Tajikistan Study Estimates 5,600 Child Marriages a Year, Urges End to Age Exceptions

Thousands of girls marry outside the registration system

About 5,600 marriages involving girls younger than 18 take place in Tajikistan each year, a UNICEF study estimates, while many remain outside the official registration system. The findings put renewed attention on a legal exception that allows courts to approve marriage at 17 and on the limited choices that lead families to arrange early marriages.

In 2024, courts granted 3,804 permissions for marriage below the usual legal age, while civil registration offices recorded 771 such marriages. The study estimates that most marriages involving girls aged 17 take place without court permission or official registration. Girls without a marriage certificate can face greater difficulty securing financial support, defending their interests after separation and resolving inheritance matters.

UNICEF's national study report, published in October 2026, defines child marriage as any formal or informal union before age 18. Its recommendations include making 18 the minimum marriage age without exceptions, improving registration and giving girls practical routes through education into employment.

The research was conducted by UNICEF and the Strategic Research Centre under the President of Tajikistan, with support from the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and the World Food Programme. International researcher Kyle Taylor prepared the study, combining national survey data, economic analysis and qualitative research.

The central problem extends beyond legal paperwork. Although 96% of parents and caregivers surveyed agreed that child marriage should end, 58% still considered marriage the best option available for girls. Many families reject the practice in principle while seeing few realistic alternatives for their daughters.

Fewer young women married before 18

The 2023 Demographic and Health Survey found that 8.8% of women aged 20 to 24 had married before their 18th birthday. Among women aged 25 to 29, the figure was 10.7%; among those aged 30 to 34, it was 13.9%.

The youngest group's figure was 5.1 percentage points below that of women aged 30 to 34, or about 37% lower relative to the older group's rate. Comparing the marriage histories of these age groups suggests gradual progress as successive generations reach adulthood.

Tajikistan nevertheless remains among the Central Asian countries with higher prevalence of child marriage, according to UNICEF. The study recorded its highest regional figure, 14.76%, in the Districts of Republican Subordination, the group of districts administered directly by the central government.

Local conditions matter alongside geography. The researchers describe early marriage as a practice shaped by family expectations, social norms and access to opportunities, including in urban settings. Measures confined to rural communities would leave part of the problem untouched.

What the law permits and what registration records

Article 13 of Tajikistan's Family Code sets the marriage age at 18 but allows a court to lower it by no more than one year in exceptional circumstances at the request of those wishing to marry. The right to apply to a court for a reduction begins at 17. The researchers recommend removing that exception and strengthening oversight of religious marriages conducted without civil registration.

A court's permission and a registered marriage are different administrative steps. The study presents the 3,804 court permissions and 771 registrations recorded in 2024 alongside an estimated annual total of 5,600 marriages involving underage girls. Each figure captures a different part of the process, making better tracking a central recommendation.

Religious or informal unions can place girls in married life without the civil documents they may later need to claim financial support or protect property interests. The study links the absence of registration with several factors, including parents' education, region of residence and a substantial age difference between spouses.

The main dates behind the findings are:

• 2023: The Demographic and Health Survey recorded marriage before 18 among 8.8% of women aged 20 to 24.
• 2024: Courts issued 3,804 permissions for marriage below the usual legal age, while civil registration offices recorded 771 such marriages.
• October 7, 2026: UNICEF published its announcement of the national study and recommendations for legal and social changes.

UNICEF's October 7 announcement calls for stronger birth and marriage registration, better enforcement and greater institutional accountability. The legal changes remain recommendations, with no adoption date given.

Why opposition does not always change family decisions

Parents and caregivers expressed strong opposition to child marriage: 89% considered it a form of violence against children, and 96% wanted it stopped in their communities. Yet 58% viewed marriage as the best available option for a girl, and 31% agreed that securing a good marriage could be more important than continuing her education.

The gap between those answers helps explain why awareness campaigns alone have limited reach. A family may understand that early marriage carries risks while believing that school, paid work or an independent future is beyond its daughter's reach.

Financial hardship, concerns about family reputation and the authority of older relatives all influence decisions. The researchers also identify expectations that girls should put marriage and motherhood before education or employment. Some parents worry that education will make daughters more independent.

The findings build on the earlier findings on alternatives for girls: declining marriage rates have not removed the pressure created by narrow expectations and limited opportunities. The proposed response combines work with families and religious leaders with tangible support for schooling, training and employment.

Education is supported until resources become scarce

Education drew broad support in the survey, with 92% backing equal access for boys and girls. About half nevertheless believed boys' education should take priority when a household could not afford to educate all its children. Another 71% said a woman's main responsibility should be caring for the home and children.

