Turks and Caicos Islands
Region: Latin America and Caribbean
Prevalence rates
Child marriage by 15
Child marriage by 18
Interactive atlas of child marriage
Explore child marriage data in an interactive map view and layer data sets.
Other key stats
| Are there Girls Not Brides members? | 1 |
| Does this country have a national strategy or plan? | No |
| Is there a Girls Not Brides National Partnership or coalition? | No |
| Age of marriage without consent or exceptions taken into account | Minimum legal age of marriage below 18 years, taking into account any exceptions |
What's the prevalence rate?
What drives child marriage in Turks and Caicos Islands?
Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.
There is very limited information on child marriage in Turks and Caicos.
What international, regional and national commitments has Turks and Caicos Islands made?
Turks and Caicos is an overseas British Territory and therefore the international ratifications of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), has been extended to them.
What is the minimum legal framework around marriage?
Under Section 4(a) of the Marriage Ordinance 2014, the minimum legal age for marriage without parental consent is 21 years. Before the age of 21, consent is required to marry and no one younger than 16 can marry.
Data sources
- Government of Turks and Caicos Islands, Department of Statistics, Multiple indicator cluster survey 2019-2020, https://mics-surveys-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/MICS6/Latin%20America%20and%20Caribbean/Turks%20and%20Caicos%20Islands/2019-2020/Survey%20findings/Turks%20%26%20Caicos%20Islands%202019-20%20MICS_English.pdf (accessed May 2024).
- Government of Turks and Caicos Islands, Chapter 11.02 Marriage Ordinance, 2014, https://www.gov.tc/agc/component/edocman/11-02-marriage-ordinance-2/viewdocument/1167?Itemid= (accessed May 2024).
- House of Commons, International treaties and the overseas territories, 2023, https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9707/CBP-9707.pdf (accessed May 2024).
- Spotlight Initiative, The impact of child marriage and early unions: raising the minimum age of consent to marry, https://caribbean.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/policy_brief_2023_the_impact_of_child_marriage_and_early_unions_raising_the_minimum_age.to_marry.pdf (accessed May 2024).