INDIA CHILD MARRIAGE

AND TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Based on NFHS-4 (2015-16)
 Photo credits: © UNICEF/UN062026/Vishwanathan

(NFHS-4, 2015-6) data can only highlight prevalence

Introduction rates of child marriage as reported by girls in the age
According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, group 15-19 years.
any girl married below 18 years of age and any boy An overall comparison of prevalence rates of child
married before 21 years, is considered a “child marriage”, marriage reported by 15-19 year old girls between
which is a cognizable offence. While child marriage has NFHS-4 and NFHS-3 at national level shows that there is a
long term negative consequences for both boys and girls considerable decrease in prevalence of child marriage
in terms of educational outcomes as well as transitions to since 2005-06.
the labour market and family formation - the adverse
effect of child marriage on girls is grave. This includes
early pregnancy, maternal and neonatal mortality, Country level findings
educational setbacks, lower employment prospects,
According to NFHS-4 data we find that prevalence of
exposure to violence and abuse - leading to negative
child marriage amongst 15-19 years old and 20-24 years
physical and psychological outcomes. Besides the risk of
old is 11.9% and 26.8% respectively for girls in India,
early childbearing many child brides have little agency
highlighting a declining trend in child marriage. Child
within their marital households.
marriage prevalence in rural and urban India is 14.1%
In India, child marriage has been declining slowly over and 6.9% respectively for age group 15-19 years and
time, but the number of girls and boys getting married 31.5% and 17.5% respectively for rural and urban areas
before their respective legal ages remain large with 12.1 for age group 20-24 years. Prevalence of below legal age
million child marriages reported by Census 2011. marriage for single year age from 15 to 19 years are given
Causes of child marriage are complex and varied based b e l o w a n d fi n d i n g s s h o w t h at p re v a l e n c e o f
on various customs and traditions across several below legal age marriage is increasing with increasing
contexts and is deeply rooted in existing socio-cultural age and found lowest and highest in age 15 (2.7%) and
norms with economic and regional factors playing a 19 (20.5%) respectively.
significant role in determining child marriages. While it is
important to note that child marriage persists amongst
boys, this factsheet draws upon NFHS-4 data (2015-16)
Prevalence of below legal age marriage
related to prevalence of child marriage and teenage
by single year age group
pregnancy amongst girls in the age group 15-19 years
and 20-24 years in India. This fact sheet also examines
some predictors of child marriage in India as well as 11.0 % 19.8 % 20.5 %
its states. 2.7% 5.6 %

National Statistics
Unlike Census, which showed that at National level
incidence of child marriage amongst girls aged 10<18
years was 4.5 per cent, National Family Health Survey - 4 Age 15 16 17 18 19
A comparison of below legal age marriage among girls PREVALENCE RATE
OF CHILD MARRIAGE
aged between 15-19 years and 20-24 years by wealth
index of the household shows that economic status of Women's education*** Age 15-19 Age 20-24
the households is negatively associated with the
No Education 30.8 49.3
prevalence of child marriage across ages though
significantly more child marriages were reported Primary Education 21.9 45.7
amongst 20-24 year old women. It is observed that child
Secondary Education 10.2 28.3
marriage is more prevalent amongst women from
bottom wealth tercile households for both age groups Higher Education 2.4 3.9
(16.6% and 41.5% respectively) and least prevalent
amongst women from the top tercile households (5.4% Significance level: *** p <0.01

and 13.4% respectively). Women's educational level is also found to be negatively

associated with the prevalence of child marriage for both
PREVALENCE RATE 15-19 years and 20-24 years age groups. Higher the level
OF CHILD MARRIAGE
of education, lower is the chance of child marriage. For
Wealth Index*** Age 15-19 Age 20-24 example, the prevalence of child marriage among
women with no education amongst 15-19 years and
Bottom Tercile 16.6 41.5
20-24 years age groups is 30.8% and 49.3% respectively.
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e p re v a l e n c e o f c h i l d
Middle Tercile 12.7 28.6
marriage is substantially lower among the women
Top Tercile 5.4 13.4 with higher education for both age groups (2.4% and
3.9% respectively).

