1
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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Marriage Laws around the World
COUNTRY
CODED TEXT
Source
Additional sources
Afghanistan
Despite a law setting the legal minimum age for marriage at 16
(15 with the consent of a parent or guardian and the court) for girls
and 18 for boys, international and local observers continued to
report widespread early marriage. The media reported a 2014
survey by the Ministry of Public Health that sampled 24,032
households in all 34 provinces showed 53 percent of all women
ages 25-49 married by age 18 and 21 percent by age 15.
According to the Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan,
17.3 percent of girls ages 15 to 19 and 66.2 percent of girls ages
20 to 24 were married. During the EVAW law debate,
conservative politicians publicly stated it was un-Islamic to ban the
marriage of girls younger than 16. Under the EVAW law, those
who arrange forced or underage marriages may be sentenced to
imprisonment for not less than two years, but implementation of
the law remained limited. The Law on Marriage states marriage of
a minor may be conducted with a guardian’s consent. By law a
marriage contract requires verification that the bride is 16 years of
age, but only a small fraction of the population had birth
certificates. Following custom, some poor families pledged their
daughters to marry in exchange for “bride money,” although the
practice is illegal. According to local NGOs, some girls as young
as six or seven were promised in marriage, with the
understanding the actual marriage would be delayed until the child
reached puberty. Reports indicated, however, that this delay was
rarely observed and young girls were sexually violated by the
groom or by older men in the family, particularly if the groom was
also a child. Media reports also noted the “opium bride”
phenomenon, in which farming families married off their daughters
to settle debts to opium traffickers.
[Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Albania
Although the legal minimum age for marriage is 18, authorities did
not enforce the law. Underage marriages occurred mostly in rural
areas and within Romani communities. According to 2009
statistics from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), 9.6 percent of
women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before they
were 18. The UNFPA reported that in 2011, approximately 31
percent of female Romani children between the ages of 13 and 17
were married. ARSIS reported that, in certain Romani
communities, girls as young as seven or boys as young as nine
were considered married. Through September ARSIS assisted 12
underage girls who ran away because their families were forcing
them into marriage and two who were fleeing existing ‘spouses’.
Some NGOs reported that early and forced marriages occurred in
rural communities as part of human trafficking schemes, when
parents consented for their underage girls to marry older foreign
men, who subsequently trafficked them to other countries.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Algeria
The legal minimum age of marriage is 19 for both men and
women, but minors may marry with parental consent, regardless
of gender. The law forbids legal guardians from forcing minors
under their care to marry against the minor’s will. The Ministry of
Religious Affairs required that couples present a government-
issued marriage certificate before permitting imams to conduct
religious marriage ceremonies. UN statistics from 2013 showed
that 6 percent of women ages 20 to 49 were married by or before
age 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Andorra
The minimum legal age of marriage is 16 years for both women
and men and as early as 14 years with judicial authority. In 2014,
the most recent year for available data, authorities did not record
any marriages below the age of 18 years.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Angola
The legal age for marriage with parental consent is 15 years. The
government did not enforce this restriction effectively, and the
traditional age of marriage in lower income groups coincided with
the onset of puberty. Data on the rate of marriage for boys and
girls under age 18 was not available. Common-law marriage was
widely practiced.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 15 and 16
respectively may
marry only under
exceptional
circumstances.
UNDAW_CEDAW
Country
Reports_Aug2007
[Source
http://data.un.org/]
Antigua and
Barbuda
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and
women. Children between 15 and 18 could marry with parental
consent; however, underage marriage was rare, and the
government did not keep statistics on it.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Argentina
The legal minimum age of marriage for men and women is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Armenia
According to UNICEF, 7.2 percent of children (both boys and girls)
married by the age of 18. Early marriage of girls was reportedly
more frequent within the Yezidi communities, but the government
took no measures to document the scale or address the practice.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women who have
reached the age of
16 may marry only
under exceptional
circumstances.
UNDAW_CEDAW
Country
Reports_Aug2007
[Source
http://data.un.org/]
Australia
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 for both boys and girls.
A person between 16 and 18 years may apply to a judge or
magistrate in a state or territory for an order authorizing marriage
to a person who has attained 18 years, but the marriage of the
minor still requires parental or guardian consent. Two persons
younger than 18 years may not marry each other. While no
statistics were available, reports of marriages involving a person
younger than 18 years were rare.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Austria
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 years. Adolescents
between 16 and 18 years may legally contract a marriage if they
obtain a special permit for this purpose. NGOs estimated there
were approximately 200 cases of early marriage annually,
primarily in the Muslim and Romani communities.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Azerbaijan
The law provides for a girl legally to marry at age 18 or at age 17
with local authorities’ permission. The law further states that a boy
may marry at age 18. The Caucasus Muslim Board defines 18 as
the marriage age, but the fatwa failed to have much effect on
religious marriage contracts (kabin or kabin-nama).
The criminal code establishes fines of 3,000 to 4,000 manat
($1,850 to $2,470) or imprisonment of up to four years for
conviction of the crime of forced marriage with underage children.
According to the UN special rapporteur, in 2014 forced marriages
of underage girls remained a problem and continued to endanger
their lives. A 2014 UN Population Fund report stated that 12
percent of girls were married by age 18. NGOs reported that the
number of early marriages continued to increase. The
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Government reported at least 15 criminal cases on early
marriages during the year. Girls who married under the terms of
religious marriage contracts were of particular concern, since
these were not subject to government oversight and do not entitle
the wife to recognition of her status in case of divorce. The Social
Union of Solidarity among Women reported numerous instances
in which men moved to Russia for work, leaving their underage
wives in the country. The SCFWCA conducted activities in IDP
and refugee communities to prevent early marriage.
Bahamas
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, although minors may
marry at 15 with parental permission.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Bahrain
According to law the minimum age of marriage is 15 years for girls
and 18 for boys, but special circumstances allow marriages below
these ages with approval from a sharia court. The government
made concerted efforts to draw attention to the dangers of early
marriage for girls and the adverse effect on children’s health.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Bangladesh
The legal age of marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men, but
underage marriage was a serious problem. The draft Child
Marriage Restraint Act, which was the subject of intense national
debate, increases penalties for those arranging underage
marriages but may also create a parental-consent exemption,
which could allow legal marriage by girls as young as 16. Reliable
statistics concerning underage marriage were difficult to identify,
because marriage and birth registrations were sporadic. The
UN’s State of the World’s Children 2013 report stated that
between 2002 and 2011, 32 percent of women between the ages
of 20 and 24 in Bangladesh were married by age 15 and 66
percent were married by age 18. In an effort to reduce child
marriages, the government offered stipends for girls’ school
expenses beyond the compulsory fifth-grade level. The
government and NGOs conducted workshops and public events
to teach parents the importance of their daughters waiting until
age 18 before marrying.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Barbados
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Belarus
The legal minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls is 18
years old, although girls as young as 14 can be married legally
with parental consent. There were reports of early marriage in
which girls as young as 14 and boys as young as 16 married with
parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Belgium
The law provides that both (consenting) partners must be at least
18 years old to marry.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Belize
The legal minimum age to marry is 18, but persons between ages
16 and 18 may marry with the consent of parents, legal guardians,
or judicial authority.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Benin
The law prohibits marriage under age 18 but allows underage
marriage (14 to 17) with parental consent, the consent of the
underage individuals, and authorization of a judge. A 2014
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey sponsored by UNICEF and the
National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis indicated
that 8.8 percent of women and 1.4 percent of boys and men ages
15 to 49 were married or were cohabitating with someone of the
opposite sex before age 15. The proportion of women ages 20 to
49 who were married or who were cohabitating with someone of
the opposite sex before age 18 was 31.7 percent, and the
proportion of men in the same age range was 6.1 percent. Early
and forced marriage included barter marriage and marriage by
abduction. For 2013 the Ministry of Family’s Social Promotion
Center recorded 575 cases of forced child marriage. As part of
forced marriage, the groom traditionally abducts and rapes his
prospective child bride. The practice was widespread in rural
areas, despite government and NGO efforts to end it through
information sessions on the rights of women and children. Local
NGOs reported some communities concealed the practice. On
June 16, the Ministry of Family held a high-level meeting to
discuss government efforts to eliminate early and forced marriage.
In October 2014 the government approved a UNICEF-sponsored
National Policy of Child Protection, which outlines principal
prevention strategies to address and respond to various forms of
child violence and exploitation, including early and forced
marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Bhutan
The statutory minimum age of marriage for both men and women
is 18. Statistics from the 2010 BMIS indicated that 31 percent of
marriages occurred before age 18, and 7 percent before age 15.
In 2010, 15 percent of girls and young women ages 15-19 were
either married or in a civil union. While child marriage has become
less common in urban areas, in remote villages there were reports
of secret marriage ceremonies involving girls younger than 15.
Child marriage took place in all regions, but the incidence was
higher in the western and central areas of the country.The
government initiative Youth Friendly Health Services sought to
prevent child marriage. It conducted community outreach and
awareness campaigns to alert communities to the dangers of child
marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Bolivia
The minimum age for marriage is 14 for girls and 16 for boys.
Minors’ parents or guardians must approve marriages between
adolescents under 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, or 16 with parental
consent. In certain Romani communities, girls married between
the ages of 12 and 14. Children’s rights and antitrafficking activists
noted that prosecutors were reluctant to investigate and prosecute
arranged marriages involving Romani minors on the grounds that
such marriages were “their way.” The government did not have
any programs specifically designed to reduce the incidence of
child marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Botswana
Child marriage occurred infrequently and was largely limited to
certain tribes. The government does not recognize marriages that
occur when either party is under the minimum legal age of 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
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PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Brazil
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 (age 16 with parental or
legal representative consent). According to data from UNICEF,
more than 11 percent of women age 20-24 were married before
age 15, and 36 percent of women age 20-24 were married before
age 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Brunei
The legal minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls is 14
with parental and participant consent, unless otherwise stipulated
by religion or custom under the law, which generally set a higher
minimum age. The Islamic Family Act sets the minimum
marriageable age at 16 for Muslim girls and 18 for Muslim men
and makes it an offense to use force, threat, or deception to
compel a person to marry against his or her will. Ethnic Chinese
must be age 15 or older to marry, according to the Chinese
Marriage Act, which also stipulates sexual intercourse with an
ethnic Chinese girl under age 15 is considered rape even if it is
with her spouse.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
18 without consent
http://unstats.un.org/
unsd/demographic/pr
oducts/indwm/
Bulgaria
The minimum age for marriage is 18. In exceptional cases, a
person can enter into marriage at 16 with permission from the
regional court. According to the National Statistical Institute, in
2014 there were 393 marriages of girls under 18, or 1.6 percent of
the total number, which continued an increasing trend since 2009,
when the figure was 0.6 percent. As of July courts sentenced 84
persons for cohabitating with a person less than 14 years of age,
which is punishable by law with two to five years in prison. NGOs
reported that child marriage was a pervasive problem in Romani
communities and resulted in school dropouts, early childbirths,
poor parenting, and spreading poverty. Arguing that underage
mothers pose a risk of careless parenting, in July the government
passed amendments to the Law on Family Allowances for
Children, which discontinued allowance payments for minors who
become parents. If a minor parent continues to attend school,
however, his or her family is entitled to the full amount of the
allowance as a lump sum. The National Network for Children
criticized authorities for viewing early marriages and resulting
early parenthood as an ethnic Romani rather than a gender
problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Burkina Faso
The legal age for marriage is 17 for girls and 20 for boys, but early
and forced marriage was a problem. According to a 2015 UNICEF
report, 10 percent of women ages 20 to 24 were married or in a
union before age 15, and 52 percent were married before age 18.
