An estimated 650 million women alive today were married as children, and while global child marriage rates have declined by 15% over the past decade—from 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 women—it will take another 50 years to fully eradicate the practice at the current pace. Though 115 million boys and men were also married before age 18, girls remain far more affected, with 1 in 5 young women aged 20–24 married before 18, compared to 1 in 30 young men. The progress has been uneven, with notable reductions in South Asia, especially India, while the burden is increasingly shifting to sub-Saharan Africa, where progress must accelerate to counter population growth.
The Global Programme to End Child Marriage has been instrumental in advancing the issue across global, regional, and national levels through policy support, legislative advocacy, and community-based innovations.
RAF's annual report for 2025 covers all achievements related to technical webinars, research, advocacy and coordinati
Programming to prevent and respond to child marriage in humanitarian settings is vital to the health, safety and well
RAF's annual report for 2024 covers all of our achievements related to technical webinars, research, advocacy and coo
