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Marriageable age

Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions, but in the vast majority of jurisdictions, the marriage age as a right is set at the age of majority. Nevertheless, most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval, especially if the female is pregnant. Among most indigenous cultures, people marry at fifteen, the age of sexual maturity for both the male and the female. In industrialized cultures, the age of marriage is most commonly 18 years old, but there are variations, and the marriageable age should not be confused with the age of majority or the age of consent, though they may be the same.

The 55 parties to the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages have agreed to specify a minimum marriage age by statute law‚ to override customary, religious, and tribal laws and traditions. When the marriageable age under a law of a religious community is lower than that under the law of the land, the state law prevails. However, some religious communities do not accept the supremacy of state law in this respect, which may lead to child marriage or forced marriage. The 123 parties to the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery have agreed to adopt a prescribed "suitable" minimum age for marriage. In many developing countries, the official age prescriptions stand as mere guidelines. UNICEF, the United Nations children's organization, regards a marriage of a minor (legal child), a person below the adult age, as child marriage and a violation of rights.[1]

Until recently, the minimum marriageable age for females was lower in many jurisdictions than for males, on the premise that females mature at an earlier age than males. This law has been viewed by some to be discriminatory, so that in many countries the marriageable age of females has been raised to equal that of males.[citation needed]

History and social attitudes edit

Classical antiquity edit

Greece edit

Females married as young as 14 or 16.[2] In Spartan marriages, females were around 18 and males were around 25.[3]

In ancient Athens, both husband and wife had the power to initiate a divorce. The husband simply had to send his wife back to her father to end the marriage.[4]

Rome edit

In the Roman Empire, the Emperor Augustus introduced marriage legislation, the Lex Papia Poppaea, which rewarded marriage and childbearing. The legislation also imposed penalties for both men and women who remained unmarried, or who married but for whatever reason failed to have children, between the ages of 25 and 60 for men, and 20 and 50 for women.[5] Women who were Vestal Virgins were selected between the ages of 6 and 10 to serve as priestesses in the temple of goddess Vesta in the Roman Forum for 30 years, after which time they could marry.[6]

Noblewomen were known to marry as young as 12 years of age,[7] whereas women in the lower social classes were more likely to marry slightly further into their teenage years.[8][9] The father had the right and duty to seek a good and useful match for his children, and might arrange a child's betrothal long before he or she came of age (age of maturity).[10] To further the interests of their birth families, daughters of the elite would marry into respectable families.[11] If a daughter could prove the proposed husband to be of bad character, she could legitimately refuse the match[11]

In Roman law, age of majority varied from being 25 or as high as 30, though the age of marriage was 12 years for females and 14 years for males, and age of betrothal was 7 years for both males and females. The age of lawful consent to a marriage was 12 for girls and 14 for boys.[7]

Ancient Roman law required brides to be at least 12 years old. In ancient Roman law, first marriages to brides aged 12–25 required the consent of the bride and her father, but by the late antique period Roman law permitted women over 25 to marry without parental consent.[12]: 29–37 

Historically, individuals were allowed to enter into a marriage contract at a very young age. This coincided with signs of puberty: such as the start of menstruation for a female and the growth of pubic hair for a male. In Ancient Rome, the appropriate minimum age was regarded as 14 for males and 12 for females.[13]

43% of Pagan females married as young as 12-15 and 42% of Christian females married as young as 15-18.[14]

In late antiquity, most Roman women married in their late teens to early twenties, but noble women married younger than those of the lower classes, as an aristocratic girl was expected to be virgin until her first marriage.[8] In late antiquity, under Roman law, daughters inherited equally from their parents if no will was produced.[12]: 63  In addition, Roman law recognized wives' property as legally separate from husbands' property,[12]: 133–154  as did some legal systems in parts of Europe and colonial Latin America.

In 380 CE, the Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made Catholicism the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Catholic Church adopted Roman law into Canon law.[13]

Post-classical history edit

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Holy Roman Empire, manorialism also helped weaken the ties of kinship and thus the power of clans; as early as the 9th century in northwestern France, families that worked on manors were small, consisting of parents and children and occasionally a grandparent. The Roman Catholic Church and State had become allies in erasing the solidarity and thus the political power of the clans; the Roman Catholic Church sought to replace traditional religion, whose vehicle was the kin group, and substitute the authority of the elders of the kin group with that of a religious elder; at the same time, the king's rule was undermined by revolts by the most powerful kin groups, clans or sections, whose conspiracies and murders threatened the power of the state and also the demands by manorial lords for obedient, compliant workers.[15] As the peasants and serfs lived and worked on farms that they rented from the lord of the manor, they also needed the permission of the lord to marry. Couples therefore had to comply with the lord of the manor and wait until a small farm became available before they could marry and thus produce children; those who could and did delay marriage were presumably rewarded by the landlord and those who did not were presumably denied that reward. For example, marriage ages in Medieval England varied depending on economic circumstances, with couples delaying marriage until their early twenties when times were bad, but might marry in their late teens after the Black Death, when there was a severe labour shortage;[16]: 96  by appearances, marriage of adolescents was not the norm in England.[16]: 98–100 

In medieval Western Europe, the rise of Catholicism and manorialism had both created incentives to keep families nuclear, and thus the age of marriage increased; the Western Church instituted marriage laws and practices that undermined large kinship groups. The Roman Catholic Church prohibited consanguineous marriages, a marriage pattern that had been a means to maintain clans (and thus their power) throughout history.[17] The Roman Catholic Church curtailed arranged marriages in which the bride did not clearly agree to the union.[18]

Male and female adolescents needed parental consent to marry because they were under the age of majority, 21 years old. In the 12th century, the Roman Catholic Church drastically changed legal standards for marital consent by allowing daughters over 12 years old and sons over 14 years old to marry without their parents' approval, even if their marriage was made clandestinely.[19] Parish studies have confirmed that in the late medieval period females did sometimes marry without their parents' approval in England.[20]

In the 12th century, Canon law jurist Gratian, stated that consent for marriage could not take place before the age of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males; and consent for betrothal could not take place before the age of 7 years old for females and males, as that is the age of reason. The Church of England, after breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church, carried with it the same minimum age requirements. Age of consent for marriage of 12 years old for girls and of 14 years old for boys were written into English civil law.[13]

The first recorded age-of-consent law, in England, dates back 800 years. The age of consent law in question has to do with the law of rape and not the law of marriage as sometimes misunderstood. In 1275, in England, as part of the rape law, the Statute of Westminster 1275, made it a misdemeanor to have sex with a "maiden within age", whether with or without her consent. The phrase "within age" was interpreted by jurist Sir Edward Coke as meaning the age of marriage, which at the time was 12 years old.[21] A 1576 law was created with more severe punishments for having sex with a girl for which the age of consent was set at 10 years old.[22] Under English common law the age of consent, as part of the law of rape, was 10 or 12 years old and rape was defined as forceful sexual intercourse with a woman against her will. To convict a man of rape, both force and lack of consent had to be proved, except in the case of a girl who is under the age of consent. Since the age of consent applied in all circumstances, not just in physical assaults, the law also made it impossible for an underage girl (under 12 years old) to consent to sexual activity. There was one exception: a man's acts with his wife (females over 12 years old), to which rape law did not apply.[23] Jurist Sir Matthew Hale stated that both rape laws were valid at the same time.[24] In 1875, the Offence Against the Persons Act raised the age to 13 years in England; an act of sexual intercourse with a girl younger than 13 was a felony.[25]

There were some fathers who arranged marriages for a son or a daughter before he or she reached the age of maturity, which is similar to what some fathers in ancient Rome did. Consummation would not take place until the age of maturity. Roman Catholic Canon law defines a marriage as consummated when the "spouses have performed between themselves in a human fashion a conjugal act which is suitable in itself for the procreation of offspring, to which marriage is ordered by its nature and by which the spouses become one flesh."[26] There are recorded marriages of two- and three-year-olds: in 1564, a three-year-old named John was married to a two-year-old named Jane in the Bishop's Court in Chester, England.

Modern history edit

The policy of the Roman Catholic Church, and later various protestant churches, of considering clandestine marriages and marriages made without parental consent to be valid was controversial, and in the 16th century both the French monarchy and the Lutheran Church sought to end these practices, with limited success.[27]

In most of Northwestern Europe, marriages at very early ages were rare. One thousand marriage certificates from 1619 to 1660 in the Archdiocese of Canterbury show that only one bride was 13 years old, four were 15, twelve were 16, and seventeen were 17 years old; while the other 966 brides were at least 19 years old.[28]

In England and Wales, the Marriage Act 1753 required a marriage to be covered by a licence (requiring parental consent for those under 21) or the publication of banns (which parents of those under 21 could forbid). Additionally, the Church of England dictated that both the bride and groom must be at least 21 years of age to marry without the consent of their families; in the certificates, the most common age for the brides is 22 years. For the grooms 24 years was the most common age, with average ages of 24 years for the brides and 27 for the grooms.[28] While European noblewomen often married early, they were a small minority of the population,[29] and the marriage certificates from Canterbury show that even among nobility it was very rare to marry women off at very early ages.[28]

The minimum age requirements of 12 and 14 were eventually written into English civil law. By default, these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America.[13] Marriages occurred several years earlier, on average, in colonial America than in Europe, and much higher proportions of the population eventually married. Community-based studies suggest an average age at marriage of about 20 years old for women in the early colonial period and about 26 years old for men.[30] In the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, U.S. states began to slowly raise the minimum legal age at which individuals were allowed to marry. Age restrictions, as in most developed countries, have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age.[13]

Before 1929, Scots law followed Roman law in allowing a girl to marry at twelve years of age and a boy at fourteen, without any requirement for parental consent. However, marriage in Scotland at such young ages was in practice almost unknown.[31]

France edit

In France, until the French Revolution, the marriageable age was 12 years for females and 14 for males. Revolutionary legislation in 1792 increased the age to 13 years for females and 15 for males. Under the Napoleonic Code in 1804, the marriageable age was set at 15 years old for females and 18 years old for males.[32] In 2006, the marriageable age for females was increased to 18, the same as for males. In jurisdictions where the ages are not the same, the marriageable age for females is more commonly two or three years lower than that for males.

