The United Nations Agency for Children (UNICEF) says an estimated 68 million child marriages have been averted over the past 25 years due to education, proving that progress is possible when girls are supported and their rights are protected.
The UN agency attributed the progress to investments in girls’ education, legal reform and social protection.
This is contained in a message issued by UNICEF to mark the International Day of the Girl Child celebrated annually on October 11.
The 2026 year’s theme is“End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights!”
“We have the solutions: keeping girls in school; expanding access to health, protection and social services; working with families and communities to challenge harmful norms; investing in girls’ rights and supporting their leadership.
“Now we must go further – and faster. It is in our power to ensure that every girl, everywhere, can realize her rights and fulfil her potential.
“For when girls are safe, educated and empowered, they don’t just transform their own lives, they help build healthier families, stronger communities and more peaceful, prosperous societies.”
According to UNICEF’s 2026 estimates, an estimated one in five girls are married before age 18 across the world, representing approximately 650 million women and girls alive today who were married in childhood.
Nearly one in four ever married or partnered girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
It stated that crisis, conflict and displacement continued to increase the risk of child marriage, sexual violence and maternal mortality for girls.
The UN agency also stated that girls between the aged 15 and 19 were twice as likely as boys to not be in education, employment or training, adding that in fragile, conflict and violence-affected contexts girls are nearly 90 per cent more likely to be out of secondary school than girls in stable contexts – increasing their risk of child marriage.
UNICEF, however, called for end to child marriage and investment in girls’ rights, noting that change is possible.
“We know what works – and investing in girls is one of the most effective ways to accelerate progress.
“Every girl deserves a childhood. Every girl deserves the freedom to learn, to grow, to make her own choices and to define her own future. Yet millions of girls are still denied that freedom.
“Each year, more than 12 million girls – roughly one every three seconds – are married before reaching adulthood, with the highest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa with 31 per cent.
“Child marriage remains one of the most widespread violations of girls’ rights, denying millions of girls the chance to stay in school, protect their health, live free from violence and fulfil their potential.
“It can have severe and lasting consequences for girls’ physical and mental health, increasing risks of social isolation, anxiety and emotional distress at a time when self-harm remains one of the leading causes of death among adolescent girls aged 15-19 globally.”