For a girl in a household facing financial strain, those beliefs can affect who stays in school and whose education ends first. An arranged marriage can then become the expected next step, especially when parents see few employment opportunities for young women.

The study associates marriage before 18 with an 11% reduction in women's educational attainment, meaning the amount of schooling women complete. Marriage is often followed soon by motherhood, leaving less time to continue lessons or acquire skills for paid work.

The researchers recommend removing barriers to quality education and allowing married girls and adolescent mothers to return to school. Vocational training and access to decent employment would give families more concrete reasons to support education, while financial assistance could help poorer households keep daughters enrolled.

Early marriage and early motherhood are closely connected

Among women aged 20 to 24, 1.2% reported having their first child before age 18, according to the 2023 survey. The study estimates that about three quarters of births before 18 were associated with child marriage.

Women who married at 17 or younger had, on average, 12% more children over their lifetime than women who married at 18 or later. Starting married life earlier can extend the period during which women have children, while limited influence over reproductive decisions can make it harder to choose the timing and number of pregnancies.

The researchers describe risks that include pregnancy complications, poor nutrition, social isolation and depression. Girls with little power within a marriage may also struggle to obtain contraception or negotiate decisions about sex, exposing them to sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies and abortions.

Confidential health services designed for adolescents are among the study's recommendations. Both married and unmarried adolescents need understandable information and access to reproductive healthcare, with support adapted to the circumstances of girls already living in marriage.

Young children also face health risks

Children born to mothers who gave birth before age 18 faced approximately four times higher odds of stunting before their fifth birthday than children of older mothers, the study found. Stunting means being too short for one's age and commonly reflects prolonged problems with nutrition, illness or both.

The finding connects girls' circumstances before and during pregnancy with the health of the next generation. A young mother's nutrition, access to care and ability to make household decisions can all matter for the care she and her child receive.

The researchers estimate that reducing child stunting through ending child marriage could generate about $2.79 million in annual economic benefits. Their recommendations therefore reach across maternal healthcare, child nutrition, education and support for families rather than assigning the response to the legal system alone.

What the economic estimates mean

Ending child marriage could produce an estimated $19.4 million in annual economic gains, according to UNICEF's announcement. About $16.6 million would come from improvements in women's education, productivity and future earnings, with about $2.8 million from reductions in child stunting and its lasting effects.

The more detailed estimates put those amounts at $16.57 million and $2.79 million. The study also estimates roughly $982,000 in education and healthcare costs for children younger than five in each annual cohort associated with additional births. A cohort is a group sharing a period of birth.

UNICEF describes the calculations as estimates of the approximate scale of selected economic costs. They help explain how interrupted schooling, reduced earning opportunities and poorer child health can affect public resources as well as individual households.

The report also places girls' bodily autonomy, safety and rights at the center of the case for action. Its economic discussion warns against making protection depend principally on the financial returns it might generate. Girls' ability to choose whether and when to marry is a right in its own terms.

Legal reform needs practical alternatives

The study includes an illustrative scenario in which removing the legal exception, together with effective enforcement, could reduce marriage before 18 among women aged 20 to 24 from 8.8% to about 2.05%. That calculation uses optimistic assumptions about how fully the changes would work.

The proposed measures address both the decision to arrange a marriage and the circumstances girls face afterward. They include stronger registration, oversight of unregistered religious marriages, support for poorer families, access to healthcare and a route back into education after marriage or pregnancy.

Parents, religious leaders and local communities also have a role in changing expectations about women's lives. The researchers call for girls to have a greater say in decisions affecting them, alongside opportunities to study, acquire skills and earn an income.

Ending child marriage is a target under the Sustainable Development Goals, but UNICEF says investment remains limited. Tajikistan's figures show why a combined response matters: fewer girls are marrying early than in older generations, yet thousands still enter unions each year while many families see marriage as their safest available choice.

Key Points

• The study estimates about 5,600 marriages involving underage girls each year in Tajikistan.
• Among women aged 20 to 24, 8.8% married before 18, compared with 13.9% among women aged 30 to 34.
• The Family Code sets marriage at 18 but allows courts to approve marriage at 17 in exceptional circumstances.
• Although 96% of surveyed parents and caregivers wanted child marriage stopped, 58% considered marriage the best available option for girls.
• Researchers recommend ending the age exception while expanding education, healthcare, financial support and employment opportunities.
• Estimated annual economic gains from ending child marriage total about $19.4 million.