The law prohibits forced marriage and prescribes penalties of six
months to two years in prison for violators--and a three-year
prison term if the victim is under age 13. There were no reports of
prosecutions during the year. A government toll-free number
allowed citizens to report forced marriages. On March 3,
authorities launched the African Union Campaign to End Child
Marriage in Dori, the Sahel region, which had the highest rate of
child marriage; 80 percent of girls ages 15 to 17 in the region
already were married. On March 2, the Ministry of Social Action
and National Solidarity held an advocacy session for religious and
traditional leaders to raise awareness of the problem of early
marriage in the Sahel region.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Burma
The minimum age requirement for marriage is 18, but child
marriage was known to occur. There were no reliable statistics for
early and forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Burundi
The legal age for marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. No
statistics were available on the rate of early marriage. Forced
marriages are illegal and were rare, although they reportedly
occurred in southern, more heavily Muslim, areas. The Ministry of
Interior continued an effort to convince imams not to officiate over
illegal marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Cabo Verde
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years. According to
data from a 2012 study conducted by the INE and sponsored by
UN Women, the average age of marriage for women was 34,
while the average age for men was 38.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Cambodia
The legal minimum age of marriage for boys and girls is 18 years;
however, children as young as 16 years may legally marry with
parental permission. During the year 18 percent of women
between 20 and 24 years married before age 18, and 2 percent
married before age 16. Culturally, child marriage was not
considered a problem. The government and a local NGO took
steps to raise awareness of the legal minimum-age requirement.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Cameroon
The minimum legal age for marriage is 15 for girls and 18 for men,
although many families reportedly tried to marry off their girls
before the age of 12. According to the UN Children’s Fund, 38
percent of women and girls age 20 to 24 were married or in union
by the age of 18, and 13 percent by age 15. Early marriage was
prevalent in the regions of Adamaoua, North, and particularly Far
North, where many girls as young as nine faced severe health
risks as a result of pregnancies. The government conducted
education campaigns as a means to combat early marriages. With
support from UNFPA and the Norwegian Hospital in Ngaoundere,
the government also provided medical support and reintegration
services to victims.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Canada
In June the government passed legislation establishing 16 years
as the legal minimum age of marriage. The rate of marriage for
individuals under age 18 was unavailable, but early marriages
were not known to be a major problem. In June the government
criminalized the removal of a child from the country for the
purpose of early and forced marriage and created a court-ordered
peace bond, which may include surrendering of a passport, to
disrupt an attempt to remove a child for that purpose.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Central African
Republic
The law establishes 18 as the minimum age for civil marriage.
Nonetheless, an estimated 68 percent of women between ages 20
and 24 were married before age 18 and 29 percent before age 15,
according to UNICEF data collected between 2005 and 2013.
UNICEF reported forced marriages were on the rise among young
girls in rural areas where the transitional government lacked
authority. The transitional government did not take steps to
address forced marriage. The practice of early marriage was more
common in the Muslim community. There were reports during the
year of forced marriages of young girls to ex-Seleka and anti-
Balaka members.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Chad
On June 30, the National Assembly ratified a law that sets the
minimum age for marriage at 18. The law precludes invoking the
consent of the minor spouse to justify child marriage and
prescribes sentences of five to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines
of 500,000 to 5,000,000 CFA ($867 to $8,670) for persons
convicted of perpetrating child marriage. According to a study
conducted by the Ministry of Women, Early Childhood Protection
and National Solidarity in the regions of Mandou, Ouaddai, and
Tandjile, 68 percent of girls were married before age 18; 29
percent were married before age 15.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Chile
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 (16 with parental
consent).
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
7
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
China
The legal minimum age for marriage is 22 for men and 20 for
women. Child marriage was not known to be a problem, but there
were reports of babies sold to be future brides. In such cases
families would adopt and raise babies for eventual marriage to
their sons.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
China (Hong
Kong)
The legal minimum age of marriage is 16, and parents’ written
consent is required for marriage before the age of 21. There was
no evidence of early or forced marriage in the SAR.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
China (Macau)
The minimum age for marriage is 16. Children between ages 16
and 18 who wish to marry must get approval from their parents or
guardians.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Colombia
Marriage is legal at age 18. Boys over 14 and girls over 12 may
marry with the consent of their parents.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Comoros
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years for both boys and
girls. There were no reports of marriages before that age or of
forced marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Costa Rica
The minimum legal age of marriage is 18, or 15 with parental
consent. During the year INAMU continued implementing an
awareness campaign to prevent adult-minor relationships and to
inform about the legal consequences.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Croatia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18. Children older than
age 16 may marry with a judge’s written consent. While statistics
were unavailable, NGOs cited early and forced marriage as a
problem in the Romani community. Common law marriages
between minors who were 16 years of age and older were
customary and often prompted by pregnancies. In some instances
these marriages were legalized when the partners reached
adulthood.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
8
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Cuba
The legal minimum age of consent for marriage is 18. Marriage for
girls as young as 14 and for boys as young as 16 is permitted with
parental consent. According to UNICEF, 40 percent of women
ages 20-24 were married before age 18, and 9 percent of women
ages 20-24 were married before 15. There was no available
information on the government’s efforts to prevent or mitigate
early marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Cyprus
The legal age of marriage is 18, but persons between the ages of
16 and 18 may marry, provided there are serious reasons
justifying the marriage and their legal guardians provide written
consent. A district court can also allow the marriage of persons
between the ages of 16 and 18, if the parents unjustifiably refuse
consent or in the absence of legal guardians. North Cyprus: The
minimum age of marriage for girls and boys is 18. A “court” may
allow marriages for minors who are between the ages of 16 and
18 if they receive parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Czech Republic
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. Some members of the
Romani community married before reaching legal age. The law
allows for marriage at the age of 16 with court approval; no official
marriages were reported of anyone under 16.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Democratic
Republic of the
Congo
While the law prohibits marriage of boys and girls under age 18,
many marriages of underage children took place. A 2013-14 DHS
found 37.3 percent of women between ages 20-24 reported their
first cohabitation with a partner was before the age of 18 and 10
percent before the age of 15, most of which the government
treated as common-law marriages. Bridewealth (dowry) payment
made by a groom or his family to the relatives of the bride to ratify
a marriage greatly contributed to underage marriage, as parents
forcibly married daughters to collect bridewealth or to finance
bridewealth for a son. The constitution criminalizes forced
marriage. Courts may sentence parents convicted of forcing a
child to marry to up to 12 years’ hard labor and a fine of 92,500
Congolese francs ($100). The penalty doubles when the child is
under age 15. Magistrates in the northern provinces of North
Ubangi and South Ubangi began trying child marriage cases as
gender violence, although the penalties were difficult to enforce.
Local NGOs credited the magistrates’ efforts to information
campaigns conducted among the local population and refugee
camps, often supported by UNHCR.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Denmark
The legal age for marriage is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Djibouti
Although the law fixes the minimum legal age of marriage at 18
years, it provides that “marriage of minors who have not reached
the legal age of majority is subject to the consent of their
guardians.” Child marriage occasionally occurred in rural areas,
where it was considered a traditional practice rather than a
problem. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Family
Planning worked with women’s groups throughout the country to
protect the rights of girls, including the right to decide when and
whom to marry.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Dominica
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and
women, but 16 years with parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
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tsreport/ ]
Dominican
Republic
The legal minimum age for marriage with parental consent is 16
for boys and 15 for girls. According to the latest available UN data,
approximately 41 percent of women ages 20 to 24 were married
before the age of 18 and 12 percent were married before age 15,
while only 9 percent of boys married before age 18. The
government conducted no known prevention or mitigation
programs. Girls often married much older men. Child marriage
occurred more frequently among girls who were uneducated,
poor, and living in rural areas. More than half of poor women
entered into their first marriage or union by age 17, compared with
age 21 for women of means.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 16 may
marry only with
parental consent.
UNPD_Inquiry on
Population and
Development_2003
[Source
http://data.un.org/]
Ecuador
The legal age of marriage is 18. On June 11, a new procedural
code went into effect that repeals provisions that had allowed
marriage before the age of 18, with the exception that legally
emancipated minors can marry at age 16.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Egypt
The legal age of marriage is 18. According to a panel hosted by
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva
in 2014, 23 percent of girls married before age 18; as many as 21
percent married before age 15. As many as 15 percent of all
marriages in the country were child marriages, according to
remarks made by the minister of population to the media in
August. In February the government lifted its previous reservation
on an article of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of
the Child that prohibits marriage under age 18. The media
reported some child marriages were temporary marriages
intended to mask child prostitution. Families sometimes forced
adolescent girls to marry wealthy foreign men in what were known
locally as “tourism” or “summer” marriages for the purpose of
sexual exploitation, prostitution, or forced labor. On December 8,
the Ministry of Justice introduced measures intended to close
legal loopholes and make tourism marriages more difficult to
obtain. It changed an existing and long-standing system whereby
a foreign man who wanted to marry an Egyptian woman more
than 25 years younger than he is must pay a fine. The measure
increased the fine from LE 40,000 ($5,200) to LE 50,000 ($6,500).