Central Europe edit

In 17th century Poland, in the Warsaw parish of St John, the average age of women entering marriage was 20.1, and of men, 23.7. In the second half of the eighteenth century, women in the parish of Holy Cross married at 21.8, while men at 29.[33]

Eastern Europe edit

In medieval Eastern Europe, the Slavic traditions of patrilocality of early and universal marriage (usually of a bride aged 13–15 years, with menarche occurring on average at 14) lingered;[34] the manorial system had yet to penetrate into Eastern Europe and had generally had less effect on clan systems there; and the bans on cross-cousin marriages had not been firmly enforced.[35]

In Russia, before 1830 the age of consent for marriage was 15 years old for males and 13 years old for females[36] (though 15 years old was preferred for females, so much so that it was written into the Law Code of 1649).[37] Teenage marriage was practiced for chastity. Both the female and the male teenager needed consent of their parents to marry because they were under 20 years old, the age of majority. In 1830, the age of consent for marriage was raised to 18 years old for males and 16 years old for females[36] (though 18 years old was preferred for females). The average age of marriage for females was around 19 years old.[38][39]

Mesoamerica edit

Aztec society edit

Aztec family law generally followed customary law. Men got married between the ages of 20-22, and women generally got married at 15 to 18 years of age.[40]

Mayan civilization edit

Maya family law appears to have been based on customary law. Maya men and women usually got married at around the age of 20, though women sometimes got married at the age of 16 or 17.[41]

Marriageable age as a right vs exceptions edit

In the majority of countries, a right to marry at age 18 is enshrined along with all other rights and responsibilities of adulthood. However, most of these countries allow those younger than that age to marry, usually with parental consent or judicial authorization. These exceptions vary considerably by country. The United Nations Population Fund stated:[42]

In 2010, 158 countries reported that 18 years was the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority. However, in 146 [of those] countries, state or customary law allows girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities; in 52 countries, girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent. In contrast, 18 is the legal age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries. Additionally, in 105 countries, boys can marry with the consent of a parent or a pertinent authority, and in 23 countries, boys under age 15 can marry with parental consent.

In recent years, many countries in the EU have tightened their marriage laws, either banning marriage under 18 completely, or requiring judicial approval for such marriages. Countries which have reformed their marriage laws in recent years include Sweden (2014), Denmark (2017), Germany (2017), Luxembourg (2014), Spain (2015), Netherlands (2015), Finland (2019) and Ireland (2019). Many developing countries have also enacted similar laws in recent years: Honduras (2017), Ecuador (2015), Costa Rica (2017), Panama (2015), Trinidad & Tobago (2017), Malawi (2017).

The minimum age requirements of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males were written into English civil law. By default, these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America. This English common law inherited from the British remained in force in America unless a specific state law was enacted to replace them. In the United States, as in most developed countries, age restrictions have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age.[13]

In Western countries, marriages of teenagers have become rare in recent years, with their frequency declining during the past few decades. For instance, in Finland, where in the early 21st century underage youth could obtain a special judicial authorization to marry, there were only 30–40 such marriages per year during that period (with most of the spouses being aged 17), while in the early 1990s, more than 100 such marriages were registered each year. Since 1 June 2019 Finland has banned marriages of anyone under 18 with no exemptions.[43][44]

Relation to the age of majority edit

The marriage age as a right is usually the same with the age of majority which is 18 years old in most countries. However, in some countries, the age of majority is under 18, while in others it is 19, 20 or 21. In Canada for example, the age of majority is 19 in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, and marriage under 19 in these provinces requires parental or court consent (see Marriage in Canada). In USA for example, the age of majority is 21 in Mississippi and 19 in Nebraska and requires parental consent. In many jurisdictions of North America, by marriage minors become legally emancipated.[45]

By country edit

Africa edit

Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent Notes
Male Female Male Female Male Female
  Algeria 19 None (Article 7 of the Family Code[46])
  Angola[47] 18 16 15
  Benin[48] 18 None
  Botswana[49] 21 18
  Burkina Faso[50] 20 20 17 18 15
  Burundi[51] 21 18
  Cameroon[52] 21 18 15
  Central African Republic[53] 18 13
  Chad[54] 21 18
  Democratic Republic of Congo[55][56] 18
  Djibouti[57] 18 None
  Egypt[58] 18
  Equatorial Guinea[59] 18 14
  Eritrea[60] 18
  Eswatini[61] 21 18 16
  Ethiopia[62] 18 16
  Gabon[63] 21 18 15
  Guinea[64] 21 18
  Guinea-Bissau[65] 18
  Ivory Coast[66] 21 20 18
  Kenya 18 As per section 4, Marriage Act 2014.[67]
  Lesotho[68] 21 18 16
  Liberia[69] 21 18 18 16
  Libya[70] 20 None
  Mauritius[71] 18 16
  Madagascar[72] 18
  Mali[73] 18 16 18 16 15
  Mauritania[74] 18 None
  Morocco[75] 18 None
  Mozambique[76] 18 18 In July 2019, Mozambique passed a law to ban child marriage outright. It was signed by president on 14 October 2019 and became a law after being published in "Boletim da República" on 22 October.[77]
  Namibia 21[78] 18 None Under the age of 18 with the written permission of the Minister or any staff member in the Public Service authorized by the Minister.[79]
  Niger[80] 21 18 15
  Nigeria[81] 18
  Republic of the Congo[82] 21 18 21 18 None
  Rwanda[83] 21
  São Tomé and Príncipe[84] 18 16 14
  Senegal[85] 18 16
  Sierra Leone[86] 18
  Somalia[87] 18 16
  South Africa 18 15 None
  • For a marriage under the Marriage Act, 1961, parental consent is required for the marriage of a party under the age of majority,[88] which was formerly 21 but is now 18. The special consent of the Minister of Home Affairs is also required for the marriage of a girl under the age of 15 or a boy under the age of 18.[89]
  • Under the Civil Union Act, 2006, which allows for same-sex or opposite-sex marriages, both parties must be 18 or older.[90]
  • Under the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998, a customary marriage entered into after the passage of the act will only be recognised if both parties were 18 or older.[91]
  South Sudan 18 [92]
  Sudan Puberty 10 The Personal Status Law of Muslims, 1991, allows the marriage of a girl from puberty. Ten years-olds can be married with judicial authorization. The Marriage of Non-Muslims Act of 1926 sets the age of marriage at 13 for non-Muslim girls, and 15 for non-Muslim boys.[93]
  Tanzania[94] 18 15 14
  Togo[95][96] 18 16
  Tunisia[97] 18
  Uganda[98] 18
  Zambia[99] 21 16
  Zimbabwe 18 In 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Marriage Act, which permitted girls (not boys) aged 16 to be married with their parents' consent, was unconstitutional and recognised 18 years as the legal minimum age of marriage.[100]

Americas edit

Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent Notes
Male Female Male Female Male Female
  Antigua and Barbuda[101] 18 15 Section 25 of The Marriage Act reads: "A marriage solemnized between persons either of whom is under the age of fifteen shall be null and void."[102]
  Argentina 18 16 None (Art 403 and 404 of Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación).[103]
  Bahamas 18 15 None The Marriage Act (1908) provides no minimum age with judicial consent; the age with parental consent is 15 (Marriage Act, Sec. 20(2), 50 and Schedule M).[104]
  Barbados 18 16 [105]
  Belize 18 16 with parental consent (The Belize Marriage (Amendment) Act of 2005 increased the minimum age from 14 to 16).[106]
  Bolivia 18 16 (Article 139 of the new Civil Code of 2014).[107]
  Brazil 18 16 [108]
  Canada 18/19 16 Marriage in Canada is governed by both federal and provincial law. The minimum age to marry is set at 16 by a federal statute, the Civil Marriage Act, which states: "No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage."[109] In addition, the provinces may impose procedural requirements for the marriage of a minor who is over 16 but under the age of majority (18 or 19), such as requiring parental consent or permission from a judge. The Criminal Code also prohibits marriage under the age of 16: "Everyone who celebrates, aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one of the persons being married is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."[110]
  Chile 18 Since 2022, the minimum age is 18.[111][112]
  Colombia 18 14 [113]
  Costa Rica 18 [114]
  Cuba 18 Since 2022, the minimum age is 18.[115]
  Dominica 18 16 [116]
  Dominican Republic 18 Since 2021, the minimum age is 18.[117]
  Ecuador 18 Since 2015, the minimum age is 18.[118]
  El Salvador 18 Since 2017, the minimum age is 18.[119]
  Grenada 21 16 [120]
  Guatemala 18 16 [121][122]
  Guyana 18 16 [123]
  Haiti 18 15 [124]
  Honduras 18[125] Since 2017, the minimum age is 18. Before 2017 females could marry from 16, with parental consent.[125]
  Jamaica 18 16 [126]
  Mexico 18 Varies by state. The General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents 2014 establishes 18 years as the general age of marriage, but allows girls to marry at 14 and boys at 16 with parental consent. At state level, as of May 2017, 22 states have made marriage before 18 illegal, while another ten allow it under certain circumstances.[127] As of June 1, 2020 marriageable age in all states is 18 without exceptions.[128]
  Nicaragua 18 16 Under the new 2014 Código de Familia, Articles 54, 57(a) and 58(c).[129]
  Panama 18 Since 2015, the minimum age is 18; prior to that date girls could marry from age 14 years and boys from age 16, with parental consent.[130]
  Paraguay 18 16 [131]
  Peru 18 16 [132]
  Puerto Rico 21 18 None (Younger parties may obtain license in case of pregnancy or birth of child), and 18 with parental consent.[133] Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.
  Saint Kitts and Nevis 18 [134]
  Saint Lucia 18 16 [135]
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18 [136]
  Suriname 21 17 15 [137]
  Trinidad and Tobago 18 Since 2017, the minimum age is 18.[138]
  United States 18 in most states/territories
19 in Nebraska
21 in Mississippi

