Originally Posted by UNICEF
In South Asia, there are more child marriages than in any other region of the world: half (32, 6 million) of the 64 million young (Source: UNICEF ROSA CP 2012, with SWOC 2012 data) women 20-24 years old who have reported globally that they were married before age 18, live in South Asia.
Overall, in the region, 46 per cent of women 20-24 years old were first married or in union before they reached the age of 18 and 18 per cent of women 20-24 years old were first married or in union before they even reached the age of 15.
Significant differences in the child marriage rate exist among countries within South Asia, according to available data from national surveys: child marriage prevalence – measured as the percentage of women 20-24 years old who were first married or in union before they were 18 year old – varies from 4 per cent in Maldives to 66 per cent in Bangladesh. The country rates in ascending order are: Sri Lanka (12 per cent); Pakistan (24 per cent); Bhutan (26 per cent); Afghanistan (39 per cent); India (47 per cent); Nepal (51 per cent) and Bangladesh (66 per cent).
Bangladesh, Nepal and India, the countries most at risk of child marriage in South Asia, are among the most at risk countries in the world: with Bangladesh and Nepal on the third and fourth positions, after the West African countries of Niger and Mali. Although girls are more at risk of child marriage than boys, these countries have significant rates of men 20-24 years old who were first married or in union underage (before age 18), in ascending order: Bangladesh (5 per cent); India (10 per cent) and Nepal (16 per cent).