Women’s rights organizations argued that allowing foreign men to
pay a fine in order to marry much younger women represented a
form of trafficking and encouraged child marriage. They called on
the government to eliminate the system altogether. The
Antitrafficking Unit at the National Council for Childhood and
Motherhood, a governmental body, is responsible for raising
awareness of the problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
El Salvador
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, although the law
authorizes marriage from the age of 14 if both the boy and girl
have reached puberty, if the girl is pregnant, or if the couple has a
child.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Equatorial
Guinea
There is no minimum age for marriage. Forced marriage occurred,
especially in rural areas, although no statistics were available. The
Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality operated programs
to deter child marriage but did not address forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
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tsreport/ ]
Eritrea
The legal minimum age for marriage for both men and women is
18, although religious entities may condone marriages at younger
ages. According to the 2010 Population and Health Survey, 41
percent of women ages 20-24 were married before 18 and 13
percent before age 15. Girls in rural areas were particularly at risk
for early marriage. The government encouraged various
semiofficial associations such as the National Union of Eritrean
Women and the National Eritrean Youth and Student Association
to discuss the impact of early marriage and raise awareness
among youth about its negative consequences. Female ministers
spoke publicly on the dangers of early marriage and collaborated
with UN agencies to educate the public regarding these dangers.
Many neighborhood committees also actively discouraged the
practice.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Estonia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Ethiopia
The law sets the legal marriage age for girls and boys at 18;
however, authorities did not enforce this law uniformly, and rural
families sometimes were unaware of this provision. An NGO
reported intervening in 400 early marriages. In several regions it
was customary for older men to marry girls, although this
traditional practice continued to face greater scrutiny and criticism.
The government strategy to address underage marriage focused
on education and mediation rather than punishment of offenders.
According to a 2015 UNICEF report, 16 percent of women ages
20-24 were married before age 15 and 41 percent before age 18.
According to the 2011 DHS, the median age of first marriage
among women between the ages of 20 and 49 who were
surveyed was 17.1 years, compared with 16.5 years in 2005. In
the Amhara and Tigray regions, girls were married as early as age
seven. Child marriage was most prevalent in the Amhara Region,
where approximately 45 percent of girls marry before age 18, and
the median first marriage age was 15.1 years, according to the
2011 DHS, compared with 14.7 years in 2005. Regional
governments in Amhara and, to a lesser extent, Tigray offered
programs to educate girls, young women, parents, community
leaders, and health professionals on problems associated with
early marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Fiji
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18. Some NGOs reported
that, especially in rural areas, girls often married at age 18,
preventing them from completing their secondary school
education. In indigenous villages girls under age 18 who became
pregnant could live as common-law wives with their child’s father
after the men presented traditional apologies to the girls’ families,
thereby avoiding the filing of a complaint to police by the families.
The girls frequently married the fathers as soon as legally
permissible.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Finland
The minimum age of marriage is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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France
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. Child marriage was a
problem, particularly in communities of African or Asian descent.
According to human rights observers, 70,000 children between
the ages of 10 and 18 were at risk of forced marriage. Although
most forced marriage ceremonies occurred outside the country,
authorities took steps to address the problem. The law provides
for the prosecution of forced marriage cases, even when the
marriage occurred abroad. Penalties for violations are up to three
years’ imprisonment and a 45,000 euro ($49,500) fine. Women
and girls could seek refuge at shelters if their parents or guardians
threatened them with forced marriage. The government offered
educational programs to inform young women of their rights.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Gabon
The minimum age for consensual sex and marriage is age 15 for
girls and age18 for boys. It was rare for girls under age 18 to
marry but common for them to be in relationships with men
outside of marriage. Teenage pregnancy was widespread.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Gambia
Carnal knowledge with a girl under the age of 16 is a felony
except within marriage, which can occur as early as age 12. The
constitution states, “marriage shall be based on the free and full
consent of the intended parties,” although in many villages, girls
reportedly were forced to marry at a young age. According to
UNICEF’s 2010 multiple indicator report, 8.6 percent of women
married before they were 15 years old, while 46.5 percent married
before the age of 18. The government worked in conjunction with
the NGO Tostan and UNICEF on a joint community empowerment
program seeking the abandonment of early and forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
33rd session country
report. No minimum
legal age for
marriage. The
constitution states
that men and women
of "full age and
capacity" shall have
the right to marry and
find a family [Source
http://data.un.org/]
Georgia
The legal minimum age for marriage for both men and women is
18, although some exceptions were authorized at 16. According to
the UN Fund for Population (UNFPA), 17 percent of women were
married before age 18, but UNFPA noted the data were
incomplete because most child marriages were not officially
registered. Child marriages occurred more frequently among
certain ethnic and religious groups. According to the Public
Defender there were 265 marriages recorded in the first half of
2015 between persons ages 16 to 18. During the year the Open
Society Georgia Foundation criticized the government for
inadequately monitoring the law against early marriage. In April an
amendment to the criminal code entered into force that made
forced marriage of an individual under the age of 18 punishable by
two to four years’ imprisonment.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Germany
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18. Forced marriages are
invalid and illegal--punishable by a prison sentence of up to five
years. There were no reliable statistics on the number of forced or
early marriages.
The family court may, upon request, issue an exemption from this
rule if the petitioner has reached the age of 16 and their future
spouse is of legal age.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
The family court may,
upon request, issue
an exemption from
this rule if the
petitioner has
reached the age of
16 and their future
spouse is of legal
age. [Source:
http://buergerliches-
gesetzbuch.net/para
graph-
1303http://buergerlic
hes-
gesetzbuch.net/para
graph-1303]
Ghana
The minimum legal age for marriage for both sexes is 18 years.
Forced child marriage, while illegal, remained a problem. Child
marriage nationwide was 27 percent in 2011, the latest year for
which data was available. Child marriage was most prevalent in
Upper East Region (39 percent), Western Region (37 percent),
and Upper West Region (36 percent). There were no government
prevention or mitigation efforts, including through a national action
plan or community-based programs.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
12
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tsreport/ ]
Greece
The legal age for marriage is 18. While official statistics were
unavailable, NGOs reported that child marriage was common in
the small Romani community, with Romani girls often marrying
between the ages of 15 and 17 (some as young as 13) and
Romani boys marrying between the ages of 15 and 20. State-
appointed muftis in Thrace noted that the marriage of children
under the age of 15 was not allowed and that marriages involving
minors between the ages of 16 and 18 required a prosecutor’s
decision. There were a limited number of marriages of children
under 18 in Athens and among the Muslim minority, performed
with the permission of a prosecutor.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Grenada
The legal minimum age for marriage is 21, although persons as
young as 18 can be married with parental consent in writing.
There was no data on marriages of persons under the age of 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Guatemala
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. In November,
Congress eliminated a provision that previously allowed girls to
marry at 14 and boys at 16 with parental consent. There were
credible reports of forced early marriages in some rural
indigenous communities. UNICEF’s 2012 State of the World’s
Children reported 35 percent of women 20 to 24 years of age
were first married or in union by age 18 (8 percent of them by age
15). In an effort to identify cases of early and forced marriage, the
government has instituted nationwide trainings and protocols to
encourage public employees to report pregnancies and childbirth
among underage mothers. Because of this program, in June,
Almolonga Mayor Leonel Lopez was stripped of his immunity and
placed under investigation for authorizing the marriage of a 12-
year-old girl to a 23-year-old man after she gave birth. This was
the first time an official was stripped of immunity in a child
marriage case.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Guinea
The legal age for marriage is 21 for men and 17 for women, but
tradition permits marriage at age 14. Early marriage was a
problem. According to the UNFPA, 63 percent of women ages 20
to 24 were married before age 18. Parents contracted marriages
for girls as young as age 10 in Middle Guinea and the Forest
Region. According to the Inter-African Committee on Traditional
Practices, forced marriage of women and girls was common.
There were no reported prosecutions related to child marriage
during the year, although OPROGEM investigated one case of
forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Guinea-Bissau
The legal minimum age of marriage is 17. According to UNICEF, 7
percent of girls were married or in a union before age 15. Early
and forced marriage occurred among all ethnic groups. Girls who
fled arranged marriages often were trafficked into commercial sex.
The buying and selling of child brides also occurred. There were
no government efforts to mitigate the problem. Organizations such
as the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund worked
to provide legal, social, medical, and educational services to fight
child marriage and protect its victims in some locations. Working
with the NGO Tostan, 144 communities in 2012 and early 2013
publically declared their abandonment of child marriage. Tostan
continued to implement its Community Empowerment program,
discussing child marriage and other harmful traditional practices in
partnership with the government, UNICEF, the UNFPA, and local
NGOs.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Guyana
The legal age for marriage is 18 years, but boys and girls may
marry at 16 years of age with parental consent or judicial
authority. December 2013 data from the UN Children’s Fund
reported that 23 percent of women were married before the age of
18 years.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
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tsreport/ ]
Haiti
The legal age of marriage is 18 years. No data were available
regarding early and forced marriage, but early marriage was not a
widespread custom.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Honduras
The minimum legal age for marriage for male and female citizens
is 21, although with parental consent boys may marry as young as
age 18 and girls as young as age 16. According to government
statistics, 10 percent of women marry before age 15, 37 percent
before age 18, and 56 percent before age 20.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Hungary
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18. The Social and
Guardianship Office may authorize marriages of persons between
the ages of 16 and 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Iceland
The country’s minimum age for marriage is 18 for both sexes.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
India
The law sets the legal age of marriage for women at 18 and men
at 21, and it empowers courts to annul child marriages. It also sets
penalties for persons who perform, arrange, or participate in such
marriages. Authorities did not consistently enforce the law.
According to a 2014 NCRB report, the most violations of the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act occurred in Tamil Nadu at 47,
Karnataka at 44, and Kerala at 19. Some religiously based
personal laws allow marriages at an age earlier than the general
law. The law does not characterize a marriage between a girl
below age 18 and a boy below age 21 as “illegal,” but it
recognizes such unions as voidable, providing grounds for
challenging them in court. Only the party who was a minor at the
time of marriage may seek nullification. If the party is still a minor,
his or her guardian must file a petition for nullification. A party may
also file upon becoming an adult but must do so within two years.
According to international and local NGOs, these limitations
effectively left married minors with no legal remedy in most
situations. The law establishes a full-time child-marriage
prohibition officer in every state to prevent and police child
marriage. These individuals have the power to intervene when a
child marriage is taking place, document violations of the law, file
charges against parents, remove children from dangerous
situations, and deliver them to local child-protection authorities.
UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2015 report noted 47
percent of girls married before age 18. According to the report,
women married as children contributed to the country’s high infant
and maternal mortality rates, and observers suspected that early
motherhood contributed to the deaths of 6,000 adolescent
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
14
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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mothers each year. A national family health survey showed that
one in six girls between the ages of 15 and 19 had become
pregnant at least once.
Indonesia
The legal distinction between a woman and a girl was not clear.
The law sets the minimum marriageable age at 16 for a woman
(19 for a man), but the Child Protection Law states that persons
under age 18 are children. A girl who marries has adult legal
status. Girls frequently married before reaching the age of 16,
particularly in rural and impoverished areas. A 2014 UNICEF
report found that approximately 25 percent of women married
before they reached age 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Iran
The legal minimum age of marriage for girls is 13, but girls as
young as nine may be married with permission from the court and
their father. The law requires court approval for the marriage of
boys younger than 15. According to the newspaper Shahrvand,
there were more than 40,000 registered marriages for girls under
the age of 15 in 2014. The number may be higher because NGOs
reported that many families did not register underage marriages.