21 in Puerto Rico

Varies by state The minimum marriage age requirements of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males were written into English civil law. By default, these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America. English common law inherited from the British remained in force in America unless a specific state law was enacted to replace them. In the United States, as in most developed countries, age restrictions have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age.[13]

Minors under 18 can't marry in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. This also holds true for the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

  Uruguay 18 16 [139][140]
  Venezuela 18 16 Articles 18, 46, 59–65 of the Civil Code,[141] decision of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.[142]

Asia edit

Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent Notes
Male Female Male Female Male Female
  Afghanistan Puberty [143]
  Armenia 18 17 16 The age was set at 18 for both sexes in 2012,[144] prior to that date it was 17 for females and 18 for males.[145] However, marriage at age 17 is allowed with parental consent, and at age 16 with parental consent and the condition that the other intending spouse is at least 18.[146]
  Azerbaijan 18 17 17 in special cases with judicial authorization. (Article 10 of the Family Code[147]). The marriageable age for females was raised in 2011 to 18, equalizing it to that of males; prior to that date it was 17.[148]
  Bangladesh 21 18 None Bangladeshi law provides penal sanctions for the contraction of under-age marriages, although such unions are not considered invalid.[149] Despite the law, child marriage rates in Bangladesh are among the highest in the world. Every 2 out of 3 marriages involve child marriages.[150]
  Bhutan 18 [151]
  Brunei 18 14[152] Minimum legal age for marriage without parental consent varies across states/provinces, ethnic groups, religious groups or forms of marriage.[153]
  Cambodia 18 [154]
  China 22 20 22 20 China is the only country to have the highest set marriageable age for men.[155]
 
The sign painted on a building in a village in Hubei, China, informs of the marriageable age in the country (22 for men, 20 for women).
  Cyprus 18 16 16 with parental consent, if there are serious reasons for the marriage.[156][157]
  East Timor 17 16 [158]
  Georgia 18 Since 2017, marriage under 18 is prohibited.[159]
  Hong Kong 21 16 [160]
  India 21 18 (proposed to be 21) None The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) provides that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in case of males, and 18 years in case of females. The proposal to amend the 2006 Act was placed in Lok Sabha in December 2021. It was referred to The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports (EWCY&S) under the Chairpersonship of Dr. Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe. The Bill proposes to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, to reinforce its application in relation to marriage; bring women at par with men in terms of marriageable age; prohibit child marriage; make consequential amendments to the other laws relating to marriage; and other connected matters. The PCMA prevails in India till the new Amendment is passed.In short, the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in case of males, and 18 years in case of females. India has been at the forefront in the battle against child marriage since 1929, when the practice of child marriage (below 14 for girls and 18 for boys) was first legally prohibited through the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.  The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 replaced the 1929 Act, with the same minimum age limits.

On 30th of November, 2022, The High court of Jharkhand reported that Muslim Woman Can Marry Person Of Her Choice After Attaining 15 Yrs Of Age.[161]

  Indonesia 21 19 None The 2019 Revision of the Marriage Law (1974) raised the marriage age for female from 16 to 19, equalizing it to that of males. However, grooms and brides under the age of 21 are required to get their parents' permission before the marriage. While parents remain able to ask the court to grant permission in the case of the grooms or the brides were under the age of 19, the revision stipulated that the court can grant such permission only if there are urgent reasons as well as supporting evidences to back them. The law revision also stresses that the court must consider the spirit of preventing child marriage, as well as moral, religious, cultural, psychological, and health considerations before granting the permission.[162]
  Iran 18 15 15 13 None [163][164] Ways around these regulations include temporary marriages (Nikah mut'ah).[165] With the permission of a court girls may marry at a younger age; during 2010 as many as 42,000 children aged between 10 and 14 were married,[166] and 716 girls younger than 10 had wed.[167]
  Iraq 18 15 15 with judicial permission if fitness, physical capacity and guardian's consent (or unreasonable objection on part of guardian) are established. (These rules may have been revised after Saddam Hussein's fall.[citation needed])[168]
  Israel 18 16 Minimum marriageable age increased from 17 to 18 in November 2013. Family courts able to recognise marriage for 16 and above in special cases.[169]
  Japan 18 [170]
  Jordan 18 The legal minimum age to marry in Jordan is 18, with no restrictions, but is set at 15 with parental/guardian consent, for both males and females.
  Kazakhstan 18 17 16 [171]
  Kuwait 17 15 [citation needed]
  Kyrgyzstan 18 17 Local self-government agencies may, at the request of the parties entering the marriage, provided that justifiable reasons exist, lower the marriage age. The marriage age may not be lowered by more than 1 year.[172]
  Laos 18 15 [173]
  Lebanon 18 17 17 15 15 14 [174] 18 or 17 and 16 or 15 with judicial permission for Druze.[175]
  Macau 18 16 Articles 1478, 1479 and 1482 of the Civil Code.
  Malaysia 21 18 16 A special marriage licence granted by the Chief Minister must be obtained for female sixteen (16) years and above but under the age of eighteen (18) years.[176]
  Maldives 18 16 According to custom, the minimum age for marriage is 15. The Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child discourages marriage before the age of 16.[177]
  Mongolia 18 [178]
  Myanmar 18 18 18 [179]
    Nepal 20 20 (Civil Code 2017, Section 70 and 71) Marriage may be concluded if both have attained twenty years of age.

Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of sub-section (1), nothing shall bar the conclusion, or causing the conclusion of, a marriage within the relationship that is allowed to marry in accordance with the practices prevailing in their ethnic community or clan.[180]

  North Korea 18 17 18 17 [181]
  Oman 18 While the legal minimum age is 18, "custom still recognises marriages below the age of 18".[182]
  Pakistan 18 16 in most provinces
18 in some provinces, including Punjab and Sindh[183][184]
18 16/18 Despite the law[185] against child marriage, the practice is widespread. According to two 2013 reports, nearly 20% of all marriages in Pakistan involve girls less than 18 years old.[186][187] However, in Punjab and Sindh, severe punishments are given for marriages before the age of 18.[188][189]
  Palestine 18 None Since 2019 marriage below 18 is allowed only with religious court permission.[190]
  Philippines 21 18 -[191][192]
  Qatar 18 16 None No minimum age for marriage with parental consent, and permitted only when in conformity with religious and cultural norms and with permission of a competent court.[193]
  Saudi Arabia 18 15 [194]
  Singapore 21 18 None
  South Korea 19 18
  Sri Lanka 18 However, the parties must have a Qadi's permission to marry before contracting into marriage if they are Muslims.[195]
  Syria 18 Thomson Reuters Foundation notes that child marriage occurs from 13 years.[196]
  Taiwan 18 Starting 1 January 2023, the legal age of adulthood was lowered from 20 to 18; in the same amendment, the marriageable age was also increased to 18 in order to be consistent with the legal age of adulthood. Therefore the case of marriage with parental consent no longer exists.[197][198]
  Tajikistan 18 17 [199]
  Thailand 20 17 [200]
  Turkey 18 17 16
  Turkmenistan 18 [201]
  United Arab Emirates 18 None Mature minors allowed to marry with judicial permission.[202]
  Uzbekistan 18 18 17 [203]
  Vietnam 20 18 20 18 None[204] [205]
  Yemen 15 None HRW notes no legal minimum age for marriage under Yemeni law, and UNSD notes that child marriage is permitted where "such marriage will entail some clear benefit."[206]

Europe edit

The marriageable age as a right is 18 in all European countries, with the exception of Andorra and Scotland where it is 16 (regardless of gender). Existing exceptions to this general rule (usually requiring special judicial or parental consent) are discussed below. In both the European Union and the Council of Europe the marriageable age falls within the jurisdiction of individual member states. The Istanbul convention, the first legally binding instrument in Europe in the field of violence against women and domestic violence,[207] only requires countries which ratify it to prohibit forced marriage (Article 37) and to ensure that forced marriages can be easily voided without further victimization (Article 32), but does not make any reference to a minimum age of marriage.

Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent Notes
Male Female Male Female Male Female
  Albania 18 [208][209]
  Andorra 16 14 [210]
  Austria 18 16 The court does only give consent, if also the parents consent, with exception if they are have no serious reasons for their refuse; Marriage Act, § 1
  Belarus 18 [211]
  Belgium 18 None With parental consent, serious reasons are required for a minor to marry; without parental consent, the unwillingness of the parents has to constitute an abuse.[212]
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 18 16 In both entities and the Brčko District.[213][214][215]
  Bulgaria 18 16 The new 2009 Family Code fixes the age at 18, but allows for an exception for 16 years olds, stating that "Upon exception, in case that important reasons impose this, matrimony may be concluded by a person at the age of 16 with permission by the regional judge". It further states that both persons wanting to marry, as well as the parents/guardians of the minor, must be consulted by the judge. (Chapter 2, Article 6)[216]
  Croatia 18 16 Croatian Family Act, Article 25
  Czech Republic 18 16 Article 672 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll. the Civil Code (which came into force in 2014) states that the court may, in exceptional cases, allow a marriage of a 16 year old, if there are serious reasons for it.[217] Moreover, a minor can marry if he or she has been granted full capacity by a court decision as given by Article 37 of the Civil Code.
  Denmark 18 [218]
  Estonia 18 15 15 with court permission.[219][220]
  Finland 18 In Finland, all marriages under 18 – is completely legally banned with no exemptions since June 1, 2019.[43]
  France 18 16 Under 18 permission from a court or one parent. In France the legal age for marriage was equalized for both sexes at 18 in 2006,[221] but in exceptional cases a court may allow marriage at younger ages.[222]
  Germany 18 The minimum age was explicitly set to 18 on July 22, 2017.[223] (Before this day, a Family Court could issue an exception for 16–18 year-olds if one party was over 18.) Marriages with a spouse under 16 are legally void. For a 16–17 year old spouse the marriage is repealed.[224][225]
  Gibraltar 18
  Greece 18 None Under 18 requires court permission, which may be given if there are serious reasons for such a marriage.[156][226]
  Hungary 18 16 16 with authorization from the guardianship authority.[227]
  Iceland 18 Since 2022, marriage under 18 is prohibited.[228]
  Ireland 18 Since 2019, marriage under 18 is prohibited.[229]
  Italy 18 16
  Latvia 18 16
  Liechtenstein 18 None [230]
  Lithuania 18 15 None Minors can only marry below 15 if they are pregnant females with court permission.[231]
  Luxembourg 18 None New laws of 2014 fixed the marriageable at 18 for both sexes; prior to these regulations the age was 16 for females and 18 for males. The new laws still allow both sexes to obtain judicial consent to get married under 18.[232]
  Malta 18 16 16 with parental consent, specifically for "a person who is subject to paternal authority or to tutorship". (However if this is unattainable, the court can provide the consent.)[233]
  Moldova 18 16 16, if there are valid reasons, with both judicial and parental permission.[234]
  Montenegro 18 16 [235]
  Netherlands 18 Marriage under 18 is prohibited. Exceptions were removed by a change in the law in 2015.[236]
  North Macedonia 18 16 16, with court approval for male and female, their consent and their parents consent is needed.
  Norway 18 16 16 with consent from parents (guardian) and permission from the County Governor. The County Governor may only give permission when there are 'special reasons for contracting a marriage'.[237][238] In 2018, the unicameral Parliament of Norway passed a bill on the first reading to ban all child marriage under 18 with no exemptions at all. The bill has to pass again second reading before it can get royal assent by the King of Norway to go into law.[239][240]
  Poland 18 16 Article 10. §1. No one under the age of eighteen can enter into marriage. However, if there are important reasons, the guardianship court may permit a woman who has reached the age of sixteen to marry, where the circumstances show that the marriage would be in the best interests of the newly established family.[241]
  Portugal 18 16
  Romania 18 16 16, if there are valid reasons, with both judicial and parental permission, as well as medical approval.[242]
  Russia 18 16, only for justifiable reasons, such as pregnancy Under 16, in special circumstances, but different rules apply in some regions.[243][244]
  San Marino 18 16 [245]
  Serbia 18 16
  Slovakia 18 16 16 with court consent, with a serious reason such as pregnancy.[citation needed]
  Slovenia 18 None Under 18 may be approved by the Social Work Center if there are "well founded reasons" arising upon the investigation of the situation of the minor. (Art 23, 24 of the Law on Marriage and Family Relations).[246]
  Spain 18 16 [247]
  Sweden 18 Not possible to marry under the age of 18 since July 1, 2014.[248]
   Switzerland 18 To be able to marry, the prospective spouses must have reached 18 years of age and have the capacity of judgement.[249]
  Ukraine 18 16 In[permanent dead link] 2012 the Family Code of Ukraine was amended to allow persons aged 16 to marry under certain circumstances if issued by a court (article 23).[250]
  United Kingdom 18 in most jurisdictions
16 in Scotland
See notes

   England and Wales: 18[251]

  Scotland: 16[252]

  Northern Ireland: 16 with parental consent (with the court able to give consent in some cases).[253]

Oceania edit

Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent Notes
Male Female Male Female Male Female
  Australia 18 16 16 with permission from a court and both parents (only granted in exceptional circumstances).[254] Also in its external territories.
  Fiji 18 16 [255]
  Kiribati 21 18 [256]
  Micronesia 18 18 16 [257]
  Nauru 18 [258]
  New Zealand 18 16 16 with permission from a court and both parents.[259][260]
  Niue 21 19 18 15 [261]
  Palau 18 16 18 16 [262]
  Papua New Guinea 21 [263]
  Samoa 21 19 18 16 [264]
  Solomon Islands 18 15 [265]
  Tonga 18 16 [266]
  Tokelau 21 19 18 16 [267]
  Tuvalu 21 16 [268]
  Vanuatu 21 18 [269]

By religion edit

Judaism edit

Classical Antiquity edit

In ancient Israel men twenty years old and older would become warriors[270] and when they wait married they would get one year leave of absence to be with their wife.[271]

Rabbis estimated the age of maturity from about the beginning of the thirteenth year for women and about the beginning of the fourteenth year for men.[272]

On the practice of Levirate marriage, the Talmud advised against a large age gap between a man and his brother's widow.[273] A younger woman marrying a significantly older man, however, is especially problematic: marrying one's young daughter to an old man was declared by the Sanhedrinas reprehensible as forcing her into prostitution.[274]

Post-Classical period edit

In Rabbinic Judaism, males cannot consent to marriage until they reach the age of 13 years and a day and have undergone puberty and females cannot consent to marriage until they reach the age of 12 years and a day and have undergone puberty. Males and females are considered minors until the age of twenty. After twenty, males are not considered adults if they show signs of impotence. If males show no signs of puberty or do show impotence, they automatically become adults by age 35 and can marry.[275][276] Marriage involved a double ceremony, which included the formal betrothal and wedding rites.[277]

The minimum age for marriage was 13 years old for males and 12 years old for females but formal betrothal could take place before that and often did. Talmud advises males to get married at 18 years old or between 16 years old and 24 years old.[278]

A ketannah (literally meaning "little [one]") was any girl between the age of 3 years and that of 12 years plus one day;[279] she was subject to her father's authority, and he could arrange a marriage for her without her agreement, and that marriage remains binding even after reaching the age of maturity.[279] If a girl was orphaned from her father, or she was married by his authority and subsequently divorced, she, her mother, or her brother could marry her in a quasi-binding fashion. Until the age of maturity, she could annul the marriage retroactively. After reaching the age of maturity, intercourse with her husband renders her officially married. [280][281]

Modern period edit

Jewish people follow the law of the land that they live in. In modern Israel, the general age for marriage is 18 years old for males and females but with judicial consent 16 year old males and females can marry.[citation needed]

Christianity edit

Catholic canon law adopted Roman law, which set the minimum age of marriage at 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males. The Roman Catholic Church raised the minimum age of marriage to 14 years old for females and to 16 years old for males in 1917 and lowered the age of majority to 18 years old in 1983.

blank Without parental or ordinary officer consent With parental consent With ordinary officer consent Notes
Male consent Female consent Male consent Female consent Male consent Female consent
Roman Catholic Church 18 18 16 14 16 14 The minimum ages of consent for marriage in the Catholic Church are 14 for girls and 16 for boys. Being underage constitutes a diriment impediment. That is, a marriage involving an underage bride or groom is canonically invalid. A Conference of Bishops may adopt a higher age for marriage, but in that case, the higher age only creates a prohibitive impediment, that is, a marriage involving a bride or groom above the Church's minimum age but below that set by the Conference is valid but illicit. Permission to marry against a civil authority's directive requires the permission of the Ordinary, which, in the case of sensible and equal laws regarding marriage age, is not usually granted. The permission by the Ordinary is also required in case of a marriage of a minor when their parents are unaware of his marriage or if their parents reasonably oppose the marriage.[282]

Higher ages set by Conferences of Bishops edit

Male consent Female consent Notes
Canada 18 [283]
England and Wales 16 [284]
Gambia 18 16 [285]
Liberia 18 16 [285]
New Zealand 16 [283]
Nigeria see note Each bishop has the authority to set a higher prohibitive minimum age.[286]
Philippines 21 18 [287]
Sierra Leone 18 16 [285]

Islam edit

Golden age edit

Hanafi and Ja'fari schools of classical Islamic jurisprudence interpret the "age of marriage", in the Quran (24:59;65:4), as the beginning of puberty; that is 9–11 years old.

'Büchler and Schlater mention that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhaahib) set the following marriageable ages for boys and girls:[288]

Male consent Female consent Notes
Hanafi 12 9 Sunni
Ja'fari 15 9 Shia

Marriages were traditionally contracted by the father or guardian of the bride and her intended husband.[277]

Shafiʽi, Hanbali, and Maliki schools of classical Islamic jurisprudence interpret the "age of marriage", in the Quran (24:59), as completion of puberty; that is 15-17. For Shafiʽi, Hanbali, and Maliki schools of Islamic jurisprudence, in Sunni Islam, the condition for marriage is physical (bulugh) maturity and mental (rushd) maturity.

