What Is the Youngest Legal Age to Marry in the World

In Russia before 1830, the age of consent was 15 for men and 13 for women[35] (although 15 was preferred for women, so much so that it was included in the Code of Laws of 1649). [36] Adolescent marriage was practiced for reasons of chastity. Teenage girls and teens needed their parents` consent to marry because they were under the age of 20, the age of majority. In 1830, the age of consent was raised to 18 for men and 16 for women[35] (although 18 was preferred for women). The average age of marriage for women is about 19 years. [37] [38] Here is an overview of some countries and their legal age of marriage and how they compare to India. In Tanzania, Muslim and Hindu girls can marry at the age of 12, as long as the marriage is not consummated before the age of 15. Some countries also have different age requirements, depending on religious affiliation. For example, in the Philippines, couples must be 21 years old to marry without permission, unless they are Muslim; Muslim boys can marry at 15 and Muslim girls can marry during puberty. And in Tanzania, Muslim and Hindu girls can marry at the age of 12, as long as the marriage is not consummated until the girl turns 15. The Dharmaśāstras stipulate that women cannot marry until they have reached puberty. However, there is no fixed age in Hinduism, as the religion is not subject to any institution.

[295] Almost every country in the world has laws that determine the age at which a couple can marry, and in most of these countries, people under the age of 18 are allowed to marry. In fact, at least 117 countries (including the U.S.) allow children to marry, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data on 198 countries and territories from the U.S. State Department and the United Nations. During the 20th century, most Middle Eastern countries followed the Ottoman precedent in defining the age of proficiency, while increasing the minimum age to 15 or 16 for boys and 15 to 16 for girls. A marriage that has not yet reached the age of majority requires the consent of a judge and the child`s legal guardian. Egypt has departed from this pattern by setting age limits of 18 for boys and 16 for girls, without distinguishing between jurisdiction to marry and the minimum age. [292] There is ample evidence that the practice of child marriage perpetuates gender-based discrimination and threatens the health and life chances of girls and women worldwide. In conjunction with effective enforcement mechanisms, legal instruments of international agreements are widely recognised as an important tool for reducing the burden of child marriage worldwide. Although progress has been made in establishing a legal floor that protects girls under the age of 18 from marriage, significant gaps remain in the introduction of laws that ensure gender parity and effectively make marriage under 18 illegal. There are a number of other common cases where countries allow by law to lower the minimum age of marriage, including, but not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, approval by a medical or other expert, or a judge or other government official.

Including these additional exceptions, we find that only 16 countries in the world prohibit marriage for girls under the age of 18. In 71 countries, there is no explicit minimum age for marriage under these conditions. In 11 countries, girls can be married from 9 to 13 years old or during puberty, in 21 countries they can be married at 14 or 15 years old and in 55 countries they can be married at 16 or 17 years old. While in many countries the age of 18 legally means the end of childhood, the age of marriage does not always – legally or otherwise – correspond to the age of majority. Most countries (153 out of 198) require that people who want to marry be adults (18 years or older). But many of these countries have some sort of exemption from this requirement. For example, in Australia, if a person is at least 18 years old, his or her spouse can be as young as 16 years old (with judicial approval). And in many other countries, such as Iraq, Jamaica and Uruguay, children can marry with parental permission. In many countries, laws stipulate that minors with parental permission or consent can legally be married younger than the general minimum age. Given that most child marriages are concluded with parental consent and participation, this exception may undermine legal protection against early marriage. Therefore, we record these exceptions separately. This variable has been defined as the minimum age of marriage under the parental consent exception or, if there is no exception based on parental consent, the general minimum age of marriage.

Some states have different minimum ages for men and women, with or without parental consent. For example, in Mississippi, the age of consent to marriage with parental consent is 17 for men and 15 for women. The proportion of countries where girls were allowed to marry with parental consent declined more markedly 18 years ago (see Figure 6). In 1995, 80% of the 106 countries in our longitudinal sample allowed girls under the age of 18 to marry if their parents consented. This share fell to 75% in 2000, 67% in 2005, 58% in 2010 and 57% in 2013 (see Figure 6). In the 18 years from 1995 to 2013, 31% of countries raised the minimum legal age of marriage for girls with parental consent; In 5% of these countries, however, the minimum age remained below 18. Forty-eight percent allowed marriage before the age of 18 with parental consent in 1995 and did not change their laws in 2013. In addition, in two countries, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka, the wording of the legislation has been amended to allow girls with parental consent to be married earlier, while Yemen abolishes all explicit minimum age requirements for marriage. In response to the many threats that child marriage poses to the health and development of child brides, their children and wider communities, as well as the discriminatory nature of the practice, many international agreements have called for government action. Through the 1962 Convention on the Punishment of Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action and Declaration of Action, almost every government in the world has agreed to take action to eliminate the practice of child marriage.