JAMMU & KASHMIR

2.6
NFHS-3 vs NFHS-4
5.6
Comparison of child marriage
HIMACHAL PRADESH
3.3 among 15-19 year old girls (in %)
3.0
PUNJAB CHANDIGARH
2.7 2.2
6.4 N.A. UTTARAKHAND
2.9 ARUNACHAL
HARYANA PRADESH
6.5 7.9
DELHI 12.1
17.3 3.4 SIKKIM 20.2
6.5 3.6
UTTAR 12.7
RAJASTHAN PRADESH
ASSAM 16.7
NAGALAND
16.2 6.4 5.6
29.0 BIHAR 23.0
40.4 MEGHALAYA 7.5
19.7 7.5
47.8 MANIPUR
8.8 7.3
MADHYA JHARKHAND TRIPURA 7.1
GUJARAT PRADESH 17.8 WEST BENGAL
21.6 MIZORAM
13.1 11.4 44.7 23.4 5.4
25.6
19.5 25.5 8.9
CHHATTISGARH 34.0
5.1 ODISHA
DAMAN & DIU 22.1 10.0
DADRA
7.4 & NAGAR MAHARASHTRA 20.3
N.A. HAVELI 12.1
17.5 19.0
N.A. TELANGANA
12.9
NA NFHS-4
(2015-16)

GOA ANDHRA NFHS-3

2.9 PRADESH (2005-06)
16.6
4.5 KARNATAKA 26.3
10.3
22.2
PUDUCHERRY
KERALA TAMIL NADU 3.2
2.4 5.5 N.A.
LAKSHADWEEP 6.2 8.2 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS
1.5 6.2
N.A. N.A.
Trend analysis of child marriage
across NFHS-3 and NFHS-4
A comparative analysis of child marriage for 15-19 year
old girls as reported in NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4
(2015-16) reveals that overall prevalence of child
marriage has reduced to a large extent in the last 10 years
for a large number of states in India except marginal
increase as observed in the states of Manipur and
Himachal Pradesh. Substantial reduction of child
marriage (more than 20 percentage points) is
observed in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh. Photo credits: © UNICEF/UN061984/Vishwanathan

Similarly, a comparative analysis of child marriage as

reported by 20-24 years old women between NFHS-3 Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, whereas more than 20%
(2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16) reveals that overall points reduction is observed in states Bihar, Jharkhand,
prevalence has reduced for this age group in all states in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka
India except Manipur which shows a marginal increase. and Haryana. The analysis clearly indicates a positive
More than 30 percentage points reduction of child trend and gains from efforts being made by various
marriage in this age group is observed in the states of states to prevent child marriage.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

8.7
14.4 NFHS-3 vs NFHS-4
HIMACHAL PRADESH Comparison of child marriage
8.6
12.3 among 20-24 year old women (in %)
PUNJAB CHANDIGARH
7.6 12.7
19.7 N.A. UTTARAKHAND
13.8 ARUNACHAL
HARYANA PRADESH
19.4 DELHI 23.0 23.5
41.2 14.3 SIKKIM 42.0
22.7 15.0
UTTAR 30.1
RAJASTHAN PRADESH
ASSAM 30.8
NAGALAND
35.4 21.1 13.4
58.6 BIHAR 38.6
65.2 MEGHALAYA 21.4
42.5 16.9
69.0 MANIPUR
24.6 13.7
MADHYA JHARKHAND TRIPURA 12.9
GUJARAT PRADESH 37.9 WEST BENGAL
33.1 MIZORAM
24.9 32.4 63.2 41.6 10.9
41.6
38.7 57.3 20.6
CHHATTISGARH 54.0
21.3 ODISHA
DAMAN & DIU 55.0 21.3
DADRA
25.4 & NAGAR MAHARASHTRA 37.2
N.A. HAVELI 26.3
27.5 39.4
N.A. TELANGANA
26.2
N.A. NFHS-4
(2015-16)
ANDHRA
GOA
9.8 PRADESH NFHS-3
33.0 (2005-06)
12.1 KARNATAKA 54.8
21.4
41.8
PUDUCHERRY
KERALA TAMIL NADU 10.7
7.6 16.3 N.A.
LAKSHADWEEP 15.4 22.3 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS
1.9 16.4
N.A. N.A.
State level analysis
of child marriage 12 states in India show higher
As mentioned before, overall prevalence of child marriage than
11.9% of the 15-19 year old the national average 11.9%
girls in India got married
before the legal age. The
prevalence of child marriage
ARUNACHAL
differs substantially across PRADESH
12.1%
states. While twelve states in RAJASTHAN
India show a higher 16.2% BIHAR
ASSAM - 16.7%

prevalence of child marriage 19.7%

than the national average, JHARKHAND TRIPURA
other states have a relatively GUJARAT 17.8% WEST BENGAL 21.6%
13.1% 25.6%
lower prevalence than the
national average. DADRA
& NAGAR MAHARASHTRA
HAVELI 12.1%
17.5%
TELANGANA
12.9%

