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Legal Age for MarriageSearch glossaries

Source: Indicators on Women and Men | United Nations Statistics Division Download Explore

Country or area		Minimum Legal Age for Marriage								Source year	Source
		Without parental consent				With parental consent
		women		men		women		men
Afghanistan	16	18	15	...	2011	UNPD
1	Aland Islands	18	18	2011	UNSD
Albania	...	...	16	18	2011	UNSD
Algeria	19	19	...	...	2012	CEDAW (51st session)
Andorra	16	16	14	14	2001	CEDAW (25th session)
Angola	18	18	15	a	16	a	2013	CEDAW (54th session)
Anguilla	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Antigua and Barbuda	18	18	15	15	1997	CEDAW (17th session)
Argentina	18	18	...	...	2010	Civil code of Argentina
Armenia	17	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Aruba	18	18	15	18	2011	UNSD
Australia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
2	Austria	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Azerbaijan	...	...	17	18	2011	UNSD
Bahamas	18	18	<18	b	<18	b	2012	CEDAW (52th session)
Bahrain	...	15	...	...	2011	UNSD
Bangladesh	18	21	...	...	2004	CEDAW (31st session)
Barbados	18	18	16	16	2011	UNPD
3	Belarus	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Belgium	18	18	<18	<18	2011	UNSD
Belize	18	18	14	14	2007	CEDAW (39th session)
Benin	18	18	<18	c	<18	c	2005	CEDAW (33rd session)
1	Bermuda	18	18	2011	UNSD
Bhutan	18	18	...	...	2009	CEDAW (44th session)
Bolivia	14	16	<14	d	<16	d	2008	CEDAW (40th session)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Botswana	21	21	18	18	2011	UNSD
Brazil	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Brunei Darussalam	18	c	18	c	...	...	2011	UNPD
Bulgaria	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
4	Burkina Faso	17	20	15	18	2011	UNSD
Burundi	18	21	<18	e	<21	e	2008	CEDAW (40th session)
Cambodia	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Cameroon	15	f	18	...	...	2000	CEDAW (23rd session)
5	Canada	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Cape Verde	18	18	16	g	16	g	2006	CEDAW (36th session)
Cayman Islands	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Central African Republic	18	22	...	...	2011	UNPD
Chad	15	18	...	...	2011	CEDAW (50th session)
Chile	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
China	20	c	22	c	...	...	2011	UNPD
China, Hong Kong SAR	21	21	16	16	2011	UNSD
China, Macao SAR	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Colombia	18	18	14	14	2011	UNSD
Comoros	18	22	...	...	2011	UNPD
Congo	18	21	<18	h	<21	h	2003	CEDAW (28th session)
Cook Islands	21	21	16	16	2011	UNSD
Costa Rica	18	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
Côte d'Ivoire	18	20	...	...	2011	CEDAW (50th session)
Croatia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Cuba	16	18	14	16	2011	UNSD
Cyprus	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Czech Republic	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	17	18	...	...	2005	CEDAW (33rd session)
Democratic Republic of Congo	15	18	...	...	2006	CEDAW (36th session)
Denmark	18	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
Djibouti	18	18	<18	i	<18	i	2011	CEDAW (49th session)
Dominica	18	18	16	16	2011	UNPD
Dominican Republic	18	18	16	17	2011	UNSD
Ecuador	18	18	<18	<18	2011	UNSD
Egypt	21	21	16	18	2011	UNSD
El Salvador	18	18	14	15	2011	UNSD
Equatorial Guinea	12	12	...	...	2004	CEDAW (31st session)
Eritrea	18	j	18	...	...	2006	CEDAW (34th session)
Estonia	18	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
Ethiopia	18	18	...	...	2011	CEDAW (49th session)
Fiji	21	21	16	18	2011	UNPD
6	Finland	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
1	France	18	18	2011	UNSD
Gabon	21	21	15	18	2005	CEDAW (32nd session)
Gambia	...	k	...	k	2005	CEDAW (33rd session)
Georgia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
7	Germany	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Ghana	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Gibraltar	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
8	Greece	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
9	Greenland	18	18	15	16	2011	UNSD
Grenada	21	21	16	16	2012	CEDAW (51th session)
Guatemala	18	18	14	16	2009	CEDAW (43th session)
Guinea	17	18	...	...	2007	CEDAW (39th session)
Guinea-Bissau	17	17	...	...	2009	CEDAW (44th session)
Guyana	18	18	16	16	2012	CEDAW (52th session)
Haiti	18	18	15	l	18	l	2009	CEDAW (43rd session)
Honduras	21	21	18	18	2011	UNPD
Hungary	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
1	Iceland	18	18	2011	UNSD
India	18	c	21	c	...	...	2011	UNPD
Indonesia	16	19	...	...	2011	UNSD
Iran	...	...	15	18	2011	UNSD
Iraq	18	18	15	...	2011	UNPD
1, 10	Ireland	18	18	2011	UNSD
Isle of Man	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
