Average year at which women marry globally: 17 in Africa, 38 in Sweden

The average year at which women marry varies greatly from continent to continent and from country to country. Culture, geographical location, education, religion, and poverty are some of the factors that contribute significantly to early or late marriage.

Reliable and verifiable data from the UN World Marriage Data for 2019 and OECD data for 2017 all point to the fact that women marry earlier in Africa than anywhere in the world. One will not be wrong to say that girls are either pushed into early marriage or forced into it even before they turn 17.

In 2019, Nigeria was declared the world’s number 2 in child marriage by UNICEF. According to UNICEF,  girls, and women were married out as children in the country, thereby ending their educational endeavours.

Nigeria also has the second-largest number of child brides in the world, with 23 million girls and women married as children and, as such, ending their education.

The lack of educational options for females encourages marriage as an alternative to restricted prospects. Traditional cultural norms and expectations might sometimes push families towards early marriage. Families may also assume marriage provides stability and societal approval due to concerns about “protecting” girls’ virginity or “security”.

Remember that early marriage typically harms girls’ health and future. Impacts include limited schooling, personal development, and increased health risks and domestic violence. These concerns require poverty reduction, educational access extension, and community participation and awareness initiatives to challenge negative cultural norms. Empowering girls and encouraging their options is the key to stopping early marriage and improving everyone’s future.

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A recent example is Senegalese football star Sadio Mane, who got married to an 18-year-old girl ahead of the AFCON 2023.

Globally, Niger leads the table as the country where women marry early, with an average age of 17.2 years. In the Central African Republic, the average marriage age for women is 17.3 years.

Girls in Bangladesh marry by age 18.8, thus before they turn 19. In countries like Nepal, Nigeria, Cuba, India, and Egypt the average age for marriage is between 20 and 22 years.

However, in countries such as Switzerland, women on average marry at age 30.4. In the United Kingdom, it is 31.2. In Sweden, a woman marries at an average age of 33.8

The average age of marriage varies worldwide, although various factors encourage early marriage, especially for females. Families may marry daughters to relieve financial difficulties or gain dowries due to poverty.

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Table showing the average year at which women marry: 17 years in Africa and 38 years in Sweeden