GOA ANDHRA
9.8 PRADESH - 16.6%

Child marriage is a rural phenomenon

At this juncture, it would be important to examine the factors that lead to early marriage in different states. Findings
reveal that prevalence of girl child marriage in the age-group 15-19 years is significant in rural areas. However, there are
certain states including UTs which have large pockets of child marriage within urban areas. Some of these states are
Haryana (41%), Tamil Nadu (37%), Maharashtra (33%) and Manipur (32%). The findings are particularly important
because any campaign to prevent child marriage in India must focus on rural areas.

Age 15-19 Age 15-19

State State
Urban Rural Urban Rural
Himachal Pradesh 1.3 98.7 Arunachal Pradesh 27.6 72.4
Assam 6.6 93.4 Karnataka 28.3 71.7
Meghalaya 6.9 93.1 Telangana 30.0 70.0
Bihar 8.6 91.4 Uttarakhand 30.1 69.9
Uttar Pradesh 8.9 91.1 Manipur 32.0 68.0
Jammu and Kashmir 9.7 90.3 Punjab 32.1 67.9
Rajasthan 10.6 89.4 Maharashtra 33 67
Jharkhand 11.9 88.1 Tamil Nadu 36.5 63.5
Madhya Pradesh 12.3 87.7 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 39.9 60.1
Odisha 13.9 86.1 Haryana 41.2 58.8
Chhattisgarh 15.9 84.1 Lakshadweep 45.5 54.5
West Bengal 18.4 81.6 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 47.0 53.0
Nagaland 18.9 81.1 Mizoram 49.4 50.6
Andhra Pradesh 22.4 77.6 Puducherry 52.4 47.6
Tripura 24.6 75.4 Goa 77.9 22.1
Gujarat 25.5 74.5 Daman and Diu 82.2 17.8
Kerala 26.4 73.6 Delhi 96.9 3.1
Sikkim 27.5 72.5 Chandigarh 100.0 0
 13 states in which more than
80% of the child marriage
took place in rural areas

20 states in which more than

70% of the child marriage
took place in rural areas

14 states report prevalence of more

than 25% child marriages in urban
areas;Haryana (41%), Tamil Nadu (37%),
Photo credits: © UNICEF/UNI71629/Shankar
Maharashtra (33%) and Manipur (33%)

Wealth index
% of Girls (15-19 years)
Married Before Legal Age by 16.6% 12.7% 5.4%
Household Wealth Bottom Middle Top
At the state level, the relationship between girl child marriage and household wealth index is also significantly strong. It
is evident from the findings that a girl from a poor family is more likely to getting married at a younger age than a girl
from a wealthier family. The state level analysis also highlights that child marriage amongst girls is so entrenched in
certain social groups that a substantial proportion of girls from middle and top wealth tercile households are also
reported to be married before age 18.

Four out of ten child marriages in 13 states and one UT occur amongst the poorest households:

In 13 states and one UT, more than 40% of the child marriages
took place amongst the bottom wealth tercile households

78.9% 69.0% 66.8% 63.4% 61.1% 60.7% 60.3%

Bihar Jharkhand Assam Madhya Pradesh Odisha Nagaland Chhattisgarh

58.6% 54.3% 48.2% 46.5% 46.3% 45.8% 41.7%

Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Jammu & Kashmir Dadra & Nagar Haveli Meghalaya Tripura Arunachal Pradesh

In six states and six UTs more than 30% of the child marriages
took place in top wealth tercile households

63.4% 60.1% 59.8% 56.2% 54.2% 48.6%

Andaman & Nicobar Goa Kerala Delhi Punjab Chandigarh

47.6% 46.4% 45.5% 34.6% 33.6% 30.4%

Haryana Mizoram Lakshadweep Uttarakhand Daman & Diu Puducherry
Child marriages by caste amongst top 10 states with high prevalence of child marriage
State Scheduled Caste (SC) Scheduled Tribe (ST) Other Backward Caste (OBC) Other Caste (OC)
Andhra Pradesh 22 7 58 13
Assam 12 15 27 45
Bihar 24 3 63 9
Gujarat 10 17 57 12
Maharashtra 19 23 18 38
Rajasthan 22 15 55 7
Tripura 24 41 25 11
West Bengal 39 11 12 35
Telangana 19 15 58 7
Arunachal Pradesh 7 72 6 14
India 13 15 11 9

