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Child marriage: the African countries where girls can still legally marry before 18

Two decades after the Maputo Protocol set 18 as the minimum age, at least ten African states still let girls marry younger. Here is where, how, and what must change.

Africa 15 min read
Child marriage: the African countries where girls can still legally marry before 18 – RFLD cover

In 2003, African states agreed in the Maputo Protocol that “the minimum age of marriage for women shall be 18 years.” In October 2026, girls can still be married legally before 18 in at least ten African countries, either because the law sets a lower age or because judges, presidents, guardians or customary and religious rules can override it. In Niger, 76% of women aged 20–24 were married before 18. In Central African Republic and Chad the figure is 61%, in Burkina Faso 51% and in Mali 49% (UNICEF data, 2025) [1]. Across West and Central Africa, one woman in three was married as a child; in Eastern and Southern Africa, 29% [1][2]. Nine African Union states have still not ratified the Maputo Protocol [4].

Why the legal age matters

A law that sets 18 without exceptions does not end child marriage by itself. But a law that allows marriage at 15 or 16, or lets an official sign a waiver, tells families, registrars and religious leaders that marrying a girl is acceptable. It also leaves girls without a legal tool to refuse.

Two African treaties set the standard. Article 6 of the Maputo Protocol requires “free and full consent of both parties,” a minimum age of 18 for women, and the registration of every marriage [3]. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) prohibits child marriage in Article 21 and requires states to set 18 as the minimum age [5][7]. Fifty of the 55 AU member states have ratified the Children’s Charter; only Morocco has not signed it, while Somalia, South Sudan, Tunisia and the Sahrawi Republic have signed but not ratified [6].

The Maputo Protocol now has 46 States Parties. Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia and Sudan have signed but not ratified it, and Egypt and Morocco have not signed it. South Sudan ratified in 2023, Botswana acceded in 2023 and the Central African Republic ratified in 2025 [4] (see RFLD’s analysis Maputo Protocol: the nine holdouts).

The top 10: where girls can still legally marry before 18

We ranked countries by how far their law falls below 18 for girls and how wide the exceptions are, using the most recent law we could verify. The prevalence column shows the share of women aged 20–24 who were married or in union before 18. Survey years differ and some data are old; we give the year where the source does.

Country Legal minimum age for girls Exceptions Married before 18 (women 20–24) Maputo Protocol
Niger 15 (Civil Code 1993) Younger with parental consent; presidential exemption “for serious reasons”; most unions under customary law [8] 76% (DHS 2012) [8][9] Signed 2004, not ratified [4]
Sudan No minimum age From age 10 with a judge’s permission (Muslim Personal Law Act 1991, s. 40(3)) [11] 34% (MICS 2014) [11] Signed 2008, not ratified [4]
Tanzania 15 (Law of Marriage Act 1971, s. 13) 14 with court leave; parental consent under 18 (s. 17); court rulings of 2016 and 2019 not yet implemented [12][16] 29% (DHS 2022) [15][17] Ratified 2007 [4]
Cameroon 15 (civil status law, Ordinance 81-02 as amended 2011) Presidential waiver “for serious reasons”; 2016 Penal Code sets 18 but conflicts with civil law [18][19] 30% (DHS 2018) [18] Ratified 2012 [4]
Mali 16 (Code of Persons and the Family 2011) 15 with administrative authorisation and parental consent [20][21] 49% (UNICEF 2025) [1]; 54% in 2018 data [22] Ratified 2005 [4]
Senegal 16 (Family Code 1989, art. 111) Younger with authorisation of the regional court president “for serious reasons” [23] 30% (DHS 2023) [23] Ratified 2004 [4]
Somalia 18 on paper (Family Code 1975) 16 or younger with guardian’s consent; Constitution (2012) uses undefined “age of maturity” [24] 45% (MICS 2006) [24] Signed 2006, not ratified [4]
Nigeria 18 (Child Rights Act 2003), but not in all states 12 of 36 states have not domesticated the Act; Islamic and customary rules apply, as low as 12 in some states [25] 33% [25] Ratified 2004 [4]
Guinea-Bissau 18 16 with parental consent [26] 26% (MICS 2018–19) [26] Ratified 2008 [4]
Burkina Faso 18 (new Persons and Family Code, 2025) Judge may allow marriage at 16 “for serious reasons” according to national press; Girls Not Brides lists no exception. Sources disagree [27][28][29] 51% (DHS 2010) [1][29] Ratified 2006 [4]

Country notes

Niger. The 1993 Civil Code sets 15 for girls and 18 for boys, and recognises customary and religious law, which can conflict with it [9]. Most unions are customary [8]. One source claims the Civil Code age was raised to 21, but we found no confirmation of this, and other sources still cite 15 [8][10]. Niger has the highest rate of child marriage in the world, and girls without schooling are far more exposed: 81% of women aged 20–24 with no education were married by 18, against 17% of those with secondary education [10].