On October 13, authorities executed juvenile offender Fatemeh
Salbehi for the killing of her husband, whom she was forced to
marry at 16.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Iraq
By law the minimum age of marriage is 15 with parental
permission and 18 without. The government made few efforts to
enforce the law. Traditional forced marriages of girls as young as
age 11 continued, particularly in rural areas. According to
UNICEF, 6 percent of girls were married by 15, and 24 percent
were married by 18. Girls between the ages of 11 and 18 told
UNICEF that early marriage was the primary obstacle to
completing their education. Early and forced marriages, as well as
abusive temporary marriages, were more prevalent in Da’esh-
controlled areas. In February HRW interviewed 20 Yezidi women
and girls who escaped from Da’esh captivity; nearly all said that
they had been forced into marriage, sold (in some cases a
number of times), or given as gifts. Local and international NGOs
reported that forced divorce--the practice of husbands or their
families threatening to divorce wives they married when the girls
were very young (ages 12 to 16) to pressure the girl’s family to
provide additional money to the girl’s husband and his family--also
occurred, particularly in the south. Victims of forced divorce were
compelled to leave their husbands and their husbands’ families,
and social customs regarding family honor often prevented victims
from returning to their families, leaving some adolescent girls
abandoned.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Ireland
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years. Persons under
18 must obtain the permission of the Circuit Family Court or the
High Court to marry.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Israel
The law sets the minimum age of marriage at 18, with some
exceptions for younger children due to pregnancy and for couples
older than 16 if the court permitted it due to unique circumstances.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Italy
The minimum age for marriage is 18, but juvenile courts may
authorize marriages for individuals as young as 16. During the
year a study estimated that 2,000 girls born in the country were
forced to marry men in their countries of origin, mostly in
Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Ivory Coast
The law prohibits the marriage of men under the age of 20 and
women under the age of 18 without parental consent. The law
specifically penalizes anyone who forces a minor under age 18 to
enter a religious or customary matrimonial union. Nevertheless,
traditional marriages were performed with girls as young as 14.
The UN documented several cases of forced marriage and
attempted forced marriage during the year.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Jamaica
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, but children may marry
at 16 with parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Japan
The law stipulates that to marry, the male partner must be age 18
or older and the female partner, 16 or older. A person under 20
may not marry without at least one parent’s approval.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Jordan
The minimum age for marriage is 18. With the consent of both a
judge and a guardian, a child as young as 15 years old, in most
cases a girl, may be married. The sharia court reported that early
marriages comprised 13 percent of all marriages registered in
2014, with the early marriage rate among registered Syrian
refugee’s marriages at 31.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014.
There was no data available on the number of unregistered
marriages, but, due to the differences between the Jordanian and
Syrian legal and social framework, it was likely that many Syrian
refugee marriages were not registered.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Kazakhstan
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, but it may be reduced
to 16 in the case of pregnancy or mutual agreement. NGOs noted
several cases of marriage under 18, especially in the south.
According to the NGO League of Women of Creative Initiative,
2,000-3,000 early and forced marriages occur annually. According
to the NGO, there were approximately 2,200 such marriages in
2014. The majority of these were due to cultural traditions. Many
couples first married in mosques and then registered officially
when the bride reached the legal age. The government did not
take any action to address the issue. As reported in September,
the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan issued an
order forbidding mosques to conduct religious marriage rites
(nikah) without an official marriage certificate, but the practice
continued.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Kenya
The Protection against Domestic Violence Act criminalizes early
and forced marriage. The media frequently highlighted the
problem of early and forced marriage, which some ethnic groups
commonly practiced. In 2014 the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
released a study reporting that 6 percent of children were married
by age 15, and 26 percent by age 18. Regionally, Kilifi town had
the highest prevalence of child marriage at 47.4 percent, followed
by Homa Bay at 38 percent, Kwale at 37.9 percent, Bondo at 29.5
percent, and Tharaka at 25.3 percent. There was a strong
correlation between poverty and early and forced marriage. A
report by the UN Population Fund indicated that early and forced
marriage increased during conflicts or after natural disasters
because families sought to benefit economically from or offer
alternative financial security for young daughters. In 2014 the
National Assembly passed a marriage act that prohibits
engagement, betrothal, or marriage by or to any person less than
age 18 and voids marriages that violate these prohibitions. Under
the constitution, however, the qadi courts retained jurisdiction over
Muslim marriage and family law.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Kiribati
The legal minimum age for marriage is 21, or 17 with the
permission of a parent or guardian. According to Family Planning
International, the median age of marriage for women was 20. The
2010 census estimated 9 percent of persons between the ages of
14 and 19 were married.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Kosovo
The law allows persons to marry at age 16. Child marriage was
rare but continued to take place in certain communities, including
Kosovo Roma, Kosovo Ashkali, Kosovo Egyptians, and Kosovo
Gorani. According to a separate MICS that focused on these
communities, 11.6 percent of children, mostly girls, married before
the age of 15. The Ministry of Local Government Administration
and the Agency for Gender Equality in the prime minister’s office
conducted information campaigns to discourage early marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Kuwait
The legal marriage age is 17 for men and 15 for women, but girls
continued to marry at a younger age in some tribal groups. The
Ministry of Justice estimated underage marriages constituted 2 to
3 percent of all marriages in 2013.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Kyrgyzstan
Children ages 16 and 17 may legally marry with the consent of
local authorities, but the law prohibits marriage before the age 16
under all circumstances. Although illegal, the practice of bride
kidnapping continued (see section 6, Women). The kidnapping of
underage brides remained underreported. In 2014, the UN
Population Fund reported 14 percent of women in the country,
mainly in rural areas, married while under age 16. An HRW report
found government inaction in monitoring or addressing bride
kidnapping or other forms of early and forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women after
reached puberty may
marry, but requires
parental consent.
UNPD_Inquiry on
Population and
Development_2003[
Source
http://data.un.org/]
17
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Laos
The legal minimum age of marriage for boys and girls is 18 years,
but the law allows underage marriage in special and necessary
cases, often in cases of underage pregnancy. Cultural norms of
some ethnic groups contributed to 35.4 percent of girls marrying
before they reached 18 years and 9 percent marrying before
attaining 15 years.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Latvia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years. Persons younger
than age 18 may legally marry only with parental permission and if
one party is at least 16 and the other is at least 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Lebanon
The legal age for marriage is 18 for men and 17 for women.
Family matters are governed by confessionally determined
personal status law, and minimum ages acceptable for marriage
differ accordingly. UNHCR reported early and forced marriage
was common in the Syrian refugee community. According to a
study conducted by the Heartland Alliance in 2014, the marriages
were not official but usually endorsed by sheikhs in the refugee
community, often encouraged with a bribe. These sheikhs were
not linked to the country’s Sunni family courts, and the marriages
had no legal standing.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Lesotho
The Children’s Protection and Welfare Act defines a child as a
person under age 18. Under the Marriage Act of 1974, however, a
girl can marry at age 16 while a boy can do so at age 18. The act
states that “if the girl is 16 years of age, but is not yet 21, parental
consent is required” for marriage. Customary law does not set a
minimum age for marriage. According to UN Population Fund data
collected between 2000 and 2011, an estimated 19 percent of
women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before age
18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Liberia
The 2011 National Children’s Act sets the marriage age for all
persons at 18 years, while the Domestic Relations Act sets the
minimum marriage age at 21 for men and 18 for women. The
Equal Rights of the Traditional Marriage Act of 1998 permits a girl
to marry at age 16. In partnership with international donors, the
government operated a free alternative basic education program
which, for those unable to access formal education, taught life
skills such as health, hygiene, birth control, and the merits of
delayed marriage. During the year, the government distributed to
those enrolled in formal education a parent-teacher association
manual promoting delayed marriage. Mass media campaigns
were conducted in target communities, especially in rural areas, to
educate citizens about the negative consequences of child
marriage. Nevertheless, underage marriage remained a problem,
especially in rural areas. According to a 2015 UNICEF report, 11
percent of women ages 20 to 24 were married by age 15 and 38
percent were married by age 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Libya
The minimum age for marriage is 18 years old for both men and
women, although judges can provide permission for those under
18 to marry. There were no available statistics on the rate of early
and forced marriage during the year.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Liechtenstein
The legal minimum age of marriage for both girls and boys is 18
years.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
18
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tsreport/ ]
Lithuania
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 14 may
marry only with
parental consent
UNPD_Inquiry on
Population and
Development_2003[
Source
http://data.un.org/]
Luxembourg
The minimum legal age of marriage is 18 for men and 16 for
women, provided one of the partners is a resident of the country.
Permission of at least one parent is required if one of the partners
is under 16. Statistics regarding marriage rates for individuals
younger than 18 were not available.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Macedonia
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. A court may issue a
marriage license to persons between the ages of 16 and 18 if it
finds them mentally and physically fit for marriage. Early and
forced marriage occurred in the Romani community and, to a
much lesser extent, Albanian communities. It was difficult to
estimate the number of early and forced marriages because they
were rarely registered. Government plans for improving the social
inclusion of the Romani population included measures to prevent
underage marriage, including mandatory high school education,
special social and community services and school counseling and
outreach, and improved access to basic-level health services.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Madagascar
The legal age for marriage without parental consent is 18 years
for both boys and girls. Nevertheless, according to the UN
Population Fund, child marriage remained very common,
particularly in rural areas and in the south. An estimated 48
percent of women between ages 20 and 24 were married before
18, and 14 percent were married before 15, according to 2000-09
UNICEF data. As confirmed by the UN special rapporteur on
modern forms of slavery during her mission to the country in 2012,
early forced marriage remained a concern in many communities,
where parents forced girls as young as age 10 to marry. She
noted, “Victims of such arrangements are also likely to be victims
of domestic servitude and sexual slavery.” In collaboration with
UNICEF and UNFPA, the government launched a national
campaign in June to raise awareness about the dangers of early
marriage. In December 2014 the government passed updated
antitrafficking legislation that broadens the scope of the previous
legislation to cover sexual exploitation, labor trafficking, forced
labor, forced begging, and debt bondage. Penalties for trafficking
offenses range from two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of
one to 10 million ariary ($304 to $ 3,040). Trafficking crimes
against children are punishable by five to 10 years’ imprisonment
and a fine of two million to 10 million ariary ($608 to $3,040).
