The Power of Education to End Child Marriage

Objectives

The brief aims to show how girls’ education and child marriage are linked using recent global survey data. It seeks to quantify differences in child marriage risk by education level, demonstrate how secondary and higher education can reduce the likelihood of marrying before 18, and describe the schooling status of girls who are already married.

Findings

The brief finds that child marriage is most common in countries where girls have the lowest levels of education, and that none of the five highest-prevalence countries has a female secondary completion rate above 15 per cent. Girls with little or no education face the highest risk of child marriage, while those who complete secondary school are much less likely to marry before 18. In 15 high-burden countries, universal completion of secondary school could reduce child marriage by about two thirds, and universal higher education could cut it by more than 80 per cent. Among married girls aged 15 to 17, the large majority are already out of school, confirming that marriage and schooling rarely continue in parallel. The analysis is descriptive and shows strong associations, but it does not establish the direction of causality between schooling and marriage.

Summary

This data brief examines how child marriage and girls’ education are linked using nationally representative survey data from multiple countries. It shows that child marriage is most common where girls have the least education and that secondary and higher education are strongly associated with lower risk of marrying before 18. The brief compares child marriage prevalence across countries and by women’s education level and describes the schooling status of adolescent girls who are already married. It highlights the scale of potential reductions in child marriage if all girls completed secondary or higher education and underscores that marriage and schooling usually diverge, with most married girls no longer in school.

Purpose

The brief aims to inform global and national efforts to end child marriage by quantifying the association between education and early marriage and by illustrating the protective role of schooling. It is intended to help policymakers, practitioners and advocates understand how expanding girls’ access to quality secondary and higher education could dramatically reduce child marriage and to support the design of policies and programmes that keep girls in school and re-engage married girls in learning.

Audience

Targeted readers include;

• National and subnational policymakers in education and child protection
• Government planners working on SDG 5.3 and girls’ education
• International agencies and donors focused on child marriage and education
• Civil society organisations and advocates designing programmes to keep girls in school and delay marriage.
• Researchers and data analysts who use cross-country survey data to inform child marriage strategies