1	Israel	17	17	2011	UNSD
Italy	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Jamaica	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Japan	20	20	16	18	2011	UNSD
Jersey	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Jordan	18	18	...	...	2012	CEDAW (51th session)
Kazakhstan	17	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Kenya	18	18	16	2011	UNPD
Kiribati	21	21	16	16	2011	UNPD
Kuwait	15	17	...	...	2011	CEDAW (50th session)
Kyrgyzstan	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Lao's People Democratic Republic	18	18	15	a	15	a	2009	CEDAW (44th session)
Latvia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Lebanon	12.5-17	c	16-18	c	9-15	c,m	13-17	c	2008	CEDAW (40th session)
Lesotho	21	21	16	n	18	n	2011	CEDAW (50th session)
Liberia	18	21	16	16	2011	UNSD
11	Libya	...	...	18	18	2011	UNSD
2	Liechtenstein	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
12	Lithuania	18	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
Luxembourg	16	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Madagascar	18	18	...	...	2008	CEDAW (42nd session)
1	Malawi	18	18	2011	UNSD
13	Malaysia	16 and 21		18 and 21		16	18	2011	UNSD
Maldives	18	18	<18	a	<18	a	2007	CEDAW (37th session)
Mali	15	18	...	...	2006	CEDAW (34th session)
Malta	16	16	...	...	2011	UNSD
Marshall Islands	18	18	...	...	2011	UNPD
Mauritania	18	18	...	...	2007	CEDAW (38th session)
Mauritius	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
14	Mexico	18	18	14	16	2011	UNSD
Micronesia (Federated States of)	16	18	<16	...	2011	UNPD
Monaco	21	21	15	18	2011	UNPD
Mongolia	18	18	...	...	2001	CEDAW (24th session)
Montenegro	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
15	Montserrat	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Morobbo	18	18	<18	o	<18	o	2008	CEDAW (40th session)
1	Morocco	18	18	2011	UNSD
Mozambique	18	18	16	16	2011	UNPD
Myanmar	20	20	14	...	2011	UNPD
Namibia	21	21	18	18	2011	UNSD
Nauru	16	18	<16	<18	2011	UNPD
Nepal	20	20	18	18	2011	UNSD
Netherlands	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Netherlands Antilles	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
New Caledonia	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
New Zealand	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Nicaragua	18	21	14	15	2007	CEDAW (37th session)
Niger	15	p	18	p	...	...	2007	CEDAW (38th session)
Nigeria	18	c	18	c	...	...	2011	UNPD
Niue	19	21	15	18	2011	UNPD
Norway	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
1	Oman	18	18	2011	UNSD
Pakistan	16	18	...	...	2013	CEDAW (54th session)
Palau	...	q	...	q	...	...	2011	UNPD
Panama	18	18	14	16	2011	UNSD
Papua New Guinea	16	r	18	r	14	g,s	16	g	2010	CEDAW (46th session)
Paraguay	20	20	16	16	2005	CEDAW (32nd session)
Peru	18	18	16	g	16	g	2007	CEDAW (37th session)
Philippines	21	21	18	18	2011	UNSD
16	Poland	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Portugal	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Puerto Rico	21	21	16	18	2011	UNSD
Qatar	16	18	<16	<18	2011	UNPD
Republic of Korea	20	20	18	18	2011	UNSD
Republic of Moldova	16	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
1	Romania	18	18	2011	UNSD
Russian Federation	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Rwanda	21	21	<21	<21	2011	UNPD
Saint Helena ex. dep.	21	21	16	16	2011	UNSD
Saint Kitts and Nevis	16	16	...	...	2011	UNPD
Saint Lucia	18	18	16	16	2006	CEDAW (35th session)
Samoa	19	21	16	18	2005	CEDAW (32nd session)
San Marino	18	18	16	16	2011	UNPD
Sao Tome and Principe	18	18	14	16	2011	UNPD
Saudi Arabia	...	q	...	q	...	...	2011	UNPD
Senegal	18	18	<18	<18	2011	UNSD
Serbia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Seychelles	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
1	Sierra Leone	18	18	2011	UNSD
17	Singapore	21	21	<21	<21	2011	UNSD
18	Slovakia	16	16	...	...	2011	UNSD
Slovenia	18	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
Solomon Islands	18	18	15	15	2011	UNPD
Somalia	18	18	16	...	2011	UNPD
South Africa	21	21	15	18	2011	UNSD
Spain	18	18	14	14	2011	UNSD
Sri Lanka	18	c	18	c	16	...	2001	CEDAW (26th session)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	15	16	...	...	2011	UNPD
19	State of Palestine	...	15.5	14.5	...	2011	UNSD
Suriname	21	21	15	17	2011	UNSD
Swaziland	21	21	16	18	2011	UNPD
20	Sweden	18	18	...	...	2011	UNSD
Switzerland	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Syrian Arab Republic	18	18	...	...	CEDAW (38th session)
Tajikistan	18	18	17	17	2011	UNSD
TFYR of Macedonia	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Thailand	17	p	17	p	...	...	2006	CEDAW (34th session)
Timor-Leste	15	18	...	...	2011	UNPD
Togo	17	20	...	...	2012	CEDAW (53th session)
Tonga	18	18	16	...	2011	UNPD