Büchler and Schlater mention that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhaahib) set the following marriageable ages for boys and girls:[288]

Male consent Female consent Notes
Shafiʽi 16 Sunni
Hanbali 15 Sunni
Maliki 17 Sunni

Büchler and Schlater state that "marriageable age according to classical Islamic law coincides with the occurrence of puberty. The notion of puberty refers to signs of physical maturity such as the emission of semen or the onset of menstruation".[288]

In his Shafiʽi jurisprudential compilation The Stocks of the Sojourner, Ahmad Ibn Naqib Al-Misri (died 1368 A.D.) writes:

Guardians are, moreover, two types, a binder and a non-binder. The binder is the father and the grandfather, mainly as to the marriage of a virgin, and so is the master as to the marriage of his slave girl. The meaning of "binder" is that he may marry her off without her consent. The non-binder may not marry her off without her consent and permission. When virgin, though, the father or the grandfather may marry her off without her permission, but it is commendable to ask her, and her silence should signify acquiescence. The sane-minded non-virgin, however, may not be married off by anyone after maturity unless with her express consent, be it by the father, the grandfather, or anyone else. Before maturity, the non-virgin may not be married off at all.[289]

Modern period edit

Marriages are traditionally contracted by the father or guardian of the bride and her intended husband.[277]

The 1917 codification of Islamic family law in the Ottoman empire distinguished between the age of competence for marriage, which was set at 18 for boys and 17 for girls, and the minimum age for marriage, which followed the traditional Hanafi minimum ages of 12 for boys and 9 for girls. Marriage below the age of competence was permissible only if proof of sexual maturity was accepted in court, while marriage under the minimum age was forbidden.

During the 20th century, most countries in the Middle East followed the Ottoman precedent in defining the age of competence, while raising the minimum age to 15 or 16 for boys and 15–16 for girls. Marriage below the age of competence is subject to approval by a judge and the legal guardian of the child. Egypt diverged from this pattern by setting the age limits of 18 for boys and 16 for girls, without a distinction between competence for marriage and minimum age.[290]

Many senior clerics in Saudi Arabia have opposed setting a minimum age for marriage, arguing that a girl reaches adulthood at puberty.[291]

However in 2019 Members of the Saudi Shoura Council in 2019 approved fresh regulations for child marriage that will see to outlaw marrying off 15-year-old children and force the need for court approval for those under 18. Chairman of the Human Rights Committee at the Shoura Council, Dr. Hadi Al-Yami, said that introduced controls were based on in-depth studies presented to the body. He pointed out that the regulation, vetted by the Islamic Affairs Committee at the Shoura Council, has raised the age of marriage to 18 and prohibited it for those under 15.[292]

Baha'i Faith edit

In the Bahai religious book Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the age of marriage is set at 15 for both boys and girls. It is forbidden to become engaged before the age of 15.[293]

Indian religions edit

The Dharmaśāstras state that females can marry only after they have reached puberty. However, there is no fixed age in Hinduism as the religion is not under any single institution.[294]. Furthermore, The Legal Age for Marriage in India is being proposed to be amended, increasing the marriage age for girls in India in 2022 from 18 to 21 years. [295]