Further analysis of NHFS-4 reveals that the highest between 15-19 years who had child marriages belong to
prevalence of child marriage is reported amongst Scheduled Tribes while 38% of the Other Castes girls in
Scheduled Tribe girls (15%) followed by Scheduled Maharashtra reported highest percentage of married
Castes (13%). However, when we analysed child girls before 18. Furthermore, while Bihar, Gujarat and
marriages amongst the top 10 states with highest Telangana report very high prevalence of child marriage
prevalence of child marriage we find that this amongst OBC girls, West Bengal has the highest
phenomenon is occurring across caste groups. For prevalence of child marriage amongst SC girls.
instance In Arunachal Pradesh, 72% of the sample aged

Photo credits: © UNICEF/UN0214918/Vishwanathan

Secondary education completion helps reduce child marriage
Analysis of the state level data also reveal that similar to
Lowest secondary
the national level (as shown before), there exist a States & UTs completion rate by
correlation between early child marriage and the states amongst married
educational attainment of girls. We find that that the girls (15-19 years)
completion of secondary education is found to be
significant in delaying the age at marriage. Bihar 51.2
Findings show the completion rate of secondary Delhi 53.6
schooling is considerably higher amongst unmarried Rajasthan 57.3
girls aged 15-19 years in almost all states. Making
Uttar Pradesh 60.0
secondary schooling a fundamental right and ensuring
girls from poor households are provided safe learning Meghalaya 61.0
environments as well as residential secondary schools for Madhya Pradesh 62.6
remote areas may be considered as necessary steps to
Punjab 62.9
prevent early marriage in Indian states. In Bihar,
completion rate of secondary education amongst girls Uttarakhand 63.8
who married before age 18 is only 51%, followed by Jammu and Kashmir 63.9
Delhi (54%) and Rajasthan (57%).
Chhattisgarh 64.3

% of Women (15-19 Years)

Married Before Legal Age
30.8% 21.9% 10.2% 2.4%
by Educational levels No Education Primary Secondary Higher

District level analysis

of child marriage Number of districts with high
prevalence of child marriage
District level analysis using NFHS-4 reveals that
(top 100 districts)
amongst all the districts in India, Murshibad
(39.9%) in West Bengal shows the highest
prevalence of child marriage amongst 15-19 years
old, followed by Gandhinagar (39.3%) in Gujarat, RAJASTHAN UTTAR
PRADESH ASSAM
Bhilwara (36.4%) in Rajasthan, Shrawasti (36.3%) in 10 3 BIHAR 9
20
Uttar Pradesh, Birbhum (35.2%) in West Bengal, JHARKHAND TRIPURA

Khagaria (34.4%) in Bihar, Goalpara (33.9%) in GUJARAT MADHYA

PRADESH 11 WEST BENGAL 4
5 14
Assam, Deoghar (32.7%) and Giridih (32.2%) 8
ODISHA
in Jharkhand. 1
MAHARASHTRA
Analysis of top 100 districts based on the high 9
prevalence of child marriage reveals that 14 states TELANGANA
2
have these high prevalence districts. Bihar has the
ANDHRA
GOA
maximum number of districts with high prevalence 9.8 PRADESH
3
(20), followed by West Bengal (14), Jharkhand (11), KARNATAKA

Rajasthan (10), Assam (9), Maharashtra (9), Madhya 1

Pradesh (8), Gujarat (5), Tripura (4), Andhra Pradesh
(3), Uttar Pradesh (3), Telangana (2), Karnataka (1)
and Odisha (1).
Teenage pregnancy
Since most child marriages results in teenage pregnancy due to societal pressure and lack of sexual and
reproductive health knowledge, we analyse level of teenage pregnancy amongst 15-19 year olds. Analysis of
NFHS-4 reveals that amongst the married girls aged 15 to 19 years in India, 31.5 percent of the sample girls in
this age group are found to have babies. It is important to note that almost a quarter of the married girls in the
15-16 years age group had at least one baby while more than a quarter of the married teenage girls had at
least one child at age 17 while 31% had a child by age 18.

