Ghana: share of women who were married before age 15

As of 2018, 7.3 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 19 had been married before reaching 15 years and were still in their marital union, and this represented an average number of 214 women. Five percent of respondents between ages 20 and 24 years (2,195 women) had been married before attaining age 15, representing an average number of 110 women.

There are more female child marriages in Ghana than male ones. Even though the rate of child marriage in Ghana has decreased over the last three decades, it still remains an issue in the country. Reasons for this include teenage pregnancy, poverty, and established social norms.

Share of women who were married before age 15 in Ghana as of 2018

Characteristic	Share of women married before age 15
20-49 years	7.3%
20-24 years	5%
15-49 years	6.2%
15-19 years	7.3%

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Source

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

September 2020

More information

Region

Ghana

Survey time period

2018

Number of respondents

14,374 women

Age group

15-49 years

Supplementary notes

Child marriage has been defined as the marriage of children under 18 years, whether formal or informal. It is mostly considered as a violation of human rights.

The source explains that this statistic shows the percentage of women aged 15-49 years who first married or entered a marital union before their 15th birthday, the percentages of women aged 20-49 and 20-24 years who first married or entered a marital union before their 15th and 18th birthdays, and the percentage of women aged 15-19 years currently married or in union.

The following are the number of respondents for each age group: 15-49 years (1,4374), 20-49 years (1,1447), 20-24 years (2,195), and 15-19 years (2,927).

Citation formats