How many girls are affected by child marriage?

How many girls are affected by child marriage?

The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates more than 650 million women alive today were married before the age of 18. In 2016, another 5.6 million girls under the age of 18 become child brides. At its core, child marriage is a violation of child protection and human rights.

What are the negative effects of child marriage?

Almost half (45%) of all women aged 20-24 years reported being married before the age of 18. Almost one in five girls (17%) are married before the age of 15. Child marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse.

Which country has the highest rate of child marriage 2020?

India has the largest number of child brides in the world. As of 2020, India counted 15.6 million women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in a partnership before the age of 18. Bangladesh and Nigeria followed with 4.4 million and 3.7 million young women who were married before they were 18 years old.

How many girls are forced to marry each year?

Each year, another 12 million girls under the age of 18 become child brides.

Which country has lowest child marriage?

In Albania, although the legal minimum age is 18, under-age marriages continue, mostly in rural areas and within Roma communities. According to action group Girls Not Brides, one in three girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18.

Are there still child brides?

The practice of child marriage is slowly declining. Progress is most dramatic when it comes to the marriage of girls under 15 years of age. Globally, 1 in 4 young women alive today were married in childhood versus 1 in 3 in the early 1980s.

At what age should a girl marry?

The current minimum age of marriage is 21 and 18 for men and women, respectively in India, approved by the amendment of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 in 1978. The same is recommended by the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

What country has the worst child marriage?

In Niger, which is estimated as having the highest rate of child marriage in the world, about 3 in 4 girls marry before their 18th birthday. Boys are sometimes married as children; UNICEF states that “girls [are] disproportionately affected by the practice.

Can you marry a 12 year old in America?

This is a fact! While 18 is the minimum marriage age in most states, there are exceptions in every state that allow children younger than 18 to marry, typically with parental consent or judicial approval.

What country has the youngest age to marry?

Out of all of the countries in the world, Chad has the youngest average age of first marriage at 19.2 years. Two African countries, Niger and Mozambique, come in the second and the third positions with 19.4 and 19.6 years respectively.

Where is the highest rate of child marriage?

Child marriage affects both girls and boys, but it affects girls disproportionately, especially in South Asia. South Asia has the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Almost half (45%) of all women aged 20-24 years reported being married before the age of 18. Almost one in five girls (17%) are married before the age of 15.

Why are so many countries against child marriage?

Even in countries with laws against child marriage, cultural and traditional practices may outweigh national laws established to protect girls. Child marriage hurts entire communities by contributing to an ongoing cycle of poor health, poverty, and gender discrimination.

How many girls will be married as children?

More than 650 million women already suffer the direct consequences of child marriage. At current rates, 150 million more girls will be married as children by 2030

How many child marriages are prevented each year?

Recent data show that 25 million child marriages were prevented in the last decade. Around 2000, one in three women between the ages of 20 and 24 reported they had been married as children. In 2018, this number is around one in five. Still, progress has been uneven, and child marriage is not declining fast enough.