Share of women (ages 20–24) married before age 18
Percent of women aged 20–24 who were first married or in union before age 18, based on DHS/MICS household surveys compiled by UNICEF.
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Key Insights
- •The prevalence ranges from near-zero in some high-income countries to well over 50% in several Sahel and Central African countries.
- •Child marriage remains widespread across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, often correlating with lower female secondary-school completion.
- •Because this is measured among women 20–24, changes reflect relatively recent progress compared with older cohorts.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 16.3%)
About This Statistic
This indicator measures the prevalence of child marriage by estimating the share of women aged 20–24 who were first married or in a union before their 18th birthday. Using the 20–24 age group helps capture relatively recent marriage patterns while allowing most respondents to have passed the age threshold.
UNICEF compiles this metric primarily from nationally representative household surveys (notably Demographic and Health Surveys—DHS—and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys—MICS), and publishes harmonized country estimates. The statistic is widely used to track progress toward SDG target 5.3 (eliminate child marriage) and to identify where legal, educational, and economic interventions are most urgently needed.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niger | 76.0% |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 66.0% |
| 3 | Chad | 61.0% |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 59.0% |
| 5 | Mali | 54.0% |
| 6 | Central African Republic | 52.0% |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 52.0% |
| 8 | Angola | 51.0% |
| 9 | Armenia | 47.0% |
| 10 | Guinea | 46.0% |
| 11 | Somalia | 45.0% |
| 12 | Bolivia | 44.0% |
| 13 | Nigeria | 43.0% |
| 14 | Malawi | 42.0% |
| 15 | Madagascar | 40.0% |
| 16 | Nepal | 40.0% |
| 17 | Bhutan | 40.0% |
| 18 | Eritrea | 37.0% |
| 19 | Mauritania | 37.0% |
| 20 | Dominican Republic | 36.0% |
| 21 | Liberia | 36.0% |
| 22 | Nicaragua | 35.0% |
| 23 | Belize | 35.0% |
| 24 | Zimbabwe | 34.0% |
| 25 | Sudan | 34.0% |
| 26 | Uganda | 34.0% |
| 27 | Republic of the Congo | 33.0% |
| 28 | Senegal | 31.0% |
| 29 | Republic of The Gambia | 30.0% |
| 30 | Guatemala | 30.0% |
| 31 | Yemen | 30.0% |
| 32 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 29.0% |
| 33 | United Republic of Tanzania | 29.0% |
| 34 | Zambia | 29.0% |
| 35 | Botswana | 29.0% |
| 36 | Solomon Islands | 28.0% |
| 37 | Venezuela | 27.0% |
| 38 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 26.0% |
| 39 | El Salvador | 25.0% |
| 40 | Cote d'Ivoire | 25.0% |
| 41 | Iraq | 24.0% |
| 42 | Togo | 24.0% |
| 43 | Colombia | 23.0% |
| 44 | India | 23.0% |
| 45 | Kenya | 23.0% |
| 46 | Mexico | 23.0% |
| 47 | Ecuador | 21.0% |
| 48 | Papua New Guinea | 21.0% |
| 49 | Peru | 21.0% |
