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 |
ST/ESA/STAT/SER.K/WWW/16/Rev.5
24 August 2005 |
The World's Women reports |
|
| |
Table
2c - Legal age for marriage |
|
|
| Country |
Year |
Legal age for marriage |
| |
|
W |
Notes |
M |
Notes |
| Africa |
|
|
|
|
|
| Algeria |
2003 |
18 |
|
21 |
|
| Benin |
2003 |
16 |
|
18 |
|
| Botswana |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| Burkina Faso |
2003 |
18 |
|
21 |
|
| Cape Verde |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Côte d'Ivoire |
2003 |
18 |
|
21 |
|
| Egypt |
2003 |
16 |
|
18 |
|
| Ethiopia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Gabon |
2003 |
15 |
|
18 |
|
| Ghana |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Kenya |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Madagascar |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Malawi |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Mali |
2003 |
18 |
|
20 |
|
| Mauritius |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Morocco |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Namibia |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| Niger |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| Rwanda |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| South Africa |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Togo |
2003 |
17 |
|
20 |
|
| Tunisia |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Uganda |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| United
Republic of Tanzania |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Zambia |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| America, North |
|
|
|
|
|
| Bahamas |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Barbados |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Belize |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Canada |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Costa Rica |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Cuba |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Dominica |
2003 |
16 |
|
16 |
|
| Dominican Republic |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| El Salvador |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Guatemala |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Jamaica |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Mexico |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Panama |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Trinidad and Tobago |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
|
United States of America |
2003 |
18-19 |
(1) |
18-21 |
(1) |
| America,
South |
|
|
|
|
|
| Argentina |
2003 |
21 |
(2) |
21 |
|
| Brazil |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| Chile |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Colombia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Ecuador |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Paraguay |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Peru |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Suriname |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Uruguay |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Asia |
|
|
|
|
|
| Armenia |
2003 |
17 |
|
18 |
|
| Azerbaijan |
2003 |
17 |
|
18 |
|
| Bangladesh |
2003 |
18 |
|
20 |
|
| Cambodia |
2003 |
18 |
|
20 |
|
| China |
2003 |
20 |
|
22 |
(3) |
| Cyprus |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Democratic
People's Republic of Korea |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| India |
2003 |
18 |
|
21 |
|
|
Iran
(Islamic Republic of) |
2003 |
|
|
18 |
|
| Iraq |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Israel |
2003 |
17 |
|
17 |
|
| Japan |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Jordan |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Kazakhstan |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Kuwait |
2003 |
15 |
|
17 |
|
| Kyrgyzstan |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Malaysia |
2003 |
18 |
|
.. |
|
| Myanmar |
2003 |
18 |
|
.. |
|
| Nepal |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Oman |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Pakistan |
2003 |
16 |
|
18 |
|
| Philippines |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Republic
of Korea |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Thailand |
2003 |
17 |
|
17 |
|
| Turkey |
2003 |
17 |
|
17 |
|
| Europe |
|
|
|
|
|
| Austria |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Belarus |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Belgium |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Bulgaria |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Croatia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Czech
Republic |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Denmark |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Estonia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Finland |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| France |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Germany |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Greece |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
(4) |
| Hungary |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Iceland |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Italy |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Latvia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Liechtenstein |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Lithuania |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Malta |
2003 |
16 |
|
16 |
|
| Netherlands |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Norway |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Poland |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Portugal |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Russian
Federation |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| San
Marino |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Serbia
and Montenegro |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Slovenia |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Spain |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Sweden |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Switzerland |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Ukraine |
2003 |
17 |
|
18 |
|
| United
Kingdom |
2003 |
18 |
|
18 |
|
| Oceania |
|
|
|
|
|
| Fiji |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| New
Zealand |
2003 |
20 |
|
20 |
|
| Papua
New Guinea |
2003 |
21 |
|
21 |
|
| Samoa |
2003 |
16 |
|
18 |
|
|
|
Top
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| Sources
|
| |
| Legal age for marriage |
Population Division of the United Nations, “Eighth
and ninth United Nations inquiry on population and development”,
supplemented by periodic country reports to the Committee on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
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| Footnotes |
| |
|
1 |
The
legal minimum age for marriage varies by State. |
|
2 |
Exceptions require legal recourse - only acceptable if woman is
pregnant from man she wishes to marry. |
| 3 |
Exceptions apply. |
| 4 |
Court may permit marriage of minors, if justified. |
|
| |
| Technical
notes |
| |
The legal age for marriage shown in the table
is the legal minimum age at which marriage can be performed without
parental consent. Marriage is defined in terms of the laws of
the individual country or area. In most countries or areas, a
lower minimum legal age than the one shown is specified for marriage
with parental consent.
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United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics
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