Women who were first married by age 18 (% of women ages 20-24) by country
Women who were first married by age 18 refers to the percentage of women ages 20-24 who were first married by age 18.
Countries reporting
31
Highest
48.5%
Mali
Lowest
5.5%
Rwanda
Median
25.8%
Years covered
40
1986–2025
Data points
217
What the numbers show
Women who were first married by age 18 (% of women ages 20-24) is currently reported for 31 countries. The highest value is 48.5% in Mali; the lowest is 5.5% in Rwanda.
The median across all reporting countries is 25.8%, and the mean is 26.0%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9.
Over the past decade 6 countries rose and 25 fell. The largest increase was in Jordan (up 17.9%), and the largest decrease in Haiti (down 50.2%).
Women who were first married by age 18: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mali | 48.5% | 2024 | down 18.6% | falling |
| 2 | Mozambique | 48.4% | 2023 | up 0.4% | falling |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 47.2% | 2025 | down 19.5% | falling |
| 4 | Madagascar | 38.8% | 2021 | down 19.5% | rising |
| 5 | Malawi | 38.7% | 2024 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 6 | Burkina Faso | 38.2% | 2021 | down 26.0% | falling |
| 7 | Nepal | 34.9% | 2022 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 8 | Uganda | 34.0% | 2016 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 33.7% | 2019 | up 10.5% | flat |
| 10 | Nigeria | 33.4% | 2024 | down 22.0% | falling |
| 11 | Dominican Republic | 31.5% | 2019 | down 20.5% | flat |
| 12 | Senegal | 30.2% | 2023 | up 1.3% | falling |
| 13 | Cameroon | 29.8% | 2018 | down 22.4% | falling |
| 14 | Tanzania, United Republic of | 29.1% | 2022 | down 6.4% | falling |
| 15 | Benin | 27.5% | 2022 | down 13.8% | falling |
| 16 | Côte d'Ivoire | 25.8% | 2021 | down 22.3% | falling |
| 17 | Zambia | 23.9% | 2024 | down 23.9% | falling |
| 18 | Colombia | 23.4% | 2015 | up 1.3% | flat |
| 19 | India | 22.3% | 2021 | down 49.9% | falling |
| 20 | Cambodia | 17.9% | 2022 | down 2.7% | falling |
| 20 | Peru | 17.9% | 2024 | down 6.3% | falling |
| 22 | Indonesia | 16.3% | 2017 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 23 | Ghana | 16.1% | 2022 | down 22.2% | falling |
| 24 | Egypt | 15.8% | 2021 | down 4.8% | falling |
| 25 | Haiti | 14.9% | 2017 | down 50.2% | falling |
| 26 | Türkiye | 14.7% | 2018 | up 5.0% | falling |
| 27 | Bolivia, Plurinational State of | 14.5% | 2023 | down 33.2% | falling |
| 28 | Kenya | 12.5% | 2022 | down 45.4% | falling |
| 29 | Jordan | 9.9% | 2023 | up 17.9% | falling |
| 30 | Philippines | 9.4% | 2022 | down 37.3% | falling |
| 31 | Rwanda | 5.5% | 2020 | down 32.1% | falling |
About this data
Women who were first married by age 18 refers to the percentage of women ages 20-24 who were first married by age 18.