Percentage of teenage married girls and first child birth

26.6% 30.7% 14.3%

0.8% 2.8% 7.7% 16.5%
0.6%

Age Below 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
13
Age at first birth among married girls aged 15-19 years old

More than one out of

JAMMU & KASHMIR
four married teenage girls 44.0% Percentage of married
teenage girls (15-19) having
become a mother at least one child
Further analysis of number of children born
to teenage mothers reveals that 27.3 ARUNACHAL
PRADESH
percent of married teenage girls have given 51.5%
birth to one child while 4.2 percent of
ASSAM - 45.2% NAGALAND
married girls have 2 or more children. MEGHALAYA 52.6%
The pattern of children ever born 52.9% MANIPUR
46.2%
amongst these girls differ across different WEST BENGAL
TRIPURA
52.2%
41.9% MIZORAM
states in India. Findings reveal that there 60.8%
are 12 states where more than 40% of
these girls have at least one child or more.
Interestingly we find emergence of states TELANGANA
such as Goa (64%), Mizoram (61%) and 42.4%
Meghalaya (53%) with the highest GOA
prevalence of teenage pregnancy 64.4%
amongst early married girls.
PUDUCHERRY
45.3%
Girls' body mass index (21.6%), Bihar (19.7%), Jharkhand (17.8%), Dadra and
Nagar Haveli (17.5%), Assam (16.7%), Andhra
It is also important to examine the health status of the girls Pradesh (16.6%), Rajasthan (16.2%), Gujarat (13.1%),
who had early marriages because early marriage can Telangana (12.9%), Maharashtra (12.1%) and
result in poor nutritional status of teenage pregnant girls, Arunachal Pradesh (12.1%)
which will in turn result in the birth of undernourished
• There are 100 districts located in 14 states that report
children. Analysis of Body Mass Index (BMI) shows that
the highest prevalence of child marriage across the
overall, 36% of married teenage girls (15-19 years) who
country. These states are Bihar (20), West Bengal (14),
had below legal age marriage are found to be
J h a r k h a n d ( 1 1 ) , Ra j a s t h a n ( 1 0 ) , A s s a m ( 9 ) ,
underweight. State level analysis further indicates that
Maharashtra (9), Madhya Pradesh (8), Gujarat (5),
prevalence of underweight amongst 15-19 year old
Tripura (4), Andhra Pradesh (3), Uttar Pradesh (3),
married girls who had below legal age marriage are
Telangana (2), Karnataka (1) and Odisha (1)
found higher in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (68.9%), Gujarat
(50.9%), Daman and Diu (44.0%), Rajasthan (43.9%), • Prevalence of girl child marriage is found more
Nagaland (41.4%) etc. common in rural areas than urban areas
• Wealth index of the households is significantly related
Conclusion to child marriage amongst girls in India. Poorer the
households, higher the chance of girls getting
As per NFHS-4 (2015-16), 11.9% of the 15-19 year old
married early
girls were married before age of 18 years in India, with
variations across states. Substantial reduction of child • Completion of secondary education is much lower
marriage has been observed across states since 2005-06. amongst married teenage girls than the unmarried
girls amongst 15-19 age group across all states
• There are 12 states in India that show higher
prevalence of child marriage than the national • There are 12 states where more than 40% of the
average. These are West Bengal (25.6%), Tripura teenage married girls have at least one child or more