Sudan. There is no minimum age. A girl from age 10 can be married with a judge’s approval if the judge finds it in her interest [11]. The National Child Act (2010) defines a child as under 18, but efforts to use it to reform the marriage age have met resistance from religious groups [11].

Tanzania. In 2016 the High Court, in the case brought by Rebeca Gyumi, found sections 13 and 17 of the Law of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The Court of Appeal confirmed this in October 2019 [12][14]. The government has still not amended the Act [16][17]. The law also allows customary marriages that fall outside it [12].

Cameroon. The civil status law bars marriage of girls under 15, with a presidential waiver possible [19]. The Penal Code was amended in 2016 to set 18, but Girls Not Brides reports that this conflicts with the civil law and is not applied [18].

Mali. The 2011 Code sets 16 for girls and allows 15 by administrative authorisation [20][21]. In May 2018 the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled, in a case brought by APDF and IHRDA, that this violates the Maputo Protocol and the Children’s Charter, and ordered Mali to amend the law within two years [21]. In June 2023 Amnesty International noted: “Unfortunately, the law remains the same” [21]. Women’s groups such as Wildaf Mali still campaign to remove all exceptions [22].

Senegal. The Family Code keeps 16 for girls and 18 for boys. The Code has been under revision since at least 2020, and the CEDAW Committee asked Senegal in 2022 to raise the girls’ age to 18 [23]. We found no adopted change.

Somalia, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau set 18 in at least one law but leave large gaps: guardian consent (Somalia), state-by-state application and religious law (Nigeria), and parental consent at 16 (Guinea-Bissau) [24][25][26].

18 on paper, with a door left open

Other states set 18 but keep exceptions with no lower floor. In Guinea, the President may authorise earlier marriage at the request of the Minister of Justice [32]. In Gabon, the President of the Republic or of the Supreme Court may do so “for serious reasons” [33]. In Ethiopia, the Minister of Justice may allow marriage at 16 [34]. In Mauritania, the CEDAW Committee raised concern in 2014 and 2023 that guardians can authorise marriages of girls under 18 [35]. In Central African Republic and South Sudan, customary practice allows marriage at 16 or at puberty [36][7]. In South Sudan, customary law can force a girl who was raped to marry the perpetrator [7].

Reforms and setbacks, 2021–2026

2021

  • September, Gabon. Law No. 006/2021 sets 18 for girls and boys and criminalises child marriage. Article 203 of the Civil Code still allows exemptions [33].
  • July, Mali. The government makes a Generation Equality Forum commitment, but the 2011 Code is not changed [20].
  • South Sudan. The CEDAW Committee recommends criminalising child marriage and strengthening birth registration [7].

2022

  • August, Zambia. The Children’s Code Act No. 12 of 2022 makes child marriage an offence and sets 18 [37]. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child warns that the Marriage Act and customary law still allow marriage at puberty [37].
  • Kano State, Nigeria. The State Assembly adopts a Child Protection Bill setting 18 as the age of majority; the Governor has not signed it, according to Girls Not Brides [25].
  • Senegal and Somalia. UN treaty bodies recommend 18 with no exceptions [23][24].
  • Late 2022, Tanzania. The Speaker of the National Assembly suggests 21 as the minimum age for girls, but no bill follows [15].

2023

  • 24 February, South Sudan. Ratifies the Maputo Protocol (deposited 7 June) [4].
  • 14 June, Tanzania. In a case filed by Mary Mushi, the High Court (Judge Moses Mzuna) gives the Attorney General six more months to comply with earlier rulings setting 18 as the minimum age, and finds that a public consultation on the marriage age undermined the courts [13]. The deadline passes without an amendment [16].
  • June, Mali. Five years after the African Court judgment, the law is unchanged [21].
  • Mauritania. The CEDAW Committee asks for 18 for both sexes and penalties for facilitating child marriage [35].

