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