| 50 | Burundi | 19.0% |
| 51 | Cambodia | 19.0% |
| 52 | Ethiopia | 19.0% |
| 53 | Tajikistan | 19.0% |
| 54 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 19.0% |
| 55 | Cameroon | 18.0% |
| 56 | Cuba | 18.0% |
| 57 | Ghana | 18.0% |
| 58 | Haiti | 18.0% |
| 59 | Pakistan | 18.0% |
| 60 | Paraguay | 18.0% |
| 61 | Honduras | 17.0% |
| 62 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 17.0% |
| 63 | Sierra Leone | 17.0% |
| 64 | Egypt | 17.0% |
| 65 | Myanmar | 16.0% |
| 66 | Türkiye | 15.0% |
| 67 | Georgia | 14.0% |
| 68 | Indonesia | 14.0% |
| 69 | Kyrgyzstan | 14.0% |
| 70 | Morocco | 14.0% |
| 71 | Philippines | 14.0% |
| 72 | Cape Verde | 13.0% |
| 73 | Costa Rica | 13.0% |
| 74 | Panama | 13.0% |
| 75 | Syrian Arab Republic | 13.0% |
| 76 | Trinidad and Tobago | 12.0% |
| 77 | Thailand | 11.0% |
| 78 | Australia | 11.0% |
| 79 | Malaysia | 10.0% |
| 80 | Moldova, Republic of | 10.0% |
| 81 | Vietnam | 10.0% |
| 82 | Uzbekistan | 10.0% |
| 83 | Albania | 10.0% |
| 84 | Barbados | 10.0% |
| 85 | Brunei Darussalam | 10.0% |
| 86 | Brazil | 9.0% |
| 87 | Jordan | 8.0% |
| 88 | Russian Federation | 8.0% |
| 89 | Chile | 7.0% |
| 90 | Kazakhstan | 7.0% |
| 91 | Montenegro | 7.0% |
| 92 | Namibia | 7.0% |
| 93 | Romania | 7.0% |
| 94 | Rwanda | 7.0% |
| 95 | Turkmenistan | 7.0% |
| 96 | Ukraine | 7.0% |
| 97 | Argentina | 7.0% |
| 98 | Comoros | 6.0% |
| 99 | Lebanon | 6.0% |
| 100 | Mauritius | 6.0% |
| 101 | Mongolia | 6.0% |
| 102 | Serbia | 6.0% |
| 103 | South Africa | 6.0% |
| 104 | Suriname | 6.0% |
| 105 | Uruguay | 6.0% |
| 106 | Gabon | 5.0% |
| 107 | Greece | 5.0% |
| 108 | Libya | 5.0% |
| 109 | Kuwait | 4.0% |
| 110 | Oman | 4.0% |
| 111 | Qatar | 4.0% |
| 112 | Saudi Arabia | 4.0% |
| 113 | Tunisia | 4.0% |
| 114 | Austria | 4.0% |
| 115 | Belarus | 3.0% |
| 116 | Fiji | 3.0% |
| 117 | Slovakia | 3.0% |
| 118 | United Arab Emirates | 3.0% |
| 119 | Bahrain | 3.0% |
| 120 | People's Republic of China | 2.0% |
| 121 | Croatia | 2.0% |
| 122 | Czech Republic | 2.0% |
| 123 | Estonia | 2.0% |
| 124 | Djibouti | 2.0% |
| 125 | Hungary | 2.0% |
| 126 | South Korea | 2.0% |
| 127 | Latvia | 2.0% |
| 128 | Lithuania | 2.0% |
| 129 | Luxembourg | 2.0% |
| 130 | Poland | 2.0% |
| 131 | Portugal | 2.0% |
| 132 | Slovenia | 2.0% |
| 133 | Spain | 2.0% |
| 134 | Andorra | 2.0% |
| 135 | Canada | 1.0% |
| 136 | Denmark | 1.0% |
| 137 | Finland | 1.0% |
| 138 | France | 1.0% |
| 139 | State of Palestine | 1.0% |
| 140 | Germany | 1.0% |
| 141 | Iceland | 1.0% |
| 142 | Ireland | 1.0% |
| 143 | Israel | 1.0% |
| 144 | North Korea | 1.0% |
| 145 | Netherlands | 1.0% |
| 146 | New Zealand | 1.0% |
| 147 | Norway | 1.0% |
| 148 | Singapore | 1.0% |
| 149 | Eswatini | 1.0% |
| 150 | Sweden | 1.0% |
| 151 | Switzerland | 1.0% |
| 152 | United Kingdom | 1.0% |
| 153 | United States of America | 1.0% |
| 154 | Afghanistan | 1.0% |
| 155 | Algeria | 1.0% |
| 156 | Belgium | 1.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from UNICEF (2024).
View Original Source