21	Trinidad and Tobago	18	18	<18	<18	2011	UNSD
Tunisia	18	18	<18	<18	2010	CEDAW (47th session)
Turkey	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Turkmenistan	16	16	...	...	2012	CEDAW (53th session)
Tuvalu	21	21	16	16	2009	CEDAW (44th session)
1, 22	Uganda	18	18	2011	UNSD
Ukraine	17	18	15	15	2011	UNSD
United  Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
United Republic of Tanzania	18	18	14	14	2011	UNPD
United States of America	18	t	18	t	13	14	2011	UNPD
Uruguay	18	18	12	14	2011	UNSD
Uzbekistan	17	17	...	...	2011	UNSD
Vanuatu	16	18	<16	<18	2007	CEDAW (38th session)
1	Venezuela	12	12	2011	UNSD
Vietnam	18	20	...	...	2007	CEDAW (37th session)
Yemen	15	u	15	u	...	...	2002	CEDAW (exceptional session 2002)
Zambia	21	21	...	...	2011	CEDAW (49th session)
Zimbabwe	18	18	16	16	2011	UNSD
Footnotes
...	Data not available
1	The minimum legal age at which marriage can take place is the same respectively for bride and groom with or without parental consent.
2	Persons less than 18 years old need a decision of the court.
3	In compliance with the Marriage and Family Code of the Republic of Belarus, in the exclusive cases related to pregnancy, childbirth, and in case of acquiring by a juvenile of a full legal capacity under lawful age, the civil registration offices are in a position to reduce the marriage age of espousing persons, but not more than by 3 years. The marriage age is to be reduced by an application of espousing persons; the parental consent is not required.
4	In addition, an age waiver may be granted by a civil court for a serious reason from 15 years for women and 18 years for men.
5	Marriage is under provincial and territory legislations. Without parental consent, the minimum legal age at which marriage can take place is 18 years of age in all provinces and territories in Canada except in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and Yukon where the minimum legal age is 19 years. With parental consent, the minimum legal age is 16 years in all provinces except in Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. With parental consent, in Northwest Territories, and Yukon the minimum legal age is 15 years whereas in Nunavut, the minimum legal age is 18 years.
6	Persons less than 18 years old need the permission of the Ministry of Justice.
7	Marriage at 16-17 years of age requires that the other spouse be an adult already betrothed (18 years) and an exemption from the requirement of majority by a competent family court.
8	Under some conditions (e.g. pregnancy) the marriage can take place without age restrictions.
9	To marry at age younger than 18 years, both parental and official consent are needed. Pregnancy is one of the very few reasons to get official consent.
10	An exemption on the minimum age can be granted by court order if granting of such an exemption is in the best interests of the parties to the intended marriage and good reasons for the application can be demonstrated.
11	According to the Islamic law, marriage requires parental consent. Consent of the bride herself, as well as the guardian's consent are fundamental in the marriage contract.  Young men usually choose the consent of the parents. Minimum age at marriage is usually 18 years. According to the law, marriage is not restricted to individuals  over the age of 18 years.
12	In addition to parental consent, persons less than 18 years old need judicial approval. In case of pregnancy, marriage can be allowed below 15 years of age.
13	Without parental consent, it is 21 years of age for non-Muslim males and 18 years of age for Muslim males whereas it is 21 years of age for non-Muslim females and 16 years of age for Muslim females. For marriage with parental consent, approval of relevant authorities is required.
14	Each of the 31 Federal States and the Federal District has its own civil code for marriage. Exceptions to ages given in the table are as follows: without parental consent, the minimum legal age at which marriage can take place in Baja California and Tlaxcala is 16 years for males and 14 years for females whereas in Baja California Sur, it is 16 years for females.  With parental consent, the minimum legal age for marriage is 16 years for both males and females in Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Distrito Federal, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Sonora. With parental consent, the minimum legal age for marriage is under 18 years for both males and females in Coahuila, Hidalgo, and Zacatecas. The Minimum legal age for marriage remains the same respectively for bride and groom with or without parental consent in Baja California, Baja California Sur and Tlaxcala.