See also edit

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marriageable, marriage, general, legal, minimum, subject, parental, religious, other, forms, social, approval, which, person, legitimately, allowed, marriage, other, prerequisites, marriage, vary, between, jurisdictions, vast, majority, jurisdictions, marriage. Marriageable age or marriage age is the general age as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental religious or other forms of social approval at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage Age and other prerequisites to marriage vary between jurisdictions but in the vast majority of jurisdictions the marriage age as a right is set at the age of majority Nevertheless most jurisdictions allow marriage at a younger age with parental or judicial approval especially if the female is pregnant Among most indigenous cultures people marry at fifteen the age of sexual maturity for both the male and the female In industrialized cultures the age of marriage is most commonly 18 years old but there are variations and the marriageable age should not be confused with the age of majority or the age of consent though they may be the same The 55 parties to the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages have agreed to specify a minimum marriage age by statute law to override customary religious and tribal laws and traditions When the marriageable age under a law of a religious community is lower than that under the law of the land the state law prevails However some religious communities do not accept the supremacy of state law in this respect which may lead to child marriage or forced marriage The 123 parties to the 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery have agreed to adopt a prescribed suitable minimum age for marriage In many developing countries the official age prescriptions stand as mere guidelines UNICEF the United Nations children s organization regards a marriage of a minor legal child a person below the adult age as child marriage and a violation of rights 1 Until recently the minimum marriageable age for females was lower in many jurisdictions than for males on the premise that females mature at an earlier age than males This law has been viewed by some to be discriminatory so that in many countries the marriageable age of females has been raised to equal that of males citation needed Contents 1 History and social attitudes 1 1 Classical antiquity 1 1 1 Greece 1 1 2 Rome 1 2 Post classical history 1 3 Modern history 1 3 1 France 1 4 Central Europe 1 5 Eastern Europe 1 6 Mesoamerica 1 6 1 Aztec society 1 6 2 Mayan civilization 2 Marriageable age as a right vs exceptions 3 Relation to the age of majority 4 By country 4 1 Africa 4 2 Americas 4 3 Asia 4 4 Europe 4 5 Oceania 5 By religion 5 1 Judaism 5 1 1 Classical Antiquity 5 1 2 Post Classical period 5 1 3 Modern period 5 2 Christianity 5 2 1 Higher ages set by Conferences of Bishops 5 3 Islam 5 3 1 Golden age 5 3 2 Modern period 5 4 Baha i Faith 5 5 Indian religions 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory and social attitudes editClassical antiquity edit Greece edit Females married as young as 14 or 16 2 In Spartan marriages females were around 18 and males were around 25 3 In ancient Athens both husband and wife had the power to initiate a divorce The husband simply had to send his wife back to her father to end the marriage 4 Rome edit In the Roman Empire the Emperor Augustus introduced marriage legislation the Lex Papia Poppaea which rewarded marriage and childbearing The legislation also imposed penalties for both men and women who remained unmarried or who married but for whatever reason failed to have children between the ages of 25 and 60 for men and 20 and 50 for women 5 Women who were Vestal Virgins were selected between the ages of 6 and 10 to serve as priestesses in the temple of goddess Vesta in the Roman Forum for 30 years after which time they could marry 6 Noblewomen were known to marry as young as 12 years of age 7 whereas women in the lower social classes were more likely to marry slightly further into their teenage years 8 9 The father had the right and duty to seek a good and useful match for his children and might arrange a child s betrothal long before he or she came of age age of maturity 10 To further the interests of their birth families daughters of the elite would marry into respectable families 11 If a daughter could prove the proposed husband to be of bad character she could legitimately refuse the match 11 In Roman law age of majority varied from being 25 or as high as 30 though the age of marriage was 12 years for females and 14 years for males and age of betrothal was 7 years for both males and females The age of lawful consent to a marriage was 12 for girls and 14 for boys 7 Ancient Roman law required brides to be at least 12 years old In ancient Roman law first marriages to brides aged 12 25 required the consent of the bride and her father but by the late antique period Roman law permitted women over 25 to marry without parental consent 12 29 37 Historically individuals were allowed to enter into a marriage contract at a very young age This coincided with signs of puberty such as the start of menstruation for a female and the growth of pubic hair for a male In Ancient Rome the appropriate minimum age was regarded as 14 for males and 12 for females 13 43 of Pagan females married as young as 12 15 and 42 of Christian females married as young as 15 18 14 In late antiquity most Roman women married in their late teens to early twenties but noble women married younger than those of the lower classes as an aristocratic girl was expected to be virgin until her first marriage 8 In late antiquity under Roman law daughters inherited equally from their parents if no will was produced 12 63 In addition Roman law recognized wives property as legally separate from husbands property 12 133 154 as did some legal systems in parts of Europe and colonial Latin America In 380 CE the Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica which made Catholicism the official religion of the Roman Empire The Catholic Church adopted Roman law into Canon law 13 Post classical history edit After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Holy Roman Empire manorialism also helped weaken the ties of kinship and thus the power of clans as early as the 9th century in northwestern France families that worked on manors were small consisting of parents and children and occasionally a grandparent The Roman Catholic Church and State had become allies in erasing the solidarity and thus the political power of the clans the Roman Catholic Church sought to replace traditional religion whose vehicle was the kin group and substitute the authority of the elders of the kin group with that of a religious elder at the same time the king s rule was undermined by revolts by the most powerful kin groups clans or sections whose conspiracies and murders threatened the power of the state and also the demands by manorial lords for obedient compliant workers 15 As the peasants and serfs lived and worked on farms that they rented from the lord of the manor they also needed the permission of the lord to marry Couples therefore had to comply with the lord of the manor and wait until a small farm became available before they could marry and thus produce children those who could and did delay marriage were presumably rewarded by the landlord and those who did not were presumably denied that reward For example marriage ages in Medieval England varied depending on economic circumstances with couples delaying marriage until their early twenties when times were bad but might marry in their late teens after the Black Death when there was a severe labour shortage 16 96 by appearances marriage of adolescents was not the norm in England 16 98 100 In medieval Western Europe the rise of Catholicism and manorialism had both created incentives to keep families nuclear and thus the age of marriage increased the Western Church instituted marriage laws and practices that undermined large kinship groups The Roman Catholic Church prohibited consanguineous marriages a marriage pattern that had been a means to maintain clans and thus their power throughout history 17 The Roman Catholic Church curtailed arranged marriages in which the bride did not clearly agree to the union 18 Male and female adolescents needed parental consent to marry because they were under the age of majority 21 years old In the 12th century the Roman Catholic Church drastically changed legal standards for marital consent by allowing daughters over 12 years old and sons over 14 years old to marry without their parents approval even if their marriage was made clandestinely 19 Parish studies have confirmed that in the late medieval period females did sometimes marry without their parents approval in England 20 In the 12th century Canon law jurist Gratian stated that consent for marriage could not take place before the age of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males and consent for betrothal could not take place before the age of 7 years old for females and males as that is the age of reason The Church of England after breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church carried with it the same minimum age requirements Age of consent for marriage of 12 years old for girls and of 14 years old for boys were written into English civil law 13 The first recorded age of consent law in England dates back 800 years The age of consent law in question has to do with the law of rape and not the law of marriage as sometimes misunderstood In 1275 in England as part of the rape law the Statute of Westminster 1275 made it a misdemeanor to have sex with a maiden within age whether with or without her consent The phrase within age was interpreted by jurist Sir Edward Coke as meaning the age of marriage which at the time was 12 years old 21 A 1576 law was created with more severe punishments for having sex with a girl for which the age of consent was set at 10 years old 22 Under English common law the age of consent as part of the law of rape was 10 or 12 years old and rape was defined as forceful sexual intercourse with a woman against her will To convict a man of rape both force and lack of consent had to be proved except in the case of a girl who is under the age of consent Since the age of consent applied in all circumstances not just in physical assaults the law also made it impossible for an underage girl under 12 years old to consent to sexual activity There was one exception a man s acts with his wife females over 12 years old to which rape law did not apply 23 Jurist Sir Matthew Hale stated that both rape laws were valid at the same time 24 In 1875 the Offence Against the Persons Act raised the age to 13 years in England an act of sexual intercourse with a girl younger than 13 was a felony 25 There were some fathers who arranged marriages for a son or a daughter before he or she reached the age of maturity which is similar to what some fathers in ancient Rome did Consummation would not take place until the age of maturity Roman Catholic Canon law defines a marriage as consummated when the spouses have performed between themselves in a human fashion a conjugal act which is suitable in itself for the procreation of offspring to which marriage is ordered by its nature and by which the spouses become one flesh 26 There are recorded marriages of two and three year olds in 1564 a three year old named John was married to a two year old named Jane in the Bishop s Court in Chester England Modern history edit The policy of the Roman Catholic Church and later various protestant churches of considering clandestine marriages and marriages made without parental consent to be valid was controversial and in the 16th century both the French monarchy and the Lutheran Church sought to end these practices with limited success 27 In most of Northwestern Europe marriages at very early ages were rare One thousand marriage certificates from 1619 to 1660 in the Archdiocese of Canterbury show that only one bride was 13 years old four were 15 twelve were 16 and seventeen were 17 years old while the other 966 brides were at least 19 years old 28 In England and Wales the Marriage Act 1753 required a marriage to be covered by a licence requiring parental consent for those under 21 or the publication of banns which parents of those under 21 could forbid Additionally the Church of England dictated that both the bride and groom must be at least 21 years of age to marry without the consent of their families in the certificates the most common age for the brides is 22 years For the grooms 24 years was the most common age with average ages of 24 years for the brides and 27 for the grooms 28 While European noblewomen often married early they were a small minority of the population 29 and the marriage certificates from Canterbury show that even among nobility it was very rare to marry women off at very early ages 28 The minimum age requirements of 12 and 14 were eventually written into English civil law By default these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America 13 Marriages occurred several years earlier on average in colonial America than in Europe and much higher proportions of the population eventually married Community based studies suggest an average age at marriage of about 20 years old for women in the early colonial period and about 26 years old for men 30 In the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century U S states began to slowly raise the minimum legal age at which individuals were allowed to marry Age restrictions as in most developed countries have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age 13 Before 1929 Scots law followed Roman law in allowing a girl to marry at twelve years of age and a boy at fourteen without any requirement for parental consent However marriage in Scotland at such young ages was in practice almost unknown 31 France edit In France until the French Revolution the marriageable age was 12 years for females and 14 for males Revolutionary legislation in 1792 increased the age to 13 years for females and 15 for males Under the Napoleonic Code in 1804 the marriageable age was set at 15 years old for females and 18 years old for males 32 In 2006 the marriageable age for females was increased to 18 the same as for males In jurisdictions where the ages are not the same the marriageable age for females is more commonly two or three years lower than that for males Central Europe edit In 17th