Moroccan courts approved 10,691 requests for underage marriage in 2024, despite a 17% decline in applications, according to figures from the Higher Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ).
The courts received 16,755 applications, down from 20,192 in 2023, while approvals fell from 12,629 to 10,691. The figures show that roughly two-thirds of applications still received judicial authorization.
Girls accounted for the overwhelming majority of cases, with 16,501 applications, or 98.5% of the total, compared with just 254 involving boys.
Morocco’s Family Code sets the legal marriage age at 18, but Article 20 allows judges to authorize marriages involving minors in exceptional circumstances, provided they justify their decisions.
Marrakech recorded the highest number of applications, at 2,941, followed by Fez with 2,394 and Kenitra with 1,480.
Approval rates varied considerably, reaching 81% in Errachidia, 76.6% in Fez and 75.7% in Kenitra.
Age also influenced judicial decisions. Only 13.6% of applications involving minors aged 15 to 16 were approved, while the rate fell to 1.7% for children younger than 15.
The judicial statistics, however, capture only cases submitted to courts. They do not account for informal unions, including marriages performed through religious ceremonies without official registration.
Such arrangements can complicate the recognition of family rights, particularly for girls and children born outside registered marriages.
The figures come as Morocco continues to debate reforms to the Moudawana, or Family Code, including whether judges should retain the authority to permit underage marriages.
The central question remains how effectively the existing legal exception protects minors when thousands of applications continue to receive approval each year.
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