2024

  • April, Tanzania. Legal scholars, including a retired Chief Justice, criticise the government for not enforcing the 2019 ruling [14]. Activists launch the “Ni ya Wabunge” campaign aimed at MPs [15].
  • 2 July, Sierra Leone. President Maada Bio signs the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024 [38][39]. The Act sets 18 with no exceptions, removes parental consent in customary marriage, raises the age for Muslim marriage, voids new child marriages and makes cohabiting with a child an offence. Penalties reach 15 years in prison or a fine of at least NLe 50,000 [38][39]. Girls in earlier marriages can seek annulment and compensation [39].
  • July, Burkina Faso. The Council of Ministers adopts a draft Persons and Family Code: 18 for both sexes, with exceptional authorisation by a judge at 16 [27].
  • Central African Republic. Adopts a national strategy to end child marriage (2024–2027), but the legal gaps remain [36].
  • December, Mali. Wildaf Mali publicly denounces child marriage as gender-based violence; local committees report preventing dozens of marriages [22].

2025

  • 1 September, Burkina Faso. The Transitional Legislative Assembly unanimously adopts the new Code. It sets 18 for girls (up from 17) and boys (down from 20), and allows religious and customary marriages to be transcribed [27][28]. Press reports say a judge may still authorise marriage at 16; Girls Not Brides says this point is unclear [27][28]. The same Code also sets prison terms for promoting same-sex relations [27].
  • August–September, Mali. Reporting confirms that Article 281 of the Family Code still permits marriage below 18 [22].

2026

  • July, Burkina Faso. Briefings for journalists on the new Code. Advocate Eulalie Yerbanga says: “The real challenge is no longer the law, it is its application,” and calls for implementing regulations [30][31].
  • August, Tanzania. As the Law of Marriage Act turns 55, the challenged sections remain in force; the government says consultations continue [16].
  • October, Tanzania. TAWLA convenes the Law Reform Commission, the human rights commission and civil society in Dodoma to push for 18 as the minimum age [17].

For Niger, Sudan, Cameroon, Senegal, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau, we found no adopted change to the marriage age between 2021 and October 2026.

What the numbers show

Laws matter, but they are not enough. Chad raised the minimum age to 18 by Ordinance 06/PR/2015, ratified by Law 029/PR/2015, with 5 to 10 years in prison for those who marry, force or officiate at a child marriage, including religious and traditional authorities [40]. Child marriage fell from 68% in 2010 to 61% in 2019, but customary practice is often respected more than written law [41]. Chad has not ratified the Maputo Protocol [4][40].

Education is the strongest protective factor. In Niger, 81% of young women with no schooling were married before 18, against 17% of those with secondary education [10]. In Zambia, the rate fell from 42% in 2002 to 24% in 2024, a decline that began well before the 2022 law and shows that schooling, services and law work together [37].

The gaps in the law

  • Lower age for girls than boys. Niger, Cameroon, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania still discriminate by sex, contrary to Article 6 of the Maputo Protocol [3].
  • Waivers with no floor. Presidential or judicial dispensations with no lower limit (Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon) mean there is no real minimum age [32][33][19]. Ethiopia allows ministerial dispensation at 16 [34].
  • Customary and religious marriage. Most child marriages are never registered with the state. Sierra Leone’s 2024 Act shows these systems can be covered by law [39].
  • Courts ignored. Tanzania and Mali have not implemented binding judgments [16][21].
  • Unratified treaties. Niger, Sudan, Somalia and Chad have not ratified the Maputo Protocol [4].

What RFLD asks for

  1. Set 18 with no exceptions for girls and boys in every civil, customary and religious system, following Sierra Leone’s 2024 model.
  2. Tanzania: amend sections 13 and 17 of the Law of Marriage Act now, as the courts ordered in 2016, 2019 and 2023.
  3. Mali: comply with the 2018 African Court judgment and remove all exceptions in the 2011 Code.
  4. Burkina Faso: publish implementing texts that make clear no judge may authorise marriage below 18.
  5. Niger, Sudan, Somalia and Chad: ratify the Maputo Protocol without reservations.
  6. Make every marriage registrable, including religious and customary unions, with birth certificates checked before any ceremony.
  7. Keep girls in school, including pregnant girls and young mothers, and fund child protection helplines and community committees.
  8. Report honestly to the CEDAW Committee, the ACHPR and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, with data by age, region and type of union.

RFLD tools you can use today

A law for every girl

Sierra Leone, Zambia, Gabon and Burkina Faso show that change is possible, even in countries where child marriage is common. Tanzania and Mali show that court victories are not enough when governments do not act. The Maputo Protocol made the promise in 2003: 18, for every girl, in every type of marriage. In 2026, ten countries still have to keep it. RFLD and its member organisations will keep pressing until no law in Africa allows a girl to be married as a child.

