WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Is there a specific exception that allows girls under 18 to be married with parental consent?

This map tells us whether girls can be legally married at a younger age than the general legal minimum with permission from their parents.

This variable includes cases where, in addition to parental consent, legislation requires that marriage is in the interest of the child or that the intended spouse is above the age of majority. We do not consider these requirements to be more protective than parental consent alone.

Earlier marriage is legal with parental consent only with additional requirements: “additional requirements” may include court or other government approval, pregnancy and/or birth of a child, physical and/or mental maturity, and others.

Countries

Bahrain - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Djibouti - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Iran - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Kuwait - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Lebanon - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Mali - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Mauritania - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Micronesia, Federated States of - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Pakistan - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Qatar - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Sudan - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Timor-Leste - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

United Kingdom - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Yemen - Girls can be married under age 18 in all circumstances

Angola - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Argentina - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Armenia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Bahamas - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Barbados - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Belize - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Bolivia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Brazil - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Brunei - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Burkina Faso - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cambodia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cameroon - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Canada - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cabo Verde - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Colombia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Dominica - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Equatorial Guinea - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Grenada - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Guinea-Bissau - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Guyana - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Haiti - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Jamaica - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Latvia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Lesotho - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Malta - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Nicaragua - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Niger - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Palau - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Papua New Guinea - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Paraguay - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Portugal - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Samoa - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Senegal - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Solomon Islands - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Somalia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

South Africa - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

St. Kitts and Nevis - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

St. Lucia - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Suriname - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Eswatini - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Tanzania - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Thailand - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Tonga - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Türkiye - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

United States of America - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Uruguay - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Vanuatu - There is a parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Algeria - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Australia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Austria - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Bangladesh - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Belgium - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Burundi - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Comoros - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Republic of the Congo - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

France - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Gabon - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Greece - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Guinea - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Iceland - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Indonesia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Iraq - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Jordan - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Kazakhstan - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Libya - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Liechtenstein - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Luxembourg - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Madagascar - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Malaysia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Moldova - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Monaco - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Morocco - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Namibia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Oman - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Peru - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Romania - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Saudi Arabia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Singapore - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Syria - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Togo - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Tunisia - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

United Arab Emirates - There is a parental consent exception with additional requirements to the minimum age of marriage

Afghanistan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Albania - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Andorra - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Antigua and Barbuda - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Azerbaijan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Belarus - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Benin - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Bhutan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Bosnia and Herzegovina - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Botswana - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Bulgaria - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Central African Republic - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Chad - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Chile - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

China - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Democratic Republic of the Congo - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Costa Rica - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cote d'Ivoire - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Croatia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cuba - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Cyprus - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Czech Republic - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Denmark - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Dominican Republic - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Ecuador - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Egypt - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

El Salvador - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Eritrea - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Estonia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Ethiopia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Fiji - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Finland - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

The Gambia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Georgia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Germany - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Ghana - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Greenland - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Guatemala - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Honduras - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Hungary - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

India - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Ireland - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Israel - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Italy - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Japan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Kenya - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Kiribati - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Republic of Korea - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Kyrgyzstan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Laos - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Liberia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Lithuania - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

North Macedonia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Malawi - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Maldives - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Marshall Islands - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Mauritius - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Mexico - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Mongolia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Montenegro - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Mozambique - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Myanmar - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Nauru - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Nepal - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

The Netherlands - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

New Zealand - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Nigeria - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Norway - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Panama - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

The Philippines - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Poland - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Russian Federation - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Rwanda - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

San Marino - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Sao Tome and Principe - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Serbia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Seychelles - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Sierra Leone - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Slovakia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Slovenia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

South Sudan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Spain - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Sri Lanka - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Sweden - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Switzerland - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Tajikistan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Trinidad and Tobago - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Turkmenistan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Tuvalu - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Uganda - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Ukraine - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Uzbekistan - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Venezuela - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Vietnam - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Zambia - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage

Zimbabwe - There is no parental consent exception to the minimum age of marriage