According to a 2013 report by the UN special rapporteur, the
practice of “moletry,” in which girls are married off at a younger
age in exchange for oxen received as a dowry, continued. The
parents of a boy (usually around age 15) look for a spouse for
their son (girls may be as young as age 12), after which the
parents of both children organize the wedding. The parents hold a
written agreement for one year that they may prolong. If a child is
born after the first year and the marriage contract has expired, the
girl--or, if she is very young, her mother--will be responsible for
raising the child. If the girl has been unfaithful or the marriage
does not last the full year, parents return the dowry, without any
stigma for either side. The wife must stay the contracted year,
even in the case of domestic violence, in which case the girl’s
parents receive more money or jewels. The UN special rapporteur
also criticized the practice of “valifofo,” or arranged marriage. She
noted in places like Ihorombe, in the Bara community, when a girl
reaches age 10, she is separated from other family members and
may receive male visitors without obtaining approval from her
male relatives. In the Bara community, the parents betroth a girl at
birth, and the parents receive 10 oxen. The man may take the girl
at age seven or ask her parents to raise her until she is age 12, at
which time parents take her to the husband’s home.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Malawi
The Marriage, Divorce, and Family Relations Act sets the
minimum age for marriage at 18, but the constitution allows
marriage at age 15 with parental consent. According to the 2014
Malawi Millennium Development Goal Endline Survey, 10.3
percent of girls and women ages 15 to 49 were first married or in
a union before age 15, and 49.9 percent were married or in a
union before age 18. The minimum marital age was not widely
enforced, and civic education on early marriage was carried out
mainly by NGOs.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Malaysia
The minimum age of marriage is 18 years for men and 16 years
for women. Muslim women younger than 16 years may marry with
the approval of a sharia court. Accurate statistics on early
marriages were difficult to obtain, but a 2014 United Nations
Population Fund report stated that more than 15,000 citizens
married before age 19 in 2014. In October the Ministry of Women,
Family, and Community Development reported it had set up a task
force to help regulate early marriages and limit abuses.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Maldives
The law allows girls and boys under age 18 to marry if they have
reached puberty, have parental consent, and the court finds no
substantial reason to object to the union. In 2013, 18 underage
marriages were registered at the court, of which 16 involved girls
and two involved boys, a sharp drop from 2012. According to the
NGO Hope for Women, child marriage was often endorsed by
Islamic scholars invited to speak at government-organized public
events and on television and radio.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
20
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tsreport/ ]
Mali
The minimum age to marry without parental consent is 16 for girls
and 18 for boys. A 15-year-old girl may marry with parental
consent if a civil judge approves. Authorities did not effectively
enforce the law, particularly in rural areas, and underage marriage
was a problem throughout the country. According to the UN
Population Fund, 55 percent of women between ages 20 and 24
were married by age 18. In some regions of the country, girls
married as young as age 10. It was common practice in the
country for a 14-year-old girl to marry a man twice her age.
According to local human rights organizations, judicial officials
frequently accepted false birth certificates or other documents
claiming that girls under age 15 were old enough to marry. NGOs
implemented awareness campaigns aimed at abating child
marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Malta
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18, although persons
between the ages of 16 and 18 may marry with the consent of
parents, legal guardians, or courts.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Marshall
Islands
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for men and 16
years for women. There were no government programs to
address or prevent early marriage. According to the UN
Population Fund database, 26.3 percent of women aged 20-24
years married before 18 years of age. Forced marriage was not
practiced.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Mauritania
The legal marriage age is 18, but authorities rarely enforced the
law, and child marriage was widespread. Since consensual sex
outside of marriage is illegal, a legal guardian can ask local
authorities to permit a girl younger than 18 to marry. Local
authorities frequently granted permission. Nevertheless, the
government continued to work with UNICEF to implement a
program to combat child marriage through judicial and political
reforms. It also cooperated with civil society to disseminate the
personal status code, which sets the minimum age for marrying at
18 and requires a woman’s consent to seal a union. These efforts
appeared to show encouraging results. According to UNICEF in
2011 (the most recent data available), the percentage of children
who were married before age 15 dropped from 19 to 15 percent,
while the percentage of those married before age 18 fell from 43
to 35 percent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Mauritius
The minimum legal marriage age for boys and girls is 16 years
with parental consent. Forced or early marriages were not
reported to be problems.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 16 may
marry only with
parental
consent.UNDAW_CE
DAW Country
Reports_Aug2007
[Source
http://data.un.org/]
21
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Mexico
The legal minimum marriage age is 18. Enforcement, however,
was inconsistent across the states, where some civil codes permit
a minimum marital age of 14 for girls and 16 for boys with parental
consent, and 18 without parental consent. With a judge’s consent,
children can be married at younger ages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Micronesia
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 years for boys and 16
years for girls, except girls younger than 16 years may marry with
parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Moldova
The legal minimum age for marriage is 16 for women and 18 for
men. There were no official statistics regarding child marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Monaco
The legal minimum age of marriage in the country is 18 for women
and men. Women and men under the age of 18 need parental
authorization to marry. There were no data available on the
number of underage marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Mongolia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 for all persons, and
there were no reports of underage marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Montenegro
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 in most cases, but
persons as young as 16 may marry with the consent of a court if it
finds them mentally and physically fit for marriage. Child marriage
was a serious problem, particularly in the Romani and Balkan
Egyptian communities. According to a survey by the NGO Center
for Roma Initiatives, 70 per cent of the Romani population aged
12-18 entered into arranged marriages. Authorities considered
such common law marriages illegal. Punishment for arranging
forced marriages ranges from six months to five years in prison.
Romani NGOs claimed that families paid dowries of 4,000 to
15,000 euros ($4,400 to $16,500) for child brides. NGOs reported
that parents of some girls sold them into marriage, including to
foreigners. The custom of buying or selling virgin brides continued
in the Romani, Ashkali, and Balkan Egyptian communities;
grooms reportedly paid between 1,000 to 10,000 euros ($1,100 to
$11,000). The government implemented measures to prevent
underage marriage, including enforcing mandatory school
education and prosecuting persons who arranged early
marriages. During the first nine months of the year, courts issued
three prison sentences and two suspended sentences to persons
convicted of arranging early marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Morocco
The legal age for marriage is 18, but parents, with informed
consent of the minor, may secure a waiver from a judge for
underage marriage. The judiciary approved the vast majority of
petitions for underage marriages. Child marriage remained a
concern.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Mozambique
The law sets the minimum age to marry for persons of both
genders at 18. Legal permission to marry at age 16 may be
granted with parental consent if “circumstances of recognized
public and family interest,” such as pregnancy, exist. According to
a 2015 UNICEF report, nationwide 48 percent of young women
ages 20-24 married before age 18. Fourteen percent of women
ages 20-24 married before age 15. The highest rates of early
marriage were in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and
Nampula, where 61 percent and 62 percent of women were
married before age 18, respectively. In Niassa, another northern
province, 24 percent of young women married before age 15, the
highest rate in the country. The government and local NGOs
continued to promote a public awareness campaign under the
motto “Marry? Only at 18 years of age!” to discourage early and
forced marriage. The government and its partners collaborated on
a National Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Early
Marriage (2015-2019).
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Namibia
The law prohibits civil marriages before age 18 for both boys and
girls. The Child Care and Protection Act prohibits customary
marriage before age 18, but it did occur.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Nauru
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years for boys and 16
years for girls. Children younger than the legal minimum age need
written consent of their parents to marry. UNICEF reported that
from 2002-12, approximately 30 percent of girls married before
age 18 years. There were no known government efforts to prevent
the traditional practice of early marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Nepal
The law prohibits marriage for girls before the age of 18. While
families in many areas sometimes forced their young children to
marry, the rate of early and forced marriage decreased since
2002. According to a UNICEF survey published in January, the
prevalence of early and forced marriage remained high. Nearly 49
percent of women ages 20 to 49 were married or in a union before
age 18, while 15.5 percent of women ages 15 to 49 were married
or in a union before age 15. According to the same study, 24.5
percent of women ages 15 to 19 were married or in a union.
Social, economic, and cultural values promoted the practice of
early and forced marriages, especially common in the Dalit and
Madhesi communities. The law sets penalties for violations
according to the age of the girls involved in child marriage. The
penalty includes both a prison sentence and fine, with the fees
collected going to the girl involved. The civil code provides that the
government must take action whenever a case of child marriage is
filed with authorities. The government worked with local child
rights groups and international donors on the problem of early and
forced marriage though cases often were unreported. A number of
government child protection and welfare programs, such as
scholarship programs targeting girls, attempted to encourage girls
to stay in school.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
20 Male 20 Female -
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 18 may
marry only with
parental consent
UNPD_Inquiry on
Population and
Development_2003
[Source
http://data.un.org/]
23
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Netherlands
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 in all parts of the
kingdom. In the Netherlands and Aruba, there are two exceptions:
if the persons concerned are older than 16 and the woman is
pregnant or has given birth or the Minister of Security and Justice
grants a dispensation based on their request. Underage
marriages were rare. The government began implementing an
action program, Self Determination 2015--2017, under which
authorities were allocated one million euros ($1.1 million) annually
to counter forced marriage and honor-related violence.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
New Zealand
The legal minimum age for marriage is 20 for both men and
women, but persons ages 16-19 may marry with parental
permission. Marriages involving persons under age 18 were rare.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Nicaragua
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 years for girls and boys;
with parental authorization, it is 16 through 18. There were
credible reports of forced early marriages in some rural
indigenous communities. UNICEF’s 2013 State of the World’s
Children reported that 41 percent of women 20 to 24 years of age
were first married or in a union by age 18 (10 percent of them by
age 15). No information was available on government efforts to
address or prevent forced and early marriage, and some
advocates claimed the government did not enforce the law
effectively.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Niger
The law allows a girl deemed to be “sufficiently mature” to marry
at 15. Some families entered into marriage agreements under
which rural girls 12 or even younger were sent to their husband’s
families to be under the “supervision” of their mothers-in-law.
