Child marriage continues to affect girls disproportionately, with 23 girls reportedly marrying every minute globally, according to the Girls Not Brides campaign. Girls account for nine in 10 of those wed before the age of 18, often to much older men. The consequences include shortened education, increased risks of poverty and domestic abuse, and poor health, with high rates of maternal mortality.
A report in spring by the Center for Global Development thinktank estimated that child marriage results in an annual cost of $175 billion due to lost productivity and increased health risks.
Despite a global decline in child marriage rates over the last decade, with countries like Grenada, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Kuwait, and Portugal introducing bans last year, there are signs of regression elsewhere. In May, the Taliban reportedly issued a new judicial code enabling child marriage below the previous minimum age of 16 and preventing wives from ending marriages entered as children if their husbands object. Activists state that forced and early marriages have increased since the Taliban's return to power in 2021.
Child marriage rates are nearly double the global average in countries experiencing conflict or other crises, with over one in three girls marrying before 18, according to Girls Not Brides. The UN Population Fund reports that progress in Gaza, where child marriage rates dropped from over 28% in 2009 to just under 18% in 2022, has been reversed by the ongoing conflict, with case workers reporting steeply rising rates.
In Sierra Leone, which raised the minimum marriage age to 18 in 2024, the first trial has commenced regarding the forcible marriage of a 17-year-old. Four men, including the girl's father and alleged groom, face potential jail sentences of at least 15 years or fines under the new law.