15	Consent can be given by a guardian or a person who has custody of the child wishing to marry. Also the Governor has discretion to permit persons as young as 15 years and 1 day old to marry, if he thinks that getting married is in the best interest of the persons who are intending to marry and the persons in this instance must have also received the necessary consent.
16	Females can marry at the age of 16 or 17 years with parental and court consent.
17	Specified minimum legal marriage age refers to marriages contracted under the Women's Charter.  For Muslim marriages under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, no marriage shall be solemnised when either party is below the age of 18 years. Notwithstanding that, Muslim women below the age of 18 years who have attained the age of puberty may be married under the Administration of the Muslim Law Act.
18	A marriage cannot be entered into by a minor. The court may exceptionally and for important reasons approve of entrance into marriage by a minor older than sixteen years. Without this approval, the marriage is invalid and the court shall declare the invalidity even without a petition.
19	The legal marriage age for females is 14 years, 6 months and 22 days. There must be parental consent (father or brother if the father is dead). The legal marriage age for males is 15 years, 6 months and 21 days. Parental consent is not required.
20	With parental consent, no limit but authorities must approve; without parental consent, 18 years of age for Swedish citizens.
21	With parental consent, age for marriage is 14 years for males and 12 years for females in a civil marriage; 16 years for males and 12 years for females in a Muslim marriage; 18 years for males and 14 years for females in a Hindu marriage; and 18 years for males and 16 for females in Orisa marriage.
22	As reported by Uganda Bureau of Statistics, marriages with or without parental consent may occur much earlier than 18 years of age.
a	Under exceptional circumstances.
b	Require the necessary consent unless the Supreme Court certifies that the proposed marriage appears to be proper.
c	Minimum legal ages at marriage may vary across states/provinces, ethnic groups, religious groups or forms of marriage.
d	Marriages between adolescents have to be approved by their parents, although there does exist the option that, if the parents do not give their consent, a judge may authorize the marriage.
e	Exceptions may be made in case of force majeure
f	The consent of a minor future husband or wife shall not be valid unless supported by that of the father and mother. This consent must be free and without defect.
g	Requires authorization of civil court.
h	The State Procurator may, in a serious case, grant a dispensation of the minimum legal age.
i	The marriage of minors under the age of legal majority is subject to the consent of their guardians. If the guardian refuses consent and the future couple remain insistent, the marriage may be authorized by a judge.
j	In case the woman is pregnant or has already given birth to a child at the age of 16, dispensation might be granted from the rule concerning age.
k	No minimum legal age for marriage. The constitution states that men and women of "full age and capacity" shall have the right to marry and find a family.
l	According to Civil Code.
m	Although provision exists, the Government reports that it is not enforced, since it is no longer customary to permit marriage of girls at the age of nine.
n	Requires the written consent of the Minister responsible
o	Special authorization to contract mariage may be grantd to a young man or woman who has not yet reached  that age (18) by family court judge competent to perform marriages.
p	Requires parental consent for minors.
q	There is no legislation specifying the minimum age at marriage for men and women.
r	Under statutory marriage, the parties must be over 21 years old. (persons under 21 years of age may marry with parental consent unless a court has dispensed with this requirement)
s	Under customary law, the emphasis is on physical maturity rather than on the chronological age, a girl of 14 years of age who has the attributes of a physically 'fit' person may enter into a valid customary marriage.
t	The legal minimum age for marriage varies by State.
u	Based on age of majority. Marriage may not be contracted with a minor, except where such marriage will entail some clear benefit.
Sources:
Compiled by the United Nations Statistics Division (DYB 2011: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2011/notes/notes24.pdf) and supplemented by data from the periodic country reports to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), available from the websites, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw, and data published by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011). World Fertility Policies 2011 (United Nations publications, Sales No. E.11.XIII.5).
UNPD     United Nations Population Division
UNSD     United Nations Statistics Division
CEDAW  Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
Technical notes:
Marriage is defined in terms of the laws of the individual country or area.

Source Indicators on Women and Men

Source:  United Nations Statistics Division

The Indicators on Women and Men provides the latest statistics and indicators on women and men in six specific fields of concern: population, women and men in families, health, education, work and political decision making. The statistics and indicators refer to the latest year for which sex-disaggregated data are available. The data have been compiled from official national sources as well as international sources. These indicators are no longer updated. Please visit http://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/data.html for other Gender Statistics.Last update in UNdata: 2013/07/11Next update in UNdata: Not applicable

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