According to UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), 28
percent of women ages 20-24 married before age 15 and 76
percent married before age 18. According to the 2012 DHS, 36
percent of women 20-24 years old were first married or in union
before they were 15 years old. Prevalence of child marriage was
highest in the south, in the Diffa, Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua
regions. The Ministry of Population, Women’s Promotion, and
Children’s Protection cooperated with women’s associations to
sensitize traditional chiefs and religious leaders in rural
communities to the problem of early marriage. The UNFPA was
working at the community level with the Association of Traditional
Chiefs to raise awareness of the problem, including the risk of
maternal death and disability. According to the 2012 DHS, 44.8
percent of women 20-49 years old had given birth before they
were 18 years old, and 8.7 percent of girls had given birth before
they were 15 years old.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
UNDAW_CEDAW
Country
Reports_Aug2007
38th session country
report. Requires
parental consent for
minors. [Source
http://data.un.org/]
Nigeria
The law sets a minimum age of 18 years for marriage for both
boys and girls. According to the 2013 NDHS, 43 percent of
women between ages 20 and 24 reported being married or in a
union before age 18, and 17 percent reported being married or in
a union before age 15. Fewer than half the country’s state
assemblies adopted the Child Rights Act of 2003, which sets the
minimum marriage age, and most states, especially northern
states, did not uphold the federal official minimum age for
marriage. The government engaged religious leaders, emirs, and
sultans on the problem, pointing out the health hazards and
improving their awareness of it. Certain states worked with NGO
programs to establish school subsidies or fee waivers for children
to help protect against early marriage. The government did not
take legal steps to end sales of young girls into marriage.
According to credible reports, poor families sold their daughters
into marriage to supplement their incomes. Families sometimes
forced young girls into marriage as early as puberty, regardless of
age, to prevent “indecency” associated with premarital sex or for
other cultural and religious reasons. Girls abducted by Boko
Haram were also subjected to forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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North Korea
The law provides that the minimum ages for marriage are 18 for
men and 17 for women.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Norway
The minimum legal age for marriage in the country is 18 for both
women and men, although a 16-year-old child may marry with the
consent of parents or guardians and permission from the county
governor. The county governor may give permission only when
there are “special reasons for contracting a marriage.”
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Oman
The age of legal marriage for men and women is 18 years,
although a judge may permit a person to marry younger when the
judge or family deemed the marriage was in the minor’s interest.
Child marriage occurred in rural communities as a traditional
practice.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Pakistan
Despite legal prohibitions child marriages occurred. The law sets
the legal age of marriage at 18 for men and 16 for women and
prescribes punishment for violators of imprisonment for up to a
month, a fine of 1,000 rupees ($9.90), or both. In March 2014 the
Council of Islamic Ideology declared the marriage laws to be un-
Islamic and noted they were “unfair and there cannot be any legal
age of marriage.” The council stated that Islam does not prohibit
underage marriage since it allows the consummation of marriage
after both partners reach puberty. Many young girls and women
were victims of forced marriages arranged by their families.
Although forced marriage is a criminal offense and many cases
were filed, prosecution remained a problem. In 2012 the Family
Planning Association of Pakistan estimated that child marriages
constituted 30 percent of marriages. In rural areas poor parents
sometimes sold their daughters into marriage, in some cases to
settle debts or disputes (see section 6). In 2013 Sindh passed the
Early Child Marriage Act, which criminalizes marriages to children
under the age of 16. Despite this legislation Sindh has not
effectively stopped the practice of early child marriage. On
October 19, Sukkur police recovered three missing girls from a
village in northern Sindh, who claimed local authorities married
them to men in the village against their free will. The Punjab
provincial assembly passed a law in March increasing the
penalties for parents and clerics who assisted in marriages
between children, although the law left the legal minimum age for
women to marry at 16 years of age.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Palau
Citizens may legally marry after age 16, but they must obtain their
parents’ permission until age 18. Although no statistics were
available on the occurrence of marriages by persons younger than
18 years, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) reported that
underage marriage was not a problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Palestinian
territories
Palestinian law defines the minimum age for marriage as 18;
however, religious law allows persons as young as 15 years old to
marry. Child marriage did not appear to be widespread, according
to NGOs, including the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and
Counseling. According to UNICEF data for the year, 2 percent of
girls were married by the age of 15.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
25
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Panama
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. During the year the
government amended the law to remove provisions permitting an
earlier age of marriage with parental permission.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Papua New
Guinea
The legal age for marriage is 18 for boys and 16 for girls. There is
a lower legal marriage age (16 for boys and 14 for girls) with
parental and court consent. Customary and traditional practices
allow marriage of children as young as age 12, and early marriage
was common in many traditional, isolated rural communities. Child
brides frequently were taken as additional wives or given as
brides to pay family debts and often were used as domestic
servants. Child brides were particularly vulnerable to domestic
abuse. Lack of resources and access to remote regions hampered
the government’s ability to take steps to prevent child marriages
and enforce the law.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Paraguay
The government increased the minimum legal age for marriage
from 16 to 18 through a law published on May 11. Parental
consent is required for those ages 16 to 18. The law permits
marriage for those younger than age 16 only with judicial
authorization under exceptional circumstances. Marriages were
more common in indigenous and rural populations for those
younger than 18. There were no reports of forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Peru
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18. The law allows minors
older than 16 to marry with civil judge authorization.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Philippines
The legal minimum age for marriage for both sexes is 18;
however, anyone below 21 must have parental consent. Under
Muslim personal law, Muslim boys may marry at 15, and girls may
marry when they reach puberty. According to a 2012 UNFPA
report, 14 percent of women age 20-24 married before the age of
18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Poland
The country’s legal minimum age of marriage is 18, although the
guardianship court may grant permission for girls as young as age
16 to marry under certain circumstances.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Portugal
The minimum age for marriage is 18 for women and men, but both
sexes may marry at 16 with the consent of (1) both parents
exercising parental authority; (2) a guardian; or (3), in default of
the latter, a court decision.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Qatar
By law the minimum age for marriage is 18 years for boys and 16
years for girls. The law does not permit marriage of persons below
these ages except in conformity with religious and cultural norms.
These norms include the need to obtain consent from the legal
guardian to ensure that both prospective partners consent to the
union and apply for permission from a competent court; underage
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
26
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marriage is very rare.
tsreport/ ]
Republic of the
Congo
The law prohibits child marriage, and the legal age for marriage is
18 years for women and 21 for men. Underage marriage is
possible with a judge’s permission and with the permission of both
sets of parents; the law does not specify a minimum age in such a
case. In practice many couples engaged in an informal common-
law marriage not legally recognized, while grooms saved for a
legally recognized traditional, court, or church wedding. According
to the UN Population Fund, 33 percent of women 20 to 24 years
old were married by the age of 18 in 2009, although the
government expressed skepticism the percentage was so high.
There is no government program focused on preventing early or
forced marriage. The penalty for forced marriage between an
adult and child is a prison sentence of three months to two years
and a fine of 150,000 to 1.5 million CFA francs ($260 to $2,600).
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Romania
The legal age of marriage is usually 18 for both boys and girls, but
the law permits girls as young as 16 to marry under certain
circumstances. Illegal child marriage was reportedly common in
certain social groups, particularly Roma. Media occasionally
reported individual cases. There were no public policies to prevent
child marriage or government institutions that dealt with the
problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Russia
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for both men and
women. Local authorities may authorize marriage from the age of
16 under certain circumstances, and even earlier in some regions.
In May, Novaya Gazeta reported that a 17-year-old girl had been
pressured into marrying the 57-year-old police chief in Chechnya’s
Nozhai-Yurt district, who was already married. Chechen leader
Kadyrov attended the wedding while Ombudsman Astakhov
publicly defended such practices in the Caucasus.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Rwanda
The minimum age for marriage is 21. Anecdotal evidence
suggested child marriage was more common in rural areas and
refugee camps than in urban areas.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Saint Kitts and
Nevis
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and
women. Underage marriage was rare, and the government did not
keep statistics on it.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Saint Lucia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for men and
women, but 16 with parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
27
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Saint Vincent
and the
Grenadines
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, and parental consent
was required for underage marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Samoa
The legal minimum age of marriage is 21 years for a man and 19
years for a woman. Consent of at least one parent or guardian is
necessary if either is younger than the minimum age. Marriage is
illegal if a woman is younger than 16 years or a man is younger
than 18 years. Early marriage did not generally occur.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
San Marino
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18, but a judge can
authorize the marriage of minors 16 and older in special cases.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Sao Tome and
Principe
The legal minimum age of marriage without parental consent is 18
years. The most recent available data (UNICEF, 2010) indicated
that 5 percent of women then 20-24 years old had been married
or were in union before age 15, and 34 percent had married or
were in union before age 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Saudi Arabia
There were reports during the year of child marriage; it was
almost entirely limited to rural areas. Senior government officials,
including officials from the governmental HRC and the quasi-
governmental NSHR, spoke out against the practice and
advocated the adoption of a minimum marriage age. The law does
not specify a minimum age for marriage, but sharia suggests girls
may marry after reaching puberty. According to some senior
religious leaders, girls as young as 10 may marry. Families
sometimes arranged such marriages to settle family debts, without
the consent of the child. The HRC and NSHR monitored cases of
child marriages, which they reported were rare or at least rarely
reported, and took steps to prevent them from being
consummated. Media reports quoted judges as saying the
majority of child marriage cases in the country involved Syrian
girls, followed by smaller numbers of Egyptians and Yemenis.
There were media reports that some men traveled abroad to find
brides, some of whom were legally minors. The application for a
marriage license must record the bride’s age, and registration of
the marriage is a legal prerequisite for consummation. The
government reportedly instructed marriage registrars not to
register marriages involving children.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
28
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Senegal
By law women have the right to choose when and whom they
marry, but traditional practices restricted a woman’s choice. The
law prohibits the marriage of girls younger than age 16, but this
law generally was not enforced in most communities where
marriages were arranged. Under certain conditions a judge may
grant a special dispensation for marriage to a person below the
age of consent. According to the UNFPA, 33 percent of women
between ages 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18,
based on surveys completed between 2000 and 2011. According
to officials from the Ministry of Women, Family, and Childhood
and women’s rights groups, child marriage was a significant
problem, particularly in the more rural areas in the south, east,
and northeast, and they undertook educational campaigns to
address it.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Article 111: marriage
may be contracted
only between a man
over 20 years old
and a woman over
16 years old, unless
the regional court
dispenses with these
age limits for a
serious reason - Act
No. 89-01 of 17
January 1989
amending the Family
Code.
[Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.n
ih.gov/pubmed/1234
4477]
Serbia
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18. A court can allow a
minor older than 16 but younger than 18 to marry if the minor is
mature enough to “enjoy the rights and fulfill the responsibilities of
marriage.” While the rate of child early and forced marriage
among the general population was low, it was a problem in some
communities, particularly among Roma and in rural areas of the
southern and eastern parts of the country. The most recent
census, conducted in 2011, suggests that early marriage occurred
among individuals from a variety of economic and social
backgrounds. In the Romani community, boys and girls generally
married between the ages of 14 and 18, with 16 as the average
age. Boys generally married a few years later than girls, and some
girls married as early as age 12. Nearly 44 percent of Romani girls
in the 15-19 age group were married or in a long-term
relationship, compared with only 19 percent of Romani men in the
same age group.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Seychelles
The minimum age for marriage is 15 years for girls with parental
consent and 18 years for boys. Child marriage was not a
significant problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
The majority age for
male or female to
contract marriage is
eighteen years and
over
[Source:http://www.ic
s.gov.sc/civil-
status/getting-
married-in-
seychelles]
Sierra Leone
Although the law prohibits marriage of boys and girls under the
age of 18, including forced marriage, early and forced child
marriage continued to be problems. Forty-four percent of women
reported being married by the age of 18, and 18 percent by the
age of 15. Prevalence of early marriage was highest in the North.