Top 100 districts with highest prevalence of child marriage

Prevalence of Prevalence of Prevalence of
State District State District State District
Child Marriage Child Marriage Child Marriage
West Bengal Murshidabad 39.9 Assam Bongaigaon 27.2 Bihar Banka 21.9
Gujarat Gandhinagar 39.3 Jharkhand Jamtara 27.1 Assam Kokrajhar 21.7
Rajasthan Bhilwara 36.4 Gujarat Patan 27.1 West Bengal Uttar Dinajpur 21.6
Uttar Pradesh Shrawasti 36.3 West Bengal Puruliya 27.0 West Bengal Paschim Medinipur 21.3
West Bengal Birbhum 35.2 Madhya Pradesh Shajapur 26.7 Rajasthan Ajmer 21.1
Bihar Khagaria 34.4 Uttar Pradesh Bahraich 26.3 Jharkhand Saraikela Kharsawan 21.1
Assam Goalpara 33.9 Bihar Sheikhpura 26.3 Bihar Araria 20.9
Rajasthan Chittaurgarh 33.1 Jharkhand Garhwa 26.2 Maharashtra Osmanabad 20.9
Jharkhand Deoghar 32.7 Madhya Pradesh Rajgarh 26.1 Assam Chirang 20.9
Jharkhand Giridih 32.2 Rajasthan Rajsamand 26.0 West Bengal Barddhaman 20.7
Bihar Jamui 31.5 Bihar Supaul 25.7 Tripura West Tripura 20.4
Jharkhand Godda 31.4 Jharkhand Dumka 25.4 Andhra Pradesh Krishna 20.3
Bihar Gaya 31.4 Rajasthan Sawai Madhopur 25.4 Karnataka Bagalkot 20.2
West Bengal North Twenty Four Par 31.4 Bihar Samastipur 25.3 Bihar Vaishali 20.2
Maharashtra Jalna 31.3 Bihar Lakhisarai 25.2 Telangana Khammam 20.1
Madhya Pradesh Jhabua 31.2 Madhya Pradesh Mandsaur 25.2 Maharashtra Bid 20.1
Assam Dhubri 31.0 Rajasthan Bundi 25.1 Bihar Darbhanga 19.9
West Bengal Nadia 30.8 Madhya Pradesh Tikamgarh 25.0 Assam Golaghat 19.8
West Bengal Koch Bihar 30.7 West Bengal Hugli 25.0 Tripura North Tripura 19.8
Gujarat Kheda 30.4 Rajasthan Tonk 24.7 Andhra Pradesh Prakasam 19.8
Bihar Madhepura 29.7 Tripura Dhalai 24.7 Madhya Pradesh Shivpuri 19.7
West Bengal Maldah 29.7 Jharkhand Kodarma 24.5 Assam Nagaon 19.7
Bihar Purba Champaran 29.6 Bihar Nalanda 24.4 Jharkhand Chatra 19.6
West Bengal South Twenty Four Par 29.5 Tripura South Tripura 24.1 Jharkhand Sahibganj 19.5
Bihar Nawada 29.4 Bihar Saharsa 24.1 Rajasthan Alwar 19.4
Maharashtra Solapur 28.9 Maharashtra Ahmadnagar 24.0 Telangana Nalgonda 19.3
West Bengal Dakshin Dinajpur 28.8 Gujarat Banaskantha 23.8 Maharashtra Latur 19.3
Jharkhand Pakur 28.6 Rajasthan Karauli 23.5 Andhra Pradesh Vizianagaram 19.3
West Bengal Purba Medinipur 28.5 Maharashtra Parbhani 23.3 Madhya Pradesh Ujjain 19.1
Gujarat The Dangs 28.3 Uttar Pradesh Siddharth Nagar 23.1 Madhya Pradesh Ratlam 19.0
Maharashtra Aurangabad 27.8 Bihar Sheohar 22.7 Odisha Koraput 18.9
Maharashtra Hingoli 27.7 Assam Morigaon 22.3 Rajasthan Jodhpur 18.9
Bihar Pashchim Champaran 27.3 Bihar Jehanabad 22.0
Bihar Begusarai 27.2 Assam Barpeta 21.9
 Funded by:

[email protected]

CHILD MARRIAGE
IN INDIA AT A GLANCE
There are 13 states in which more than 80% of the child marriages took
place in rural areas and 20 states where more than 70% of the child
marriages took place in rural areas

Completion rate of secondary schooling is considerably higher amongst

unmarried girls aged 15-19 years in all states. Making secondary school
completion, a fundamental right and ensuring girls from poor
households are provided residential secondary schools may be
considered as necessary steps to prevent early marriage in Indian states

Analysis of top 100 districts based on the high prevalence of child

marriage reveals that in India, 14 states have these 100 high
prevalence districts. Bihar has the maximum number of districts with
high prevalence (20), followed by West Bengal (14), Jharkhand (11),
Rajasthan (10), Assam (9), Maharashtra (9), Madhya Pradesh (8),
Gujarat (5), Tripura (4), Andhra Pradesh (3), Uttar Pradesh (3),
Telangana (2), Karnataka (1) and Odisha (1)

27.3 percent of married teenage girls have given birth to one child
while 4.2 percent of married girls have 2 or more children

The report has been prepared by Young Lives National Commission Young Lives
India in collaboration with National for Protection of Child Rights 47, Community Centre, Mezzanine Floor,
Commission for Protection of Child Rights 5th Floor, Chanderlok Building, Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 065
(NCPCR), New Delhi India. 36, Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ncpcr.gov.in Website: www.younglives-india.org
This report compliments the earlier publication of Young Lives and NCPCR
entitled " A Statistical Analysis of Child Marriage in India - Based on Census 2011"
Photo Credit: Sarika/Young Lives India (Front Cover)
Photo Credit: Beig/Young Lives India (Back Cover)