This report is a clarion call to decision makers, parents, communities and to the world to end child marriage. It documents the current scope, prevalence and inequities associated with child marriage and highlights that by 2020, some 142 million girls will be married by their 18th birthday if current trends continue.
This translates into 37,000 girls married each day. Child marriage jeopardizes girls’ rights and stands in the way of girls living educated, healthy and productive lives. It also excludes girls from fundamental decisions, such as the timing of marriage and choice of spouse. Girls living in rural areas of the developing world are twice as likely to be married before age 18 as their urban counterparts, and girls with no education are over three times more likely to do so than those with secondary or higher education.
