Child Marriage: Latest Trends and Future Prospects

Publication language
English
Pages
5pp
Date published
26 Jun 2018
Type
Factsheets and summaries
Keywords
Children & youth, Development & humanitarian aid, Protection, human rights & security

The practice of child marriage has continued to decline around the world. During the past decade, the proportion of young women who were married as children decreased by 15 per cent, from 1 in 4 (25%) to approximately 1 in 5 (21%). Still, approximately 650 million girls and women alive today were married before their 18th birthday. While the global reduction in child marriage is to be celebrated, no region is on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of eliminating this harmful practice by 2030.