century Poland in the Warsaw parish of St John the average age of women entering marriage was 20 1 and of men 23 7 In the second half of the eighteenth century women in the parish of Holy Cross married at 21 8 while men at 29 33 Eastern Europe edit In medieval Eastern Europe the Slavic traditions of patrilocality of early and universal marriage usually of a bride aged 13 15 years with menarche occurring on average at 14 lingered 34 the manorial system had yet to penetrate into Eastern Europe and had generally had less effect on clan systems there and the bans on cross cousin marriages had not been firmly enforced 35 In Russia before 1830 the age of consent for marriage was 15 years old for males and 13 years old for females 36 though 15 years old was preferred for females so much so that it was written into the Law Code of 1649 37 Teenage marriage was practiced for chastity Both the female and the male teenager needed consent of their parents to marry because they were under 20 years old the age of majority In 1830 the age of consent for marriage was raised to 18 years old for males and 16 years old for females 36 though 18 years old was preferred for females The average age of marriage for females was around 19 years old 38 39 Mesoamerica edit Aztec society edit Aztec family law generally followed customary law Men got married between the ages of 20 22 and women generally got married at 15 to 18 years of age 40 Mayan civilization edit Maya family law appears to have been based on customary law Maya men and women usually got married at around the age of 20 though women sometimes got married at the age of 16 or 17 41 Marriageable age as a right vs exceptions editIn the majority of countries a right to marry at age 18 is enshrined along with all other rights and responsibilities of adulthood However most of these countries allow those younger than that age to marry usually with parental consent or judicial authorization These exceptions vary considerably by country The United Nations Population Fund stated 42 In 2010 158 countries reported that 18 years was the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority However in 146 of those countries state or customary law allows girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities in 52 countries girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent In contrast 18 is the legal age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries Additionally in 105 countries boys can marry with the consent of a parent or a pertinent authority and in 23 countries boys under age 15 can marry with parental consent In recent years many countries in the EU have tightened their marriage laws either banning marriage under 18 completely or requiring judicial approval for such marriages Countries which have reformed their marriage laws in recent years include Sweden 2014 Denmark 2017 Germany 2017 Luxembourg 2014 Spain 2015 Netherlands 2015 Finland 2019 and Ireland 2019 Many developing countries have also enacted similar laws in recent years Honduras 2017 Ecuador 2015 Costa Rica 2017 Panama 2015 Trinidad amp Tobago 2017 Malawi 2017 The minimum age requirements of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males were written into English civil law By default these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America This English common law inherited from the British remained in force in America unless a specific state law was enacted to replace them In the United States as in most developed countries age restrictions have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age 13 In Western countries marriages of teenagers have become rare in recent years with their frequency declining during the past few decades For instance in Finland where in the early 21st century underage youth could obtain a special judicial authorization to marry there were only 30 40 such marriages per year during that period with most of the spouses being aged 17 while in the early 1990s more than 100 such marriages were registered each year Since 1 June 2019 Finland has banned marriages of anyone under 18 with no exemptions 43 44 Relation to the age of majority editFurther information Age of majority and Minor law The marriage age as a right is usually the same with the age of majority which is 18 years old in most countries However in some countries the age of majority is under 18 while in others it is 19 20 or 21 In Canada for example the age of majority is 19 in Nova Scotia New Brunswick British Columbia Newfoundland and Labrador Northwest Territories Yukon and Nunavut and marriage under 19 in these provinces requires parental or court consent see Marriage in Canada In USA for example the age of majority is 21 in Mississippi and 19 in Nebraska and requires parental consent In many jurisdictions of North America by marriage minors become legally emancipated 45 By country editAfrica edit Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent NotesMale Female Male Female Male Female nbsp Algeria 19 None Article 7 of the Family Code 46 nbsp Angola 47 18 16 15 nbsp Benin 48 18 None nbsp Botswana 49 21 18 nbsp Burkina Faso 50 20 20 17 18 15 nbsp Burundi 51 21 18 nbsp Cameroon 52 21 18 15 nbsp Central African Republic 53 18 13 nbsp Chad 54 21 18 nbsp Democratic Republic of Congo 55 56 18 nbsp Djibouti 57 18 None nbsp Egypt 58 18 nbsp Equatorial Guinea 59 18 14 nbsp Eritrea 60 18 nbsp Eswatini 61 21 18 16 nbsp Ethiopia 62 18 16 nbsp Gabon 63 21 18 15 nbsp Guinea 64 21 18 nbsp Guinea Bissau 65 18 nbsp Ivory Coast 66 21 20 18 nbsp Kenya 18 As per section 4 Marriage Act 2014 67 nbsp Lesotho 68 21 18 16 nbsp Liberia 69 21 18 18 16 nbsp Libya 70 20 None nbsp Mauritius 71 18 16 nbsp Madagascar 72 18 nbsp Mali 73 18 16 18 16 15 nbsp Mauritania 74 18 None nbsp Morocco 75 18 None nbsp Mozambique 76 18 18 In July 2019 Mozambique passed a law to ban child marriage outright It was signed by president on 14 October 2019 and became a law after being published in Boletim da Republica on 22 October 77 nbsp Namibia 21 78 18 None Under the age of 18 with the written permission of the Minister or any staff member in the Public Service authorized by the Minister 79 nbsp Niger 80 21 18 15 nbsp Nigeria 81 18 nbsp Republic of the Congo 82 21 18 21 18 None nbsp Rwanda 83 21 nbsp Sao Tome and Principe 84 18 16 14 nbsp Senegal 85 18 16 nbsp Sierra Leone 86 18 nbsp Somalia 87 18 16 nbsp South Africa 18 15 None For a marriage under the Marriage Act 1961 parental consent is required for the marriage of a party under the age of majority 88 which was formerly 21 but is now 18 The special consent of the Minister of Home Affairs is also required for the marriage of a girl under the age of 15 or a boy under the age of 18 89 Under the Civil Union Act 2006 which allows for same sex or opposite sex marriages both parties must be 18 or older 90 Under the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 1998 a customary marriage entered into after the passage of the act will only be recognised if both parties were 18 or older 91 nbsp South Sudan 18 92 nbsp Sudan Puberty 10 The Personal Status Law of Muslims 1991 allows the marriage of a girl from puberty Ten years olds can be married with judicial authorization The Marriage of Non Muslims Act of 1926 sets the age of marriage at 13 for non Muslim girls and 15 for non Muslim boys 93 nbsp Tanzania 94 18 15 14 nbsp Togo 95 96 18 16 nbsp Tunisia 97 18 nbsp Uganda 98 18 nbsp Zambia 99 21 16 nbsp Zimbabwe 18 In 2016 the Constitutional Court ruled that the Marriage Act which permitted girls not boys aged 16 to be married with their parents consent was unconstitutional and recognised 18 years as the legal minimum age of marriage 100 Americas edit Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent NotesMale Female Male Female Male Female nbsp Antigua and Barbuda 101 18 15 Section 25 of The Marriage Act reads A marriage solemnized between persons either of whom is under the age of fifteen shall be null and void 102 nbsp Argentina 18 16 None Art 403 and 404 of Codigo Civil y Comercial de la Nacion 103 nbsp Bahamas 18 15 None The Marriage Act 1908 provides no minimum age with judicial consent the age with parental consent is 15 Marriage Act Sec 20 2 50 and Schedule M 104 nbsp Barbados 18 16 105 nbsp Belize 18 16 with parental consent The Belize Marriage Amendment Act of 2005 increased the minimum age from 14 to 16 106 nbsp Bolivia 18 16 Article 139 of the new Civil Code of 2014 107 nbsp Brazil 18 16 108 nbsp Canada 18 19 16 Marriage in Canada is governed by both federal and provincial law The minimum age to marry is set at 16 by a federal statute the Civil Marriage Act which states No person who is under the age of 16 years may contract marriage 109 In addition the provinces may impose procedural requirements for the marriage of a minor who is over 16 but under the age of majority 18 or 19 such as requiring parental consent or permission from a judge The Criminal Code also prohibits marriage under the age of 16 Everyone who celebrates aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one of the persons being married is under the age of 16 years is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years 110 nbsp Chile 18 Since 2022 the minimum age is 18 111 112 nbsp Colombia 18 14 113 nbsp Costa Rica 18 114 nbsp Cuba 18 Since 2022 the minimum age is 18 115 nbsp Dominica 18 16 116 nbsp Dominican Republic 18 Since 2021 the minimum age is 18 117 nbsp Ecuador 18 Since 2015 the minimum age is 18 118 nbsp El Salvador 18 Since 2017 the minimum age is 18 119 nbsp Grenada 21 16 120 nbsp Guatemala 18 16 121 122 nbsp Guyana 18 16 123 nbsp Haiti 18 15 124 nbsp Honduras 18 125 Since 2017 the minimum age is 18 Before 2017 females could marry from 16 with parental consent 125 nbsp Jamaica 18 16 126 nbsp Mexico 18 Varies by state The General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents 2014 establishes 18 years as the general age of marriage but allows girls to marry at 14 and boys at 16 with parental consent At state level as of May 2017 22 states have made marriage before 18 illegal while another ten allow it under certain circumstances 127 As of June 1 2020 marriageable age in all states is 18 without exceptions 128 nbsp Nicaragua 18 16 Under the new 2014 Codigo de Familia Articles 54 57 a and 58 c 129 nbsp Panama 18 Since 2015 the minimum age is 18 prior to that date girls could marry from age 14 years and boys from age 16 with parental consent 130 nbsp Paraguay 18 16 131 nbsp Peru 18 16 132 nbsp Puerto Rico 21 18 None Younger parties may obtain license in case of pregnancy or birth of child and 18 with parental consent 133 Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States nbsp Saint Kitts and Nevis 18 134 nbsp Saint Lucia 18 16 135 nbsp Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18 136 nbsp Suriname 21 17 15 137 nbsp Trinidad and Tobago 18 Since 2017 the minimum age is 18 138 nbsp United States 18 in most states territories19 in Nebraska21 in Mississippi 21 in Puerto Rico Varies by state Main article Age of marriage in the United States The minimum marriage age requirements of 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males were written into English civil law By default these provisions became the minimum marriage ages in colonial America English common law inherited from the British remained in force in America unless a specific state law was enacted to replace them In the United States as in most developed countries age restrictions have been revised upward so that they are now between 15 and 21 years of age 13 Minors under 18 can t marry in the states of New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Minnesota Rhode Island Connecticut Massachusetts and Vermont This also holds true for the territories of the U S Virgin Islands and American Samoa nbsp Uruguay 18 16 139 140 nbsp Venezuela 18 16 Articles 18 46 59 65 of the Civil Code 141 decision of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice 142 Asia edit Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent NotesMale Female Male Female Male Female nbsp Afghanistan Puberty Further information Child marriage in Afghanistan 143 nbsp Armenia 18 17 16 The age was set at 18 for both sexes in 2012 144 prior to that date it was 17 for females and 18 for males 145 However marriage at age 17 is allowed with parental consent and at age 16 with parental consent and the condition that the other intending spouse is at least 18 146 nbsp Azerbaijan 18 17 17 in special cases with judicial authorization Article 10 of the Family Code 147 The marriageable age for females was raised in 2011 to 18 equalizing it to that of males prior to that date it was 17 148 nbsp Bangladesh 21 18 None Bangladeshi law provides penal sanctions for the contraction of under age marriages although such unions are not considered invalid 149 Despite the law child marriage rates in Bangladesh are among the highest in the world Every 2 out of 3 marriages involve child marriages 150 nbsp Bhutan 18 151 nbsp Brunei 18 14 152 Minimum legal age for marriage without parental consent varies across states provinces ethnic groups religious groups or forms of marriage 153 nbsp Cambodia 18 154 nbsp China 22 20 22 20 China is the only country to have the highest set marriageable age for men 155 nbsp The sign painted on a building in a village in Hubei China informs of the marriageable age in the country 22 for men 20 for women nbsp Cyprus 18 16 16 with parental consent if there are serious reasons for the marriage 156 157 nbsp East Timor 17 16 158 nbsp Georgia 18 Since 2017 marriage under 18 is prohibited 159 nbsp Hong Kong 21 16 160 nbsp India 21 18 proposed to be 21 None The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 PCMA provides that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in case of males and 18 years in case of females The proposal to amend the 2006 Act was placed in Lok Sabha in December 2021 It was referred to The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Women Children Youth and Sports EWCY amp S under the Chairpersonship of Dr Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe The Bill proposes to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 to reinforce its application in relation to marriage bring women at par with men in terms of marriageable age prohibit child marriage make consequential amendments to the other laws relating to marriage and other connected matters The PCMA prevails in India till the new Amendment is passed In short the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in case of males and 18 years in case of females India has been at the forefront