Every 3 seconds a girl gets married somewhere in the world
Global trends & SDG progress
Ending child marriage by 2030 is a target embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals. How far have countries progressed towards this target? And how much remains to be achieved?
Marriage before the age of 18 is a fundamental violation of human rights. Today, this practice threatens the lives, well-being and futures of millions of girls around the world.
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India alone accounts for one third of the world's child brides
Number of girls and women first married or in union before age 18, by country
Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, Is an End to Child Marriage within Reach? Latest trends and future prospects. 2023 update, UNICEF, New York, 2023.
IN FRAGILE COUNTRIES, CHILD MARRIAGE IS NEARLY 2 TIMES MORE COMMON
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, worldwide and in countries with high levels of institutional and social fragility
Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, Towards Ending Child Marriage: Global trends and profiles of progress, UNICEF, New York, 2021.
Notes: According to the Revised Classification of Fragility and Conflict Situations for World Bank Group Engagement, fragile countries are defined as those with one or more of the following: (a) the weakest institutional and policy environment (as measured using a set of 16 criteria grouped into four clusters: economic management, structural policies, policies for social inclusion and equity, and public sector management and institutions), (b) the presence of a UN peacekeeping operation, since this reflects a decision by the international community that a significant investment is needed to maintain peace and stability, or (c) flight across borders of 2,000 or more per 100,000 population, who are internationally regarded as refugees in need of international protection, as this signals a major political or security crisis.
Early pregnancy is closely tied to child marriage
Most childbearing (76%) among girls under age 18 occurs within the context of marriage, illustrating that child marriage is a major pathway towards early pregnancy.
Source: Molitoris, Joseph, et al., ‘Early Childbearing and Child Marriage: An update’, Studies in Family Planning, first published 5 July 2023.
When girls marry, they rarely remain in school
Percentage distribution of adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 years currently married or in union, by schooling status
Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The Power of Education to End Child Marriage, UNICEF, New York, 2022.
Across all regions, the gap in child marriage prevalence between the richest and poorest households has widened
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18, by region and by wealth quintile
Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, Is an End to Child Marriage within Reach? Latest trends and future prospects. 2023 update, UNICEF, New York, 2023.
Impacts from the polycrisis elevate the risk of child marriage
Public-health crises, armed conflicts and climate change all contribute to a more precarious world in which families may seek 'refuge' for their girls in marriage.
Read more about the magnitude of this impact here: https://data.unicef.org/resources/is-an-end-to-child-marriage-within-reach/
Country Profiles
Countries face different challenges in ending the practice and have varying rates of success. Explore the main indicators associated with child marriage in any country or region.
Child marriage robs girls of agency and bodily autonomy, often undermining their emotional, sexual and reproductive health. Data have the power to accelerate progress in ending this harmful practice by 2030, as called for in the Sustainable Development Goals. Read a brief overview of the Child Marriage Data Portal: its purpose, content and features.
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