UNICEF supported the government in addressing child marriage
issues at the local level through awareness raising and training of
communities and stakeholders, and supporting the development
of by-laws.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Singapore
The law characterizes unmarried persons under age 21 as minors
and persons under 14 as children. Individuals under age 21
wishing to marry must obtain parental consent. In addition to
obtaining parental consent, individuals under age 18 require a
special license from the Ministry of Social and Family
Development. Couples in which one person is under age 18, or
where both are between ages 18 and 21, are required to attend a
marriage preparation program before they can be issued a
marriage license.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Slovakia
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years. In exceptional
cases, based upon request of one of the marrying couple, a
competent court may allow marriage of a person as young as 16
years, if both parents consent. Women from marginalized Romani
communities were transported to the United Kingdom by force or
deception to marry foreign citizens attempting to avoid deportation
by marrying an EU citizen.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
29
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tsreport/ ]
Slovenia
The minimum age for marriage is 18. Centers for social service
can approve marriage of a person under the age of 18, together
with the approval of parents or legal guardians. Child marriage
occurred within the Romani community, but it was not a
widespread problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Solomon
Islands
Boys and girls may legally marry at age 15, and the law permits
marriage at age 14 with parental and village consent. Marriage at
such young ages did not appear to be common.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Somalia
The provisional federal constitution does not specify a minimum
legal age for marriage. It notes marriage requires the free consent
of both the man and woman to be legal. Early marriages
frequently occurred; 45 percent of women between the ages of 20
and 24 were married by age 18, and 8 percent were married by
age 15. In rural areas parents often compelled daughters as
young as 12 to marry. In areas under its control, al-Shabaab
arranged compulsory marriages between its soldiers and young
girls and used the lure of marriage as a recruitment tool. There
were no known efforts by the government or regional authorities to
prevent early and forced marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
South Africa
Parental or judicial consent to marry is required for individuals
younger than 18. Nevertheless, the traditional practice of
“ukuthwala,” the arranged marriage of girls as young as age 12 to
adult men, occurred in remote villages in Western Cape, Eastern
Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. In July the president
promulgated the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in
Persons Bill that prohibits nonconsensual ukuthwala and classifies
it as a trafficking offense. In February 2014 the country recorded
its first conviction for an ukuthwala violation under the trafficking
provisions of the Children’s Act; a man who forcibly married a
victim received a 22-year prison sentence. On March 23, the court
upheld the conviction on appeal.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
South Korea
The minimum legal age for men and women to marry is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
South Sudan
The law provides that every child has the right to protection from
early marriage but does not explicitly prohibit marriage before age
18. Child marriage was common. According to the Ministry of
Gender, nearly half of all girls and young women between the
ages of 15 and 19 were married, and some brides were as young
as 12 years old. Early marriage sometimes reflected efforts by
men to avoid rape charges, which a married woman cannot bring
against her husband. In other cases families of rape victims
encouraged marriage to the rapist to avoid public shaming. Many
abducted girls, often repeatedly subjected to rape (see section
1.g.), were forced into marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
30
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Spain
The minimum age of marriage is 16 years for minors living on their
own. A reform of the penal code approved in January categorizes
forced marriage as a crime punishable by from six months to three
years and six months in prison. Forced marriage carries similar
penalties that, until now, the law categorized as coercion.
Immigrant groups from the Middle East and North Africa, and
Romanian Roma often performed forced marriages. If they occur
within families, they can be difficult to identify and prosecute. In
December 2014 the Catalan regional government, the regional
police, and other local institutions approved a protocol to fight
against forced marriage in the province of Girona. The protocol,
which is the first of its kind in the country, holistically emphasizes
the prevention, detection, assistance, reporting, monitoring, and
protection of the victims. As of June 30, the Catalan police
assisted 11 victims of forced marriage, six of which involved
minors.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Sri Lanka
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for both men and
women, although girls may marry at age 16 with parental consent.
According to the 2006-07 Demographic Health Survey, 11 percent
of women between the ages 20 and 24 reported being married or
in a union before age 18. The Ministry of Women and Children’s
Affairs conducted programs in many districts to educate the public
at the village level on the complications that may result from early
marriage. In a 2013 study, Emerging Concerns and Case Studies
on Child Marriage in Sri Lanka, the UN Children’s Fund
documented a growing list of human rights concerns, especially
for young girls, resulting from early marriage trends, particularly in
poorer, war-affected communities.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Sudan
The law establishes the legal age of marriage at 10 for girls and
15 or puberty for boys. There were no reliable statistics on the
extent of child marriage, but child advocates reported it remained
a problem, especially in rural areas. According to UNICEF
estimates, 12 percent of women ages 20 to 24 were first married
or in a union before they were 15, and 34 percent were married
before reaching 18. In October the first lady issued a statement
during International Day of the Girl expressing concern about
early and forced marriages and announcing a government
initiative that would be launched to tackle the issue.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Suriname
Parental permission to marry is required until the age of 21. The
marriage law sets the age of marital consent at 15 for girls and 17
for boys, provided parents of the parties agree to the marriage.
Where local customs remain a strong influence on the family unit,
girls traditionally marry at or near the legal age of consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Swaziland
The legal age of marriage is 18 years for both boys and girls, but
with parental consent and approval from the minister of justice,
girls may marry at 16. The government recognizes two types of
marriage, civil marriage and marriage under traditional law and
custom. Under traditional law marriages are permitted for girls as
young as 13. Although the deputy prime minister spoke out
against this practice, civil law was generally not enforced to
prevent it. According to the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act,
however, “A child has the right to refuse to be compelled to
undergo or uphold any custom or practices that are likely to
negatively affect the child’s life, health, welfare, dignity or physical,
emotional, psychological, mental, and intellectual development.”
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Sweden
The minimum age of marriage is 18, and it is illegal for anyone
under 18 to marry. The law allows no exceptions.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
31
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Switzerland
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years. Forcing a person
to marry is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Syria
The legal age for marriage is 18 for men and 17 for girls. A boy or
girl who is 15 or older may marry if a judge deems both parties
willing, “physically mature,” and if the fathers or grandfathers of
both parties consent. Although underage marriage declined
considerably in past decades, it was common and occurred in all
communities, albeit in greater numbers in rural and less
developed regions. The media and NGOs reported that early
marriage, particularly among girls, was increasing among Syrian
refugee populations. Da’esh systematically abducted and sexually
exploited Yezidi girls in Iraq and transported them to Syria for
forced marriage (see section 1.g. and section 6, Women).
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Taiwan
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 for men and 16 for
women.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Tajikistan
The legal minimum age for marriage of men and women is 18
years. Under exceptional circumstances, which a judge must
determine, such as in the case of pregnancy, a couple may also
apply to a court to lower the marriageable age to 17. Underage
religious marriage was more widespread in rural areas. Many
parents told their daughters to quit school after ninth grade, at
which point parents considered their daughters to have obtained
sufficient professional skills, such as sewing or cooking, to have a
source of income in the future. The law expressly prohibits forced
marriages of girls under age 18 or entering into a marriage
contract with a girl under 18. Early marriage carries a prison
sentence of up to six months, while forced marriage is punishable
by up to five years’ imprisonment. In most cases the law punishes
underage marriage with a fine. Because couples may not register
a marriage where one of the would-be spouses is under age 18,
many simply have a local religious leader perform the wedding
ceremony. Without a civil registration certificate, the bride has few
legal rights. NGOs claimed that during the year regional ministries
of education and schoolteachers were very actively involved in
persuading parents not to take their daughters out of school. The
NGOs claimed the situation in some rural areas had improved,
and the government partially addressed the problem by requiring
mullahs to demand a certificate of civil marriage registration to
conduct the religious ceremony; however, this regulation was not
effectively enforced, and mullahs conducted religious marriages at
unmonitored private ceremonies.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Tanzania
On the mainland the law provides that girls as young as 15 can
marry with the consent of parents or guardians, although no
consent is required for orphaned girls without guardians. The law
sets the minimum age of marriage for boys at 18. The courts also
have discretion to allow the marriages of 14-year-old girls in the
case of pregnancy. Additionally, the law allows Muslim and Hindu
girls to marry as young as 12 as long as the marriage is not
consummated until the girl reaches age 15. To circumvent these
laws, individuals reportedly bribed police or paid a bride price to
the family of the girl to avoid prosecution. According to Human
Rights Watch (HRW), girls as young as seven were married. An
estimated 37 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24
were married before the age of 18, and 7 percent were married
before the age of 15, according to the 2010 Demographic and
Health Survey. Zanzibar has its own law on marriage, but it does
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
18 Male, 18 Female,
Women and men
who have reached
the age of 14 may
marry only with
parental consent.
UNPD_Inquiry on
Population and
Development_2003
[Source:
http://data.un.org/]
32
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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not specifically address early marriage.
Thailand
The minimum legal age for marriage for both sexes is 17 years;
however, anyone younger than 20 years requires parental
consent. A court may grant permission to marry for those ages 15
to 16 years. Awareness programs by Islamic committees and
government agencies sought to prevent child marriage under
Islamic tradition. NGOs suggested reports of early forced
marriage in the country were not yet at the level of serious
concern when compared to the problems of rape, domestic
violence, and premature pregnancy among teens. Nonetheless,
NGOs noted early forced marriage between student teens who
become pregnant, a practice to “save face” and protect the baby’s
legal status, appeared to be increasing as the country’s teenage
pregnancy rate also increased. According to a World Health
Organization report, the country has the second highest number
of teenage births among Association of Southeast Asian Nations
countries. The Ministry of Public Health launched an awareness
campaign designed to lower teen pregnancy.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Timor-Leste
Although a marriage may not be registered until the youngest
spouse is at least age 16, cultural, religious and civil marriages
were recognized in the civil code. Cultural pressure to marry,
especially if a girl or woman becomes pregnant, is strong.
Underage couples may not officially marry, but are often married
de facto once they have children together. Forced marriage rarely
occurred, although reports indicated that social pressure
sometimes encouraged victims of rape to marry their attacker or
persons to enter into an arranged marriage where a bride price is
paid According to the most recent information from UNICEF
(2010), an estimated 19 percent of girls married prior to the age of
18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Togo
The legal age for marriage is 18 for girls and 20 for boys, although
both may marry under these ages with parental consent.
