up to total due to rounding. 8 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA United Republic of Tanzania 5.7 million Uganda 4.7 million Child marriage among boys Although SDG indicator 5.3.1 measures child marriage among girls, the practice occurs among boys as well. Eastern and Southern Africa is also home to 2 of the 10 countries with the highest levels in the world for the practice among boys. In 3 countries in the region, at least 1 in 10 young men were first married in childhood Figure 3. Percentage of men aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 Rwanda 0.4 South Africa 1 Eswatini 1 Burundi 1 Namibia 1 Lesotho 2 Zimbabwe 2 Eritrea 2 Kenya 3 Zambia 3 United Republic of Tanzania 4 Ethiopia 5 Uganda 6 Angola 6 Malawi 7 Somalia 7 Mozambique 10 Madagascar 12 Comoros 12 Eastern and Southern Africa 5 0 10 20 30 40 50 REGIONAL OVERVIEW 9 While levels of child marriage vary widely in the region, 2 of the 10 countries with the highest levels in the world are found here Figure 4. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 100 7 South Africa Eswatini Rwanda Namibia 40 40 52 53 Mozambique 6 38 Madagascar 5 35 Ethiopia 4 32 34 Malawi 19 16 31 34 Somalia 20 30 United Republic of Tanzania 29 Angola 40 Uganda 60 South Sudan 80 41 23 Before age 15 Eritrea Zimbabwe Comoros Zambia Kenya Burundi Lesotho 0 At or after 15 but before age 18 Child marriage is most prevalent in the poorest households, among those with little or no education and in rural areas Figure 5. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Wealth quintile Education Residence 100 80 61 60 47 44 44 40 41 37 28 20 0 10 18 14 Poorest Second Middle Fourth CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Richest 13 None Primary Secondary or higher Rural Urban The pace of progress has been slow overall and varies across countries Figure 6. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 50 40 39 38 32 30 20 13 13 9 10 0 25 years ago 10 years ago Before age 18 Today Before age 15 The region remains off track for reaching the SDG target of eliminating child marriage by 2030; at the current rate, 20 million more girls in the region will marry in childhood in the next decade Figure 7. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years first married or in union before age 18, projected 50 40 37 30 28 20 10 35 West and Central Africa 27 Eastern and Southern Africa 19 16 Latin America and the Caribbean 9 7 Eastern Europe and Central Asia 32 21 10 7 South Asia East Asia and the Pacific 0 Today 2030 NOTES: Projected values build on existing trends and show expected values if progress over the past 10 years were to continue. Calculations are based on the average annual rate of change and project a continuation at the same rate, including for regions in which changes are slight and may not be statistically significant. Projections do not take into account the potential impact of events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, whose broad and likely long-lasting effects on the population are not yet fully understood. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that through economic uncertainty, interruption to schooling, disruption of services and other avenues, the pandemic has the potential to threaten progress made thus far against child marriage. REGIONAL OVERVIEW 11 © UNICEF/UNI220178/Gonzalez Farran 12 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Country profiles COUNTRY PROFILES 13 © UNICEF/UNI91267/Noorani How to read the profiles The profiles on the following pages present an overview of child marriage – defined as a marriage or union that occurs before the age of 18 – in each country in Eastern and Southern Africa. The profiles detail how common the practice is across the population, describe the characteristics of unions, provide insights into the lives of child brides across key domains of wellbeing and illustrate trends in the practice and whether the country is on track to reach the 2030 SDG target. This guide provides a description of the data featured throughout the profiles and notes on how to interpret the findings shown in each section. The notes are organized to correspond with the sequential sections of the profiles and refer to the name of each chart (marked in bold font). 14 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Current levels of child marriage The burden of child marriage captures the total number of girls and women in the country who married in childhood, including girls under 18 who are already married and women of all ages who were child brides. This can be interpreted alongside the prevalence of child marriage, or the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 (SDG indicator 5.3.1), to give a sense of how common the practice is. The burden gives an absolute number, while the prevalence captures the proportion. The prevalence is measured among this specific age group because, if unmarried, these women have recently passed the risk period for child marriage. Thus the prevalence is both complete – since women in this age group can no longer become child brides – and timely – since, compared to older women, they turned 18 more recently. This section contains regional and global comparisons, again using the standard SDG indicator for measuring child marriage prevalence, to show where the country falls in relation to others in the region and the world. It also identifies vulnerable populations, showing the sub-populations in which child marriage is more common across household wealth, level of education and place of residence. Characteristics of unions This section illustrates the nature of child marriages, including the difference in age between child brides and their partners and the types of unions child brides are part of. In some contexts, child brides marry men who are substantially older, while in others they marry peers. The spousal age gap shows the age difference between women and their partners for both child brides and those who married in adulthood. The chart showing types of unions compares the share of formal marriages with the share of informal unions, in which girls live with a partner as if married. This chart also shows the share previously married who are now separated, divorced or widowed. Unlike most other charts in the profile, due to data availability, this chart refers to girls aged 15 to 17 years who have ever been married – since they are under 18, they are all considered child brides. Lives of child brides This section shows a selection of well-being indicators, comparing the outcomes for child brides to those of their peers who married later or who have not married. It is worth keeping in mind throughout this section that this is a descriptive analysis, and age at marriage may not be the only factor contributing to differences across groups of women, especially since child brides are likely to be disadvantaged in other dimensions as well. Generational trends This section gives a long-term view of how common child marriage has been at the national level over the preceding 25 years. In many countries, the practice has become less common, while in others there has been little change. Looking ahead to ending child marriage In light of the SDG target of ending child marriage by 2030, this section illustrates whether the progress observed to date has set the country on a path to meet the goal or whether acceleration is required. The chart on observed and required rates of progress shows the average annual rates of reduction, often contrasting modest annual improvements in the past decades with the much faster rates required to meet the 2030 target. The autonomy, empowerment and violence chart illustrates whether child brides are more or less likely than their peers to have a bank account (a measure of financial autonomy), to be employed, to have a say in decisionmaking, to believe wife-beating is justified and to have experienced intimate partner violence. In the area of education, the profile compares the current school participation of girls aged 15 to 17 years depending on their marital status, often showing that married adolescent girls are more likely to be out of school than their unmarried peers. Child marriage is closely tied to early childbearing, and the first chart in this section shows how commonly child brides give birth before ages 18 and 20 compared to their peers who married later or never married. The second chart shows the timing of pregnancy and marriage, illustrating whether pregnancy preceded (or closely followed) marriage among those who married at different ages. Lastly, the reproductive health chart shows whether child brides have less access to reproductive health services such as family planning and antenatal and delivery care than their peers. © UNICEF/UN0421428/Abdul COUNTRY PROFILES 15 Angola Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 I with exceptions: 15 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 8. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 9. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 805,200 married or in union before age 18 2.5 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Angola is home to over 2 million child brides; 3 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 10. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Angola Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 30 53 4 32 19 8 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 11. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 49 40 39 46 46 44 35 25 24 20 17 16 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Urban Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second 0 Poorest S S 12 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 12. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 13. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 3 48 34 Married or in union at or after age 18 5 54 0 20 Partner is: 27 40 14 60 80 7 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 15 10 100 83 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 14. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 85 88 80 68 61 60 49 44 40 37 32 25 20 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family Education Figure 15. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data 22 Currently married or in union 79 n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 21 Never married or in union 79 COUNTRY PROFILES: ANGOLA 17 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 16. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 17. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 23 100 Married or in union before age 18 21 80 46 29 60 5 40 33 75 10 16 20 26 8 Married or in union at or after age 18 77 20 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 18. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 87 86 80 80 59 60 62 47 46 40 30 20 22 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 18 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 19. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 29 20 10 0 29+31011 0+1301+931+3 90+380 30 8 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 20. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -0.2 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 0.1 24.4 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ANGOLA 19 Burundi Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 I with exceptions: 18 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 21. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 22. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 108,900 married or in union before age 18 636,100 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Burundi is home to over 636,000 child brides; 1 in 5 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 23. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Burundi Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 19 53 4 32 19 3 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 24. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 40 39 31 21 20 20 23 15 21 11 10 20 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Urban Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second 0 Poorest 3 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Figure 25. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Married or in union before age 18 1 58 29 12 Married or in union at or after age 18 5 63 0 20 22 40 Partner is: 60 11 80 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 26. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 94 91 80 76 72 66 64 66 58 60 39 40 38 20 3 2 4 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months COUNTRY PROFILES: BURUNDI 21 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 27. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 28. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 19 24 100 Married or in union before age 18 80 42 55 60 11 7 40 52 20 28 0 4 35 Married or in union at or after age 18 48 4 3 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 29. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 99 100 ■ Never married or in union 100 95 91 91 85 80 60 52 48 50 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 22 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 30. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 20 22 19 5 0 3 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 31. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 0.6 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 1.4 21.0 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2016–2017 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: BURUNDI 23 Comoros Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: - | with exceptions: 0 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 32. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 33. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 27,700 married or in union before age 18 81,400 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher The Comoros is home to over 81,000 child brides; 1 in 3 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 34. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Comoros Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 32 53 4 32 19 10 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile 80 60 47 34 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA No education Fourth Middle Second Poorest 27 21 19 20 0 34 Urban 33 48 Rural 34 39 Richest 40 24 Residence Secondary or higher Figure 35. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Primary Vulnerable populations Education 100 5+2733+2832+3527+54 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 36. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 37. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 43+34+419A Married or in union before age 18 5 27 28 35 5 Married or in union at or after age 18 5 32 0 20 Partner is: 32 40 27 60 4 80 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 19 4 43 100 34 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 38. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 60 45 40 33 49 46 38 30 42 25 20 0 13 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family Education n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 15 Figure 39. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data 8 54 Currently married or in union 46 Never married or in union 85 COUNTRY PROFILES: COMOROS 25 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 40. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 41. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage Never married or in union 25 100 23 Married or in union before age 18 80 25 60 27 18 23 40 40 20 52 Married or in union at or after age 18 28 18 2 0 9 0.3 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 42. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 100 90 ■ Never married or in union 93 87 80 77 60 42 40 25 23 20 n/a 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 26 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 43. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 41 32 20 13 0 10 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 44. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.1 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by -0.5 19.2 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2012 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: COMOROS 27 Eritrea Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 45. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 46. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 199,300 married or in union before age 18 465,700 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Eritrea is home to nearly 466,000 child brides; 4 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 47. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Eritrea Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 41 53 4 32 19 13 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Figure 48. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Residence 80 60 52 58 59 55 62 55 41 40 25 20 28 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 20 13 Urban Vulnerable populations Education 100 0+1312042+40+45382+1 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 49. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 50. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 91+4+5A Married or in union before age 18 13 42 45 1 Married or in union at or after age 18 1 20 40 0 20 Partner is: 40 60 38 1 80 100 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 4 5 91 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 51. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 77 80 ■ Never married or in union 72 62 60 50 41 40 20 0 17 n/a n/a 40 18 n/a Has a bank account n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family 4 Education Figure 52. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Currently married or in union n/a Believes wife-beating is justified n/a n/a Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 19 Never married or in union 81 96 COUNTRY PROFILES: ERITREA 29 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 53. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 54. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 10 Never married or in union 9 100 Married or in union before age 18 80 60 35 46 33 17 40 20 33 47 Married or in union at or after age 18 32 21 1 0 18 2 1 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 55. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 90 89 80 60 51 40 31 20 16 0 18 n/a Demand for family planning satisfied 30 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA n/a Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 56. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 52 41 40 20 23 13 0 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 57. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.0 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 2.1 18.5 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Population and Health Survey 2010 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ERITREA 31 Eswatini Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 | with exceptions: 16 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 58. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 59. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 6,600 married or in union before age 18 33,100 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Eswatini is home to over 33,000 child brides; 1 in 20 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 60. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Eswatini Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 5 53 4 32 19 1 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 61. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 46 40 32 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Fourth 5 5 Urban Middle 2 Secondary or higher Second 6 Primary 3 No education 5 Richest 7 Poorest 0 7 Rural 19 20 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Figure 62. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Married or in union before age 18 25 50 25 Married or in union at or after age 18 1 20 0 43 40 20 33 40 Partner is: 22 60 1 80 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 63. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 60 40 30 29 22 20 0 n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months n/a n/a n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a Believes wife-beating is justified n/a n/a Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months COUNTRY PROFILES: ESWATINI 33 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 64. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 65. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 4 Never married or in union 18 100 80 46 Married or in union before age 18 27 33 60 9 40 9 27 67 7 20 19 Married or in union at or after age 18 27 76 10 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 66. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 100 100 98 95 88 85 80 ■ Never married or in union 85 80 60 40 20 n/a 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 34 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 67. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 20 0 19 5 1 3 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 68. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 5.0 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 4.6 10.4 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ESWATINI 35 Ethiopia Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 69. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 70. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 7.5 million married or in union before age 18 17.3 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Ethiopia is home to over 17 million child brides; 4 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 71. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Ethiopia Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 40 53 4 32 19 14 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Figure 72. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Residence 80 68 60 58 53 50 48 43 40 35 19 20 16 36 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second 0 Poorest 10 Urban Vulnerable populations Education 100 12+3740+4044+2215+.. Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 73. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 74. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 74+3+1211A Married or in union before age 18 1 37 40 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 22 Married or in union at or after age 18 2 40 0 20 Partner is: 44 40 15 60 80 11 12 3 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides 74 Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 75. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 87 80 80 70 60 58 56 50 48 40 40 29 27 27 19 20 6 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 10 Education Figure 76. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a 27 Currently married or in union Never married or in union 73 90 COUNTRY PROFILES: ETHIOPIA 37 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 77. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 78. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 9 Never married or in union 10 100 Married or in union before age 18 80 33 49 31 60 12 40 39 20 51 Married or in union at or after age 18 36 16 2 0 1 13 1 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 79. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 75 74 64 62 62 60 53 40 35 20 n/a 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 38 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 80. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 69 60 40 20 33+0+27+25+18+14 40 33 14 0 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 81. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.9 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 4.2 26.4 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2016 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ETHIOPIA 39 Kenya Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 82. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 83. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 1.1 million married or in union before age 18 4.2 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Kenya is home to over 4 million child brides; 1 in 4 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 84. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Kenya Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 23 53 4 32 19 4 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 85. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 62 60 45 38 35 29 23 40 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 17 11 Urban Secondary or higher Primary 8 No education Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 15 Richest 20 Rural 40 12+3349+43+33+2416+.. Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 86. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 87. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 77+11+110A Married or in union before age 18 1 33 43 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 24 Married or in union at or after age 18 2 49 0 20 Partner is: 33 40 16 60 80 1 1 10 11 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides 77 Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 88. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 80 65 60 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 69 61 55 58 56 39 38 40 31 29 20 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Education Figure 89. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family 2 Currently married or in union 98 n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 12 Never married or in union 88 COUNTRY PROFILES: KENYA 41 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 90. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 91. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 22 100 80 Married or in union before age 18 29 37 40 60 18 40 7 67 Married or in union at or after age 18 27 20 8 13 0 53 23 8 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 92. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 95 81 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 80 98 ■ Never married or in union 95 77 77 75 58 60 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 42 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 93. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 32 23 20 8 0 4 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 94. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.3 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 2.0 19.6 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2014 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: KENYA 43 Lesotho Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: 0 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 95. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 96. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 19,100 married or in union before age 18 145,800 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Lesotho is home to nearly 146,000 child brides; 1 in 6 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 97. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Lesotho Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 16 53 4 32 19 1 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 98. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 40 33 33 26 20 15 10 20 15 9 13 44 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Urban Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second Poorest 1 0 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 99. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 100. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 3 45 33 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 19 Married or in union at or after age 18 2 51 0 34 20 40 12 60 80 21 3 100 95 Partner is: ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 101. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 60 40 34 25 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months n/a Figure 102. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family Education 19 Currently married or in union 81 21 n/a Believes wife-beating is justified n/a n/a Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 18 Never married or in union 82 COUNTRY PROFILES: LESOTHO 45 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 103. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 104. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 23 100 80 41 Married or in union before age 18 45 36 60 18 40 6 52 34 20 Married or in union at or after age 18 57 18 11 6 0 3 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 105. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 100 94 89 82 80 ■ Never married or in union 89 91 86 87 82 76 60 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 46 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 106. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 31 20 0 16 3 1 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 107. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 2.5 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 1.9 23.3 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2018 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: LESOTHO 47 Madagascar Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: 0 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 108. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 109. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 1.0 million married or in union before age 18 2.9 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Madagascar is home to nearly 3 million child brides; 4 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 110. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Madagascar Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 40 53 4 32 19 13 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Figure 111. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Residence 80 64 60 56 51 51 46 44 37 40 29 25 48 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 Richest 18 20 Urban Vulnerable populations Education 100 412+4350+31+23+2115+0 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 112. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 113. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 50+33+17A Married or in union before age 18 4 43 31 21 Married or in union at or after age 18 12 50 0 20 Partner is: 23 40 60 15 80 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 17 49 100 33 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 114. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 60 41 40 43 41 34 29 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months n/a In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 3 Education Figure 115. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a Currently married or in union 49 Never married or in union 51 97 COUNTRY PROFILES: MADAGASCAR 49 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 116. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 117. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 5 Never married or in union 100 80 25 22 Married or in union before age 18 34 36 60 18 40 69 8 30 20 Married or in union at or after age 18 49 9 15 0 25 12 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 118. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 91 85 78 80 69 60 65 56 52 40 36 38 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 50 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 119. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 +3917 35 1+4110+4 156+3 194+4 103 40 34 20 13 9 0 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 120. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -0.6 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 1.1 30.8 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2018 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: MADAGASCAR 51 Malawi Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 121. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 122. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 534,700 married or in union before age 18 2.2 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Malawi is home to over 2 million child brides; 4 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Married or in union before age 15 Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 38 53 4 32 19 8 17 0 9 5 42 9 Wealth quintile 60 49 52 46 40 41 33 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 22 19 Urban 14 Rural Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 51 40 20 52 Residence 80 No education Figure 124. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Richest Vulnerable populations Education 100 Secondary or higher Figure 123. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Malawi Country with the highest prevalence in the region Primary Regional and global comparisons Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 125. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 126. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 3 51 33 11 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 2 Married or in union at or after age 18 5 60 25 9 2 16 5 14 0 20 Partner is: 40 60 80 65 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 127. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 78 75 68 67 60 51 40 36 28 20 20 18 17 11 8 4 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family 8 Education Figure 128. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Currently married or in union n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 20 Never married or in union 80 93 COUNTRY PROFILES: MALAWI 53 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 129. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 130. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 23 100 80 Married or in union before age 18 34 38 38 60 11 4 40 39 62 29 20 11 0 Married or in union at or after age 18 57 10 5 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 131. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 98 100 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 81 98 99 ■ Never married or in union 96 97 97 77 60 46 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 54 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 132. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 49 40 38 20 12 8 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 133. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.0 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 2.4 36.3 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019–2020 unless otherwise noted. Data in the Autonomy, Empowerment and Violence graph are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: MALAWI 55 Mozambique Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: 16 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 134. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 135. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 1.6 million married or in union before age 18 4.4 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Mozambique is home to over 4 million child brides; 1 in 2 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 136. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union before age 15 Mozambique Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 53 53 4 32 19 17 17 0 9 5 53 17 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 137. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 71 59 60 66 65 64 62 50 38 40 31 28 56 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Urban Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second 0 Poorest 20 Characteristics of unions Types of unions Figure 138. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/missing data 52+39+36A 3 6 51 39 Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 139. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 81 80 78 60 42 40 41 36 21 20 14 10 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account 14 n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family 15 n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months COUNTRY PROFILES: MOZAMBIQUE 57 Lives of child brides (continued) Education Figure 140. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data 10 31 Never married or in union Currently married or in union 69 91 Reproductive health Figure 141. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 89 88 90 84 80 66 59 60 58 55 51 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 58 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 142. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 53 51 40 20 20 0 17 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 143. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -0.2 10 years -0.2 Observed in the past Required for elimination by 26.5 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the AIDS Indicator Survey 2015 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: MOZAMBIQUE 59 Namibia Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 | with exceptions: 0 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 144. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 145. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 15,500 married or in union before age 18 64,200 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Namibia is home to over 64,000 child brides; 1 in 14 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 146. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Namibia Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 7 53 4 32 19 2 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 147. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 40 60 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 23 11 Urban 4 Rural Primary Secondary or higher 5 1 No education 6 Richest 7 Fourth 10 Middle 18 Second 0 15 Poorest 20 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 148. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 149. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 1 34 24 39 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 3 Married or in union at or after age 18 9 42 0 20 Partner is: 17 30 40 60 1 80 2 10 18 100 71 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 150. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 86 78 80 60 43 40 31 40 36 35 33 30 25 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family 4 Education Figure 151. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Currently married or in union 96 n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 12 Never married or in union 88 COUNTRY PROFILES: NAMIBIA 61 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 152. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 153. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 4 Never married or in union 26 100 37 80 Married or in union before age 18 31 33 60 19 40 27 59 20 11 17 Married or in union at or after age 18 60 10 21 10 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 154. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 96 98 97 92 94 83 82 77 ■ Never married or in union 70 60 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 62 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 155. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 20 11 0 7 2 2 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 156. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 2.0 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 1.6 11.4 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2013 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: NAMIBIA 63 Rwanda Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 157. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 158. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 36,600 married or in union before age 18 346,600 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Rwanda is home to over 346,000 child brides; 1 in 20 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 159. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 Rwanda Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 6 53 4 32 19 0 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 160. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 64 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 3 6 4 Urban 8 Rural Fourth 2 No education 5 Richest 7 Middle 13 6 Second 0 Poorest 10 Primary 20 Secondary or higher 40 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 161. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 162. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 50 27 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 23 Married or in union at or after age 18 9 48 0 20 31 40 13 60 80 13 100 87 Partner is: ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 163. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 90 86 79 80 79 66 63 60 54 53 45 41 40 18 20 12 5 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months COUNTRY PROFILES: RWANDA 65 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 164. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 165. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 21 100 27 Married or in union before age 18 80 51 50 60 21 40 5 20 44 Married or in union at or after age 18 42 22 33 7 3 3 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 166. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 99 100 82 98 97 ■ Never married or in union 97 97 96 85 80 60 60 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 66 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 167. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 20 17 6 0 2 1994 1999 2004 2009 0 2019 2014 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 168. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 4.4 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 3.4 15.6 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2019–2020 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, Online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: RWANDA 67 Somalia Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: n/a | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 169. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 170. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 642,200 married or in union before age 15 100 80 1.4 million married or in union before age 18 60 56 40 36 23 20 Somalia is home to over 1 million child brides; 4 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 171. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 0 Central South North East North West Somalia Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 35 53 4 32 19 17 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 172. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 58 60 56 44 52 43 52 41 40 35 28 20 68 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Urban Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 11 24+3134+30+2824+98 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 173. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 174. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 79+2+19A Married or in union before age 18 2 31 30 28 9 Married or in union at or after age 18 4 34 0 20 Partner is: 30 40 24 60 8 80 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 19 2 100 78 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 175. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 80 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 79 73 60 40 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data 1 n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family Education Figure 176. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a Believes wife-beating is justified n/a n/a n/a Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 16 Currently married or in union Never married or in union 40 60 84 COUNTRY PROFILES: SOMALIA 69 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 177. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 178. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 5 Never married or in union 18 100 Married or in union before age 18 39 80 39 36 60 15 28 40 20 Married or in union at or after age 18 51 36 24 0.3 0.1 2 0 20 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 179. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 60 40 37 32 28 24 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Demand for family planning satisfied 70 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA n/a Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 180. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 39+48 6+510+4191+474+485 45 40 39 20 8 0 8 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 181. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -0.6 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 8.0 15.9 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data on the national prevalence and burden of child marriage, as displayed in Figure 169 and Figure 171, are sourced from the Somali Health and Demographic Survey 2020. The datasets for this survey were not available for the analysis required for the remaining figures in this profile, so all other figures use data sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: SOMALIA 71 South Africa Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: 15 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 182. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 183. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 364,000 married or in union before age 18 1.6 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher South Africa is home to over 1 million child brides; 1 in 28 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 184. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 South Africa Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 4 53 4 32 19 1 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 185. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 40 36 72 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Richest No education 2 4 3 Urban n/a Rural 0 Secondary or higher 2 Primary 2 Fourth 8 Second 0 Poorest 5 Middle 20 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Figure 186. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Married or in union before age 18 6 46 20 28 Married or in union at or after age 18 5 46 0 33 20 40 Partner is: 16 60 80 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 187. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 96 90 80 60 50 51 41 40 30 21 21 20 13 11 8 7 5 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months COUNTRY PROFILES: SOUTH AFRICA 73 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 188. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 189. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 9 Never married or in union 15 100 Married or in union before age 18 80 20 56 60 41 23 40 26 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 56 6 20 28 18 15 18 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 190. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 100 93 80 80 96 ■ Never married or in union 100 96 96 83 70 60 43 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 74 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 191. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 20 11 0 4 1 2 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 192. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 4.6 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 6.7 9.1 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2016 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: SOUTH AFRICA 75 South Sudan Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 | with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 193. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 194. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 232,500 married or in union before age 18 1.3 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher South Sudan is home to over 1 million child brides; 1 in 2 young women were married or in union in childhood Married or in union before age 15 Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 52 53 4 32 19 9 17 0 9 5 52 9 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 196. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 60 53 52 52 53 55 48 49 52 51 Urban Figure 195. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Married or in union before age 18 South Sudan Country with the highest prevalence in the region Rural Regional and global comparisons 40 76 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 Secondary or higher 20 20 80+10+136A Characteristics of unions Types of unions Figure 197. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status 1 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/missing data 3 6 10 80 Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 198. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 83 80 75 68 60 40 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months n/a Education n/a n/a Believes wife-beating is justified n/a n/a Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 10 Figure 199. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family Currently married or in union Never married or in union 44 56 90 COUNTRY PROFILES: SOUTH SUDAN 77 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 200. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Never married or in union 100 80 60 20 40 23 46 20 11 0 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 Reproductive health Figure 201. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 60 49 44 40 27 21 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Demand for family planning satisfied 78 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA n/a Skilled antenatal care n/a Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 202. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 32+3562+369+465+591+592 52 40 32 20 5 0 9 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 203. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -1.9 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by -1.4 19.7 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2010 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: SOUTH SUDAN 79 Uganda Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 I with exceptions: 18 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 204. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 205. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 1.3 million married or in union before age 18 4.7 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Uganda is home to nearly 5 million child brides; 1 in 3 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 206. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Uganda Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 34 53 4 32 19 7 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Vulnerable populations Figure 207. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Education Residence 100 80 66 60 54 49 46 40 37 40 28 80 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Rural Secondary or higher Primary Urban 20 15 No education Fourth Middle Second Poorest 0 Richest 17 20 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 208. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 209. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 2 45 34 Married or in union at or after age 18 4 53 0 28 20 Partner is: 40 15 60 80 13 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 19 20 1 100 66 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 210. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 80 80 69 68 66 57 60 50 49 38 40 20 37 17 10 5 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 6 Education Figure 211. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a 27 Currently married or in union Never married or in union 74 95 COUNTRY PROFILES: UGANDA 81 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 212. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 213. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 2 Never married or in union 22 100 80 35 Married or in union before age 18 30 41 60 16 40 6 65 Married or in union at or after age 18 33 20 12 0 51 27 9 6 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 214. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 98 100 98 ■ Never married or in union 95 91 84 80 74 63 60 53 49 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 82 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 215. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 51 40 34 20 16 7 0 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 216. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.7 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 2.9 25.2 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2016 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: UGANDA 83 United Republic of Tanzania Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 I with exceptions: 14 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 217. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 218. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 1.2 million married or in union before age 18 5.7 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher The United Republic of Tanzania is home to nearly 6 million child brides; 3 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 219. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 United Republic of Tanzania Country with the highest prevalence in the region 31 53 5 17 Married or in union before age 18 Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 4 32 19 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile 65 60 47 40 27 20 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 18 9 Primary Fourth Middle Second 12 Poorest 0 38 Urban 33 Secondary or higher 40 Rural 49 84 Residence 80 No education Figure 220. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Richest Vulnerable populations Education 100 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 221. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 222. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 1 36 39 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 24 Married or in union at or after age 18 3 46 0 33 20 Partner is: 40 18 60 6 80 4 30 61 100 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 223. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 83 80 76 66 66 60 50 48 53 63 49 49 40 37 28 20 20 n/a 0 Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 2 Education Figure 224. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a Currently married or in union 48 Never married or in union 52 98 COUNTRY PROFILES: UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA 85 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 225. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 226. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 3 Never married or in union 26 25 100 Married or in union before age 18 80 39 46 60 17 40 7 20 54 29 13 11 0 Married or in union at or after age 18 46 30 5 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 227. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 98 100 99 ■ Never married or in union 98 87 80 60 75 54 54 58 58 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 86 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 228. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 41 31 20 8 0 5 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 229. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.2 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 1.8 22.8 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA 87 Zambia Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 21 I with exceptions: 16 Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 230. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 231. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 396,500 married or in union before age 18 1.8 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Zambia is home to nearly 2 million child brides; 3 in 10 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 232. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Zambia Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 29 53 4 32 19 5 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile Figure 233. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Residence 80 60 45 40 51 52 42 39 34 25 20 88 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Rural Secondary or higher Primary No education Richest Fourth Middle Second Poorest 9 0 19 15 Urban Vulnerable populations Education 100 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 234. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 235. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 2 47 Married or in union at or after age 18 3 54 0 31 20 Partner is: 40 60 4 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 11 40 12 80 5 100 91 ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 236. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 75 66 57 60 46 40 40 39 34 20 0 51 46 31 15 7 3 n/a Has a bank account Had a job in the past 12 months Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 3 Education Figure 237. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status n/a 28 Currently married or in union Never married or in union 72 97 COUNTRY PROFILES: ZAMBIA 89 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing 42+36+202G 67+20+49G Figure 238. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 239. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 2 Never married or in union 20 100 80 42 Married or in union before age 18 25 36 60 40 9 4 70 38 20 20 17 Married or in union at or after age 18 67 19 12 0 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 240. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 100 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 96 98 ■ Never married or in union 98 87 80 80 70 60 90 70 59 40 20 0 Demand for family planning satisfied 90 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 241. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 47 40 29 20 9 0 5 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 242. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years 1.9 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by 2.8 28.1 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Demographic and Health Survey 2018 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ZAMBIA 91 Zimbabwe Minimum legal age of marriage for girls: 18 I with exceptions: n/a Current levels of child marriage Burden of child marriage Prevalence of child marriage Figure 243. Number of girls and women of all ages who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Figure 244. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 married or in union before age 15 241,000 married or in union before age 18 1.4 million 0 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 70 71 or higher Zimbabwe is home to over 1 million child brides; 1 in 3 young women were married or in union in childhood Regional and global comparisons Figure 245. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 Zimbabwe Country with the highest prevalence in the region Country with the lowest prevalence in the region Eastern and Southern Africa World 34 53 4 32 19 5 17 0 9 5 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union before age 15 Wealth quintile 63 51 52 44 40 31 20 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 21 13 Urban Rural Secondary or higher Fourth Middle Second n/a Poorest 0 27 Primary 60 40 92 Residence 80 No education Figure 246. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by wealth quintile, education and residence Richest Vulnerable populations Education 100 Characteristics of unions Spousal age gap Types of unions Figure 247. Percentage distribution of currently married women aged 20 to 24 years by the age gap between the women and their partners Figure 248. Percentage distribution of ever-married girls aged 15 to 17 years by current marital status Married or in union before age 18 1 35 41 23 Married Informal union Widowed Divorced Separated Don’t know/ missing data 1 Married or in union at or after age 18 2 42 0 38 20 40 18 60 1 80 7 2 10 100 81 Partner is: ■ Younger ■ 0 to 4 years older ■ 5 to 9 years older ■ 10+ years older ■ Don’t know/missing data Lives of child brides Autonomy, empowerment and violence Figure 249. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who have an account at a bank or other financial institution, who have had a job in the past 12 months, who usually decide (alone or with their spouses) about visits to the women’s families, who believe wife-beating is justified and who have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 ■ Never married or in union 100 80 60 46 40 33 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Has a bank account n/a n/a Had a job in the past 12 months Education Figure 250. Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 17 years by schooling status In school Out of school Don’t know/missing data n/a n/a n/a n/a Has a say in decisionmaking about visits to her family n/a n/a n/a n/a Believes wife-beating is justified Experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months 100 32 Currently married or in union Never married or in union 68 COUNTRY PROFILES: ZIMBABWE 93 Lives of child brides (continued) Early childbearing Figure 251. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth before ages 18 and 20 Married or in union before age 18 Married or in union at or after age 18 Figure 252. Percentage distribution of ever-married women aged 20 to 24 years by timing of pregnancy and marriage 1 Never married or in union 20 100 80 37 Married or in union before age 18 36 42 60 17 40 4 Married or in union at or after age 18 61 35 20 50 29 6 0 7 4 ■ Gave birth before age 18 ■ Gave birth at or after age 18 but before age 20 ■ Pregnant before marriage ■ Pregnant within 1 year of marriage ■ Pregnant after 1 year of marriage ■ Never gave birth Reproductive health Figure 253. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years whose demand for family planning is satisfied by a modern method, who received antenatal care from a skilled provider during their last pregnancy and who had a skilled attendant during their last live birth ■ Married or in union before age 18 ■ Married or in union at or after age 18 97 100 ■ Never married or in union 99 93 90 94 81 80 60 40 20 0 n/a n/a n/a Demand for family planning satisfied 94 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Skilled antenatal care Skilled attendant at delivery Generational trends Figure 254. Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before ages 15 and 18 –– Married or in union before age 18 –– Married or in union before age 15 100 80 60 40 34 31 20 6 0 5 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Looking ahead to ending child marriage Observed and required rates of progress Figure 255. Average annual rate of reduction (%) in the percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, observed and required for elimination 25 years -0.4 Observed in the past 10 years Required for elimination by -0.9 32 2030 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 NOTES: Data are sourced from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 unless otherwise noted. Data on the legal age at marriage are sourced from the World Bank, Women, Business and the Law, 2018 dataset. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. Maps do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Confidence intervals are not shown in this profile; therefore caution is warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences may not be significant. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriage and informal unions in which women started living together with a partner as if married. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable available data from 2005 to 2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the female population. Trends in the prevalence of child marriage were calculated taking into account data from all available surveys. For statistical purposes, ‘elimination’ is defined here as a child marriage prevalence of less than 1 per cent. Values presented are based on at least 25 unweighted cases. Data for some indicators and population groups are suppressed due to insufficient numbers of cases to perform the analysis. Indicators marked as ‘n/a’ indicate either the value was suppressed or data were not collected. Numbers expressed in thousands and/or millions have been rounded. Figures in stacked bar and donut charts may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. COUNTRY PROFILES: ZIMBABWE 95 © UNICEF/UN0297630/Adriko Ending child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa As the data presented in this report attest, child marriage remains widespread in Eastern and Southern Africa. Currently, nearly one third (32 per cent) of the region’s young women reported that they were married or in union before age 18. While some countries have been able to reduce the prevalence of child marriage over time, progress has been slow and unable to catch up with population growth. This means that millions of girls are expected to be married over the next decade. To end child marriage by 2030, the region needs to further concentrate and accelerate efforts. This involves a focus on the root causes of the practice, including social norms, patriarchal structures and age-based discrimination. Because of the large – and growing – population of children in the region, there is an urgent need to scale up effective interventions. Furthermore, governments require support to implement and finance gender-responsive or gendertransformative laws, policies and systems. A comprehensive and holistic programme approach is necessary to address child marriage in the region, and the goal is to take the following strategies to scale: Adopt a system-wide approach to prevention. A strong policy framework to underpin efforts to turn the tide towards eliminating child marriage is essential. Efforts should be made to conduct multisectoral interventions at all levels – from a strong national policy environment to actions that effectively reach individuals and communities. 