References

  1. Girls Not Brides, “West and Central Africa” (Child Marriage Atlas, UNICEF global databases 2025), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  2. Girls Not Brides, “Eastern and Southern Africa” (Child Marriage Atlas, UNICEF global databases 2025), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  3. African Union, “Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa,” adopted 2003, in force 25 November 2005, au.int
  4. African Union, “List of countries which have signed, ratified/acceded to the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa,” status as of 19 September 2023, updated with later ratifications reported by SOAWR and the African Commission, au.int
  5. African Union, “African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,” adopted 1 July 1990, in force 29 November 1999, au.int
  6. African Union, “List of countries which have signed, ratified/acceded to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,” status as of 14 February 2023, au.int
  7. Girls Not Brides, “South Sudan” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  8. Girls Not Brides, “Niger” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  9. Iris Group / Girls Not Brides, “Niger: Political Economy Analysis on Child Marriage (brief),” June 2020, girlsnotbrides.es
  10. Radio Ndarason International, “Early marriages a violation of girls’ rights,” 22 September 2021, ndarason.com
  11. Girls Not Brides, “Sudan” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  12. Girls Not Brides, “Tanzania” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  13. Daily News (Tanzania), “Court issues six-month ultimatum on Marriage Act amendments,” 3 July 2023, dailynews.co.tz
  14. The Chanzo, “Legal scholars frustrated by Tanzania’s sabotage of judicial mechanisms: ‘It’s a shame’,” 17 April 2024, thechanzo.com
  15. The Guardian (IPP Media), “Activists push for more Marriage Act reform,” 23 August 2024, ippmedia.com
  16. Daily News (Tanzania), “Tanzania’s Marriage Law @55: The unfinished Rebeca Gyumi case,” 15 August 2026, dailynews.co.tz
  17. Daily News (Tanzania), “Tanzania reconsiders Child Marriage Law as advocates demand action beyond courtrooms and legal amendments,” 3 October 2026, dailynews.co.tz
  18. Girls Not Brides, “Cameroon” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  19. UNICEF, “Civil registration and vital statistics country profile: Cameroon,” compiled 2016–2017, data.unicef.org
  20. Girls Not Brides, “Mali” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  21. Amnesty International, “Case on the fight against forced and early marriage in Mali,” 25 June 2023, amnesty.org
  22. Global Voices, “Mali’s rural communities mobilise against child marriage in defence of girls’ futures,” 5 September 2025, globalvoices.org
  23. Girls Not Brides, “Senegal” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  24. Girls Not Brides, “Somalia” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  25. Girls Not Brides, “Nigeria” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  26. Girls Not Brides, “Guinea-Bissau” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  27. Sidwaya, “Assemblée législative de Transition : le nouveau Code des personnes et de la famille adopté,” 2 September 2025, sidwaya.info
  28. Girls Not Brides, “Burkina Faso raises the legal age for marriage to 18 years old,” 2 October 2025, girlsnotbrides.org
  29. Girls Not Brides, “Burkina Faso” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  30. Burkina24, “Lutte contre le mariage d’enfants au Burkina Faso : le nouveau Code des personnes et de la famille expliqué aux journalistes,” 25 July 2026, burkina24.com
  31. Burkina24, “Lutte contre le mariage d’enfants au Burkina Faso : le vrai défi ce n’est plus la loi, c’est son application (Eulalie Yerbanga),” 27 July 2026, burkina24.com
  32. Girls Not Brides, “Guinea” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  33. Girls Not Brides, “Gabon” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  34. Girls Not Brides, “Ethiopia” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  35. Girls Not Brides, “Mauritania” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  36. Girls Not Brides, “Central African Republic” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  37. Girls Not Brides, “Zambia” (Child Marriage Atlas), accessed October 2026, girlsnotbrides.org
  38. Equality Now, “Understanding the new law against child marriage in Sierra Leone,” 23 July 2024, equalitynow.org
  39. SierraLII, “Protecting children from adult affairs: an appraisal of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2024 and its implications for Sierra Leone,” 9 July 2024, sierralii.gov.sl
  40. SOAWR, “Protocol Watch: Chad,” accessed October 2026, soawr.org
  41. UNICEF Chad, “Day of the African Child 2022: harmful practices in Chad,” 2022, unicef.org
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