According to a 2015 UNICEF report, 25 percent of women ages
20-24 were married or in a union before age 18, and 6 percent
were married or in union before age 15. The practice significantly
declined in recent years. Rates were highest in the Savannah
Region at 61 percent, followed by the Plateau Region at 37
percent, Kara Region at 36 percent, Central Region at 31 percent,
and the Maritime Region at 29 percent. The government and
NGOs engaged in a range of actions to prevent early marriage,
particularly raising awareness among community and religious
leaders. Multiple initiatives focused on helping girls stay in school.
Messages broadcast through mass media, particularly local radio,
stressed avoiding early marriage and the importance of educating
girls.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Tonga
The legal minimum age of marriage is 15, and the rate of marriage
for children under the age of 18, while not known, was believed to
be low.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
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Trinidad and
Tobago
Although the legal age for civil and Christian marriage is 18 for
both men and women, the distinct laws and attitudes of the
various religious denominations determine the minimum legal age
for marriage. Under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, the
minimum legal age for marriage is 16 for men and 12 for women;
under the Hindu Marriage Act, the minimum legal age for marriage
is 18 for men and 14 for women; and the Orisa Marriage Act sets
the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 for men and 16 for
women.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Tunisia
The minimum age for marriage for both sexes is 18, but the courts
may, in certain situations, authorize the marriage of persons
younger than 18 upon the express request and approval of both
parents.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Turkey
The law defines 18 years as the minimum age for marriage,
although children may marry at 17 with parental permission and at
16 with court approval. Children as young as 12 were at times
married in unofficial religious ceremonies, particularly in poor,
rural regions. Some families applied to courts to change the
birthdate of their daughters so that they could “legally” marry.
Early and forced marriage was particularly prevalent in the
Southeast, and women’s rights activists reported the problem
remained serious. A report by the NGO KAMER in 2013 estimated
that as many as one-third of marriages in the Southeast involved
underage girls. In 2014 the NGO Flying Broom estimated that,
based on police data, one-third of all marriages involved girls
under age 18 and that one-third of those marriages involved
marriages as second wives. The Ministry of Family and Social
Policies ran a public service message during the year aimed at
reducing early marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Turkmenistan
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18. According to UNICEF’s
2014 report, State of the World’s Children, 7 percent of marriages
involved minors.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Tuvalu
The legal minimum age of marriage for both girls and boys is 16
years.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Uganda
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, but authorities did not
enforce the law. Marriage of underage girls by parental
arrangement was common, particularly in rural areas. Local NGOs
and the police Family and Children Unit reported some parents
arranged such marriages or sexual arrangements for girls as
young as 12 due to poverty. According to the UNFPA, the
prevalence rate of early and forced marriage was approximately
46 percent for girls 15 and older. UNICEF’s 2015 State of the
Children report estimated 10 percent of girls were married before
age 15. On June 16, the MGLSD launched the first National
Strategy on Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy,
developed in partnership with UNICEF and local NGOs, to
strengthen legal protections for children, improve access to
education and health services, and change attitudes regarding
earlier marriages. According to UNICEF, the government child
helpline registered 131 cases of child marriage between January
and June. In March 2014 police in Butaleja District, Eastern
Region, arrested nine persons for attempting to marry a 12-year-
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
34
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
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old girl to a 45-year-old man. The nine suspects did not return
after being released on bail, and authorities did not forward the
case for prosecution.
Ukraine
The minimum age for marriage is 18. If it finds marriage to be in
the child’s interest, a court may grant a child as young as 16 years
old permission to marry. According to a report funded by UNICEF,
in 2013 approximately 11 percent of women reported being
married or in a union before they were 18 (10 percent of urban
and 14.5 percent of rural residents). Romani rights groups
reported early marriages involving girls under 18 were common in
the Romani community.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
United Arab
Emirates
The legal age of marriage for both men and women is 18.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
United Kingdom
The minimum legal age for marriage in the UK is 16. In England
and Wales, persons under 18 and not previously married require
the written consent of the parents or guardians, and the underage
person must present a birth certificate. During the year forcing a
UK citizen into marriage anywhere in the world became a criminal
offense in England and Wales. The new law provides for a
maximum prison sentence of seven years. In Scotland persons
between 16 and 18 do not need parental consent to be married. In
Northern Ireland persons under 18 need parental consent “or if
appropriate an order of a court dispensing with consent.” In
Bermuda the minimum age for marriage is 18. The government’s
Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) operated a helpline providing
confidential support and advice to victims and professionals and
conducted a nationwide outreach program with schools, social
services, and police. In 2014 the FMU gave advice or support to
1,267 cases, 79 percent of which involved female victims. More
than 10 percent involved victims with disabilities and 11 percent of
cases involved victims under the age of 16. In June a man was
sentenced to 16 years in prison for making a 25-year-old woman
marry him under duress, the first ever to be jailed under the forced
marriage laws introduced in 2014. The same month, Respond, a
UK-based charity supporting persons with learning disabilities
affected by trauma and abuse, launched My Life, My Marriage, a
project aimed at challenging the practice of forcing marriage on
persons with learning disabilities. In Scotland the law provides for
protection against forced marriage without free and full consent
and for protecting persons who have been forced into marriage
without such consent. The legal minimum age to enter into a
marriage in Scotland is 16 and does not require parental consent.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
United States
Varies by state - see source
[Source:
https://www.law.cornell
.edu/wex/table_marriag
e ]
35
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Uruguay
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, but with parental
consent is age 12 for girls and age 14 for boys. Early marriages
were not perceived to be a significant problem.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Uzbekistan
The minimum legal age for marriage is 17 for women and 18 for
men, although a district may lower the age by one year in
exceptional cases. The Women’s Committee and mahalla
representatives conducted systematic campaigns to raise
awareness of the dangers of child marriage and early births. The
committee also held regular public meetings with community
representatives and girls in schools to emphasize the importance
of education, self-reliance, financial independence, and the right
to free choice. In some rural areas, girls as young as 15
occasionally were married in religious ceremonies not officially
recognized by the state.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Vanuatu
The legal age for marriage is 21 years, although boys between 18
and 21 years and girls between 16 and 21 years may marry with
parental permission. In rural areas and outer islands, some
children married at younger ages. UNICEF reported that in 2008,
approximately 27 percent of girls married before age 18. There
were no government programs aimed at discouraging child
marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Venezuela
The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 for women and men,
but with parental consent it is 14 for women and 16 for men.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Vietnam
The legal minimum age of marriage is 18 for girls and 20 for boys,
and the law criminalizes organizing marriage for, or entering into
marriage with, an underage person. Possible punishments for
arranging early marriages range from administrative sanctions to
prison terms of between three months and two years. According
to the 2009 census, the rate of marriage under age 18 was
approximately 16 percent in the Northwest Highlands and 11
percent in the Central Highlands--both poor and remote rural
areas--but additional government data were not available.
Provincial authorities and the Women’s Union were responsible
for raising popular awareness of the consequences of early
marriage.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Yemen
Early and forced marriage was a significant, widespread problem.
There was no minimum age for marriage, and girls married as
young as eight years of age, which traditionalists claimed served
to assure they were virgins at the time of marriage. UNICEF’s
2013 data estimated that 12 percent of females married by age 15
and 32 percent by age 18. The conflict likely exacerbated the
situation, but new information was not available. The law forbids
sex with underage brides until they are “suitable for sexual
intercourse,” an age that is undefined. An assessment undertaken
by Intersos in Ta’iz in July found that 27 IDP and 10 host
community families openly practiced early marriage, caused
mostly by security concerns and local traditions, according to an
NGO.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
36
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Zambia
The legal age of marriage is 16 for boys and girls with parental
consent and 21 without consent. There is no minimum age under
customary law. According to the ZDHS, 45 percent of married
women ages 25-49 were married by age 18. Prevalence was
highest in rural areas. The government, parliamentarians, civil
society organizations, and donors worked together to fight early
and forced marriages. The Ministries of Chiefs and Traditional
Affairs and Gender and Child Development, in collaboration with
traditional leaders, NGOs, diplomatic missions, and other
stakeholders, increasingly spoke out against early and forced
marriages. Some leaders nullified forced and early marriages and
placed the girls removed in school. In June, Chief Kabamba of the
Lala people in Serenje dissolved 10 child marriages and put the
girls removed back in school. The chief also punished the girls’
parents for arranging the marriages by assigning community work
to them.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
Zimbabwe
Despite legal prohibitions, families primarily among the rural
population continued to force girls to marry. Families gave young
women to other families in marriage to avenge spirits, as
compensatory payment in interfamily disputes, or when promised
to others--to provide economic protection for the family. Some
families sold their daughters as brides in exchange for food, and
younger daughters at times married their deceased older sister’s
husband as a “replacement” bride. An NGO study published in
March 2014 found that because of the cultural emphasis placed
on virginity, any loss of virginity--real or perceived, consensual or
forced--could result in marriage, including early or forced
marriage. In some instances family members forced a girl to marry
a man based on the mere suspicion that the two had had sexual
intercourse. This cultural practice even applied in cases of rape,
and the study found numerous instances in which families
concealed rape by facilitating the marriage between rapist and
victim. The legal age for a civil marriage is 18, but girls who are 16
and 17 may marry with parental approval. Customary marriage,
recognized under the law, does not require a minimum marriage
age for either boys or girls. The criminal code prohibits sexual
relations with persons younger than age 18, however. According
to the DHS study, 21.7 percent of girls between the ages of 15
and 19 were married. According to the 2014 MICS, 5 percent of
girls and women ages 15-49 were married before 15, while 33
percent of women ages 20-49 were married before 18. Child
welfare NGOs reported they occasionally saw evidence of
underage marriages, particularly in isolated religious communities
or among HIV/AIDS orphans who had no relatives willing or able
to take care of them. The constitution declares anyone under age
18 a child, but the Customary Marriages Act was not amended to
reflect the constitutional change. On January 14, two women
challenged the constitutionality of laws permitting child marriage
before the Constitutional Court. During the hearing the chief
justice indicated that the laws permitting the practice were clearly
unconstitutional, but the court reserved judgement in the case and
had yet to issue a formal ruling at year’s end. On July 31, First
Lady Grace Mugabe launched the Zimbabwean chapter of the AU
Campaign to End Child Marriages. She called on the minister of
justice and legal affairs to align marriage laws to the constitution
and suggested stricter penalties for offenders. She also urged
stakeholders to develop an action plan to end child marriages.
Source: Department of
State Country Reports
on Human Rights
Practices for 2015
http://www.state.gov/j/
drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrigh
tsreport/ ]