96 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA Synergy among programmes at national, community and individual levels should also be encouraged. Addressing child marriage requires adequate resources to operate programmes effectively across line ministries in the social sector. All of the four countries in the region implementing the UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme (see panel, p. 97) have costed national plans of action to end the practice. Budget briefs that capture allocations for government and development partner interventions that contribute to ending child marriage must also be developed, which can be used to advocate for increased funding. Undertaking such actions will encourage governments to invest in families and communities through interventions that combine gender-responsive social protection with improved access to quality education, provision of adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, and protection measures that prevent and respond to violence against children, especially girls. Focus on girls’ education and empowerment. A girl’s education is among the strongest predictors of early marriage. Therefore, as a prevention strategy, efforts to keep girls in school should be enhanced. Collaboration between the education sector and partners working on child marriage needs to be promoted. In addition to their participation in formal education, girls can be reached through initiatives that offer life skills, legal literacy and information and services related to sexual and reproductive health, including menstrual hygiene. Such initiatives equip girls with the knowledge and skills they need to access services and to negotiate and influence decisions in their households and communities. Promote positive social norms, gender norm change and attitudes and behaviours that encourage gender equality among adolescents, families and communities. Men and boys should not be left out of child marriage programming, and their engagement – particularly to change attitudes and beliefs on early marriage – should be adopted as a primary objective in all child marriage prevention programmes. Provide services to support adolescents in normal and emergency settings. Child brides are disadvantaged compared to their peers who marry later in terms of education, reproductive health, employment and even exposure to violence. Quality social services for adolescents need to be available and accessible, including those that address sexual and reproductive health. Adolescent pregnancy outside of marriage, or the fear that adolescent girls will get pregnant, also helps fuel child marriage. Limited access to reproductive health information and services for both unmarried and married adolescents contributes to this situation. Girls and boys have a right to information about their bodies, pregnancy, family planning and healthy relationships. In Africa, adolescent sexuality is often a taboo topic; however, equipping young people with information and access to services is essential for tackling child marriage and gender-based violence. Lessons from COVID-19 containment measures, such as lockdowns and restrictions of mobility, point to the need to classify such services for adolescents as critical and essential in national disaster preparedness plans in order to ensure their continuity. Address the economic drivers of child marriage. Poverty is a key driver of child marriage. Therefore, interventions that improve the socioeconomic status of families may be helpful in curtailing the practice and need to be considered in efforts to end it. Providing economic support and incentives for girls to remain unmarried and in school is just one aspect of these efforts. Additionally, there is a need to invest in adolescent girl-focused social protection schemes that help build alternative life trajectories for girls. Strengthen data and evidence. Quality data and evidence are needed to improve policies and programmes to end child marriage. Efforts to maximize the use of available data should be encouraged, including analysis of these data and the production of data-driven materials tailored to their audience and purpose. In 2016, UNICEF, together with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), launched the Global Programme to End Child Marriage in 12 countries with a high prevalence and/ or high burden of child marriage. These 12 countries include 4 in Eastern and Southern Africa: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. The programme works to address the complex sociocultural and structural factors that underpin the practice, with the goal of ending child marriage by 2030. Five approaches are being used to encourage reductions in the practice: (1) increasing the agency of and resources for adolescents – especially girls – at risk of or affected by child marriage, (2) enhancing legal and development policy frameworks to protect the rights of adolescent girls and boys, (3) using robust evidence for advocacy, programming, learning and tracking of progress, (4) improving systems and services that respond to the needs of adolescents at risk of or affected by child marriage and (5) expanding investment in girls and shifting social expectations of girls and boys (including through the engagement of women and men). ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 97 Technical notes To assess the prevalence of child marriage, this analysis used SDG indicator 5.3.1: Proportion of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before age 18. All references to ‘marriage’ or ‘child brides’ include both formal marriages and informal unions in which women started living with a partner before age 18 as if married. The number of child brides is defined as the number of girls under 18 who have already married plus the number of adult women who were married before age 18. This is calculated using the estimated prevalence of child marriage among each age cohort, applied to the female population in the respective cohort. This method relies on both household survey data for prevalence and demographic data for the size of the population. These total numbers refer to the population in 2020. The percentage of currently married adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 years should not be interpreted as indicative of the risk of being married in childhood. Any prevalence measure among girls under age 18 will be an underestimate of the full extent of the practice, since girls who are unmarried at the time of data collection may still marry before their 18th birthday. Confidence intervals are not shown in this publication. Caution is therefore warranted in interpreting the results since apparent differences among groups may 98 CHILD MARRIAGE IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA not be significant. Key messages were developed taking confidence intervals into account; in cases where the title indicates a difference among various population groups or countries, it has been confirmed as statistically significant. In this publication, data for the region of Eastern and Southern Africa reflect the set of countries outlined by the mandate of UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, thus aggregate values may differ from those included in other UNICEF publications that are based on a geographical classification of countries. Global estimates are based on a subset of 101 countries with comparable data from 2015–2021, covering 77 per cent of the global female population. Regional estimates represent data covering at least 50 per cent of the regional population. This analysis draws on data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and other nationally representative household surveys that use comparable methodology. For detailed source information by country, see <data.unicef.org>. Demographic data are from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2019, online edition, 2019. © UNICEF/UNI377887/Bongyereirwe TECHNICAL NOTES 99 Key facts on child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa • Eastern and Southern Africa stands among the regions with the highest prevalence of child marriage • The region is home to over 50 million child brides, with the largest share in Ethiopia • While levels of child marriage vary widely in the region, 2 of the 10 countries with the highest levels in the world are found here • Child marriage also occurs among boys: In 3 countries in the region, at least 1 in 10 young men were first married in childhood • The risk of child marriage varies substantially across population groups, with the highest levels seen in the poorest households, among those with little or no education and in rural areas • Child marriage takes different forms across countries: In some countries, such as Angola and Uganda, informal unions are the predominant type, whereas in other countries nearly all are formal marriages • Across countries, the majority of married adolescent girls do not attend school • Child marriage is closely linked to early childbearing: In nearly all the countries profiled, the majority of child brides also gave birth before age 18 • Child marriage has become less common, but the region remains off track for reaching the SDG target of eliminating child marriage by 2030 • Among high-prevalence countries, Ethiopia and Zambia have made the greatest progress in reducing levels of child marriage in the past 25 years; still, like all other countries in the region, they need a substantial acceleration of progress to eliminate the practice © UNICEF/UN0249508/Marques • If progress is not accelerated, an additional 20 million girls in Eastern and Southern Africa will become child brides in the next decade UNICEF Data and Analytics Section Division of Data, Analytics, Planning and Monitoring 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office P.O. Box 44145 Nairobi, Kenya 00100 Email: data@unicef.org Website: data.unicef.org Website: unicef.org/esa