in the battle against child marriage since 1929 when the practice of child marriage below 14 for girls and 18 for boys was first legally prohibited through the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 replaced the 1929 Act with the same minimum age limits On 30th of November 2022 The High court of Jharkhand reported that Muslim Woman Can Marry Person Of Her Choice After Attaining 15 Yrs Of Age 161 nbsp Indonesia 21 19 None The 2019 Revision of the Marriage Law 1974 raised the marriage age for female from 16 to 19 equalizing it to that of males However grooms and brides under the age of 21 are required to get their parents permission before the marriage While parents remain able to ask the court to grant permission in the case of the grooms or the brides were under the age of 19 the revision stipulated that the court can grant such permission only if there are urgent reasons as well as supporting evidences to back them The law revision also stresses that the court must consider the spirit of preventing child marriage as well as moral religious cultural psychological and health considerations before granting the permission 162 nbsp Iran 18 15 15 13 None 163 164 Ways around these regulations include temporary marriages Nikah mut ah 165 With the permission of a court girls may marry at a younger age during 2010 as many as 42 000 children aged between 10 and 14 were married 166 and 716 girls younger than 10 had wed 167 nbsp Iraq 18 15 15 with judicial permission if fitness physical capacity and guardian s consent or unreasonable objection on part of guardian are established These rules may have been revised after Saddam Hussein s fall citation needed 168 nbsp Israel 18 16 Minimum marriageable age increased from 17 to 18 in November 2013 Family courts able to recognise marriage for 16 and above in special cases 169 nbsp Japan 18 170 nbsp Jordan 18 The legal minimum age to marry in Jordan is 18 with no restrictions but is set at 15 with parental guardian consent for both males and females nbsp Kazakhstan 18 17 16 171 nbsp Kuwait 17 15 citation needed nbsp Kyrgyzstan 18 17 Local self government agencies may at the request of the parties entering the marriage provided that justifiable reasons exist lower the marriage age The marriage age may not be lowered by more than 1 year 172 nbsp Laos 18 15 173 nbsp Lebanon 18 17 17 15 15 14 174 18 or 17 and 16 or 15 with judicial permission for Druze 175 nbsp Macau 18 16 Articles 1478 1479 and 1482 of the Civil Code nbsp Malaysia 21 18 16 A special marriage licence granted by the Chief Minister must be obtained for female sixteen 16 years and above but under the age of eighteen 18 years 176 nbsp Maldives 18 16 According to custom the minimum age for marriage is 15 The Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child discourages marriage before the age of 16 177 nbsp Mongolia 18 178 nbsp Myanmar 18 18 18 179 nbsp Nepal 20 20 Civil Code 2017 Section 70 and 71 Marriage may be concluded if both have attained twenty years of age Notwithstanding anything contained in clause b of sub section 1 nothing shall bar the conclusion or causing the conclusion of a marriage within the relationship that is allowed to marry in accordance with the practices prevailing in their ethnic community or clan 180 nbsp North Korea 18 17 18 17 181 nbsp Oman 18 While the legal minimum age is 18 custom still recognises marriages below the age of 18 182 nbsp Pakistan 18 16 in most provinces18 in some provinces including Punjab and Sindh 183 184 18 16 18 Despite the law 185 against child marriage the practice is widespread According to two 2013 reports nearly 20 of all marriages in Pakistan involve girls less than 18 years old 186 187 However in Punjab and Sindh severe punishments are given for marriages before the age of 18 188 189 nbsp Palestine 18 None Since 2019 marriage below 18 is allowed only with religious court permission 190 nbsp Philippines 21 18 191 192 nbsp Qatar 18 16 None No minimum age for marriage with parental consent and permitted only when in conformity with religious and cultural norms and with permission of a competent court 193 nbsp Saudi Arabia 18 15 194 nbsp Singapore 21 18 None nbsp South Korea 19 18 nbsp Sri Lanka 18 However the parties must have a Qadi s permission to marry before contracting into marriage if they are Muslims 195 nbsp Syria 18 Thomson Reuters Foundation notes that child marriage occurs from 13 years 196 nbsp Taiwan 18 Starting 1 January 2023 the legal age of adulthood was lowered from 20 to 18 in the same amendment the marriageable age was also increased to 18 in order to be consistent with the legal age of adulthood Therefore the case of marriage with parental consent no longer exists 197 198 nbsp Tajikistan 18 17 199 nbsp Thailand 20 17 200 nbsp Turkey 18 17 16 nbsp Turkmenistan 18 201 nbsp United Arab Emirates 18 None Mature minors allowed to marry with judicial permission 202 nbsp Uzbekistan 18 18 17 203 nbsp Vietnam 20 18 20 18 None 204 205 nbsp Yemen 15 None HRW notes no legal minimum age for marriage under Yemeni law and UNSD notes that child marriage is permitted where such marriage will entail some clear benefit 206 Europe edit The marriageable age as a right is 18 in all European countries with the exception of Andorra and Scotland where it is 16 regardless of gender Existing exceptions to this general rule usually requiring special judicial or parental consent are discussed below In both the European Union and the Council of Europe the marriageable age falls within the jurisdiction of individual member states The Istanbul convention the first legally binding instrument in Europe in the field of violence against women and domestic violence 207 only requires countries which ratify it to prohibit forced marriage Article 37 and to ensure that forced marriages can be easily voided without further victimization Article 32 but does not make any reference to a minimum age of marriage Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent NotesMale Female Male Female Male Female nbsp Albania 18 208 209 nbsp Andorra 16 14 210 nbsp Austria 18 16 The court does only give consent if also the parents consent with exception if they are have no serious reasons for their refuse Marriage Act 1 nbsp Belarus 18 211 nbsp Belgium 18 None With parental consent serious reasons are required for a minor to marry without parental consent the unwillingness of the parents has to constitute an abuse 212 nbsp Bosnia and Herzegovina 18 16 In both entities and the Brcko District 213 214 215 nbsp Bulgaria 18 16 The new 2009 Family Code fixes the age at 18 but allows for an exception for 16 years olds stating that Upon exception in case that important reasons impose this matrimony may be concluded by a person at the age of 16 with permission by the regional judge It further states that both persons wanting to marry as well as the parents guardians of the minor must be consulted by the judge Chapter 2 Article 6 216 nbsp Croatia 18 16 Croatian Family Act Article 25 nbsp Czech Republic 18 16 Article 672 of Act No 89 2012 Coll the Civil Code which came into force in 2014 states that the court may in exceptional cases allow a marriage of a 16 year old if there are serious reasons for it 217 Moreover a minor can marry if he or she has been granted full capacity by a court decision as given by Article 37 of the Civil Code nbsp Denmark 18 218 nbsp Estonia 18 15 15 with court permission 219 220 nbsp Finland 18 In Finland all marriages under 18 is completely legally banned with no exemptions since June 1 2019 43 nbsp France 18 16 Under 18 permission from a court or one parent In France the legal age for marriage was equalized for both sexes at 18 in 2006 221 but in exceptional cases a court may allow marriage at younger ages 222 nbsp Germany 18 The minimum age was explicitly set to 18 on July 22 2017 223 Before this day a Family Court could issue an exception for 16 18 year olds if one party was over 18 Marriages with a spouse under 16 are legally void For a 16 17 year old spouse the marriage is repealed 224 225 nbsp Gibraltar 18 nbsp Greece 18 None Under 18 requires court permission which may be given if there are serious reasons for such a marriage 156 226 nbsp Hungary 18 16 16 with authorization from the guardianship authority 227 nbsp Iceland 18 Since 2022 marriage under 18 is prohibited 228 nbsp Ireland 18 Since 2019 marriage under 18 is prohibited 229 nbsp Italy 18 16 nbsp Latvia 18 16 nbsp Liechtenstein 18 None 230 nbsp Lithuania 18 15 None Minors can only marry below 15 if they are pregnant females with court permission 231 nbsp Luxembourg 18 None New laws of 2014 fixed the marriageable at 18 for both sexes prior to these regulations the age was 16 for females and 18 for males The new laws still allow both sexes to obtain judicial consent to get married under 18 232 nbsp Malta 18 16 16 with parental consent specifically for a person who is subject to paternal authority or to tutorship However if this is unattainable the court can provide the consent 233 nbsp Moldova 18 16 16 if there are valid reasons with both judicial and parental permission 234 nbsp Montenegro 18 16 235 nbsp Netherlands 18 Marriage under 18 is prohibited Exceptions were removed by a change in the law in 2015 236 nbsp North Macedonia 18 16 16 with court approval for male and female their consent and their parents consent is needed nbsp Norway 18 16 16 with consent from parents guardian and permission from the County Governor The County Governor may only give permission when there are special reasons for contracting a marriage 237 238 In 2018 the unicameral Parliament of Norway passed a bill on the first reading to ban all child marriage under 18 with no exemptions at all The bill has to pass again second reading before it can get royal assent by the King of Norway to go into law 239 240 nbsp Poland 18 16 Article 10 1 No one under the age of eighteen can enter into marriage However if there are important reasons the guardianship court may permit a woman who has reached the age of sixteen to marry where the circumstances show that the marriage would be in the best interests of the newly established family 241 nbsp Portugal 18 16 nbsp Romania 18 16 16 if there are valid reasons with both judicial and parental permission as well as medical approval 242 nbsp Russia 18 16 only for justifiable reasons such as pregnancy Under 16 in special circumstances but different rules apply in some regions 243 244 nbsp San Marino 18 16 245 nbsp Serbia 18 16 nbsp Slovakia 18 16 16 with court consent with a serious reason such as pregnancy citation needed nbsp Slovenia 18 None Under 18 may be approved by the Social Work Center if there are well founded reasons arising upon the investigation of the situation of the minor Art 23 24 of the Law on Marriage and Family Relations 246 nbsp Spain 18 16 247 nbsp Sweden 18 Not possible to marry under the age of 18 since July 1 2014 248 nbsp Switzerland 18 To be able to marry the prospective spouses must have reached 18 years of age and have the capacity of judgement 249 nbsp Ukraine 18 16 In permanent dead link 2012 the Family Code of Ukraine was amended to allow persons aged 16 to marry under certain circumstances if issued by a court article 23 250 nbsp United Kingdom 18 in most jurisdictions16 in Scotland See notes nbsp nbsp England and Wales 18 251 nbsp Scotland 16 252 nbsp Northern Ireland 16 with parental consent with the court able to give consent in some cases 253 Oceania edit Country Without parental or judicial consent With parental consent With judicial consent NotesMale Female Male Female Male Female nbsp Australia 18 16 16 with permission from a court and both parents only granted in exceptional circumstances 254 Also in its external territories nbsp Fiji 18 16 255 nbsp Kiribati 21 18 256 nbsp Micronesia 18 18 16 257 nbsp Nauru 18 258 nbsp New Zealand 18 16 16 with permission from a court and both parents 259 260 nbsp Niue 21 19 18 15 261 nbsp Palau 18 16 18 16 262 nbsp Papua New Guinea 21 263 nbsp Samoa 21 19 18 16 264 nbsp Solomon Islands 18 15 265 nbsp Tonga 18 16 266 nbsp Tokelau 21 19 18 16 267 nbsp Tuvalu 21 16 268 nbsp Vanuatu 21 18 269 By religion editJudaism edit Classical Antiquity edit In ancient Israel men twenty years old and older would become warriors 270 and when they wait married they would get one year leave of absence to be with their wife 271 Rabbis estimated the age of maturity from about the beginning of the thirteenth year for women and about the beginning of the fourteenth year for men 272 On the practice of Levirate marriage the Talmud advised against a large age gap between a man and his brother s widow 273 A younger woman marrying a significantly older man however is especially problematic marrying one s young daughter to an old man was declared by the Sanhedrinas reprehensible as forcing her into prostitution 274 Post Classical period edit In Rabbinic Judaism males cannot consent to marriage until they reach the age of 13 years and a day and have undergone puberty and females cannot consent to marriage until they reach the age of 12 years and a day and have undergone puberty Males and females are considered minors until the age of twenty After twenty males are not considered adults if they show signs of impotence If males show no signs of puberty or do show impotence they automatically become adults by age 35 and can marry 275 276 Marriage involved a double ceremony which included the formal betrothal and wedding rites 277 The minimum age for marriage was 13 years old for males and 12 years old for females but formal betrothal could take place before that and often did Talmud advises males to get married at 18 years old or between 16 years old and 24 years old 278 A ketannah literally meaning little one was any girl between the age of 3 years and that of 12 years plus one day 279 she was subject to her father s authority and he could arrange a marriage for her without her agreement and that marriage remains binding even after reaching the age of maturity 279 If a girl was orphaned from her father or she was married by his authority and subsequently divorced she her mother or her brother could marry her in a quasi binding fashion Until the age of maturity she could annul the marriage retroactively After reaching the age of maturity intercourse with her husband renders her officially married 280 281 Modern period edit Jewish people follow the law of the land that they live in In modern Israel the general age for marriage is 18 years old for males and females but with judicial consent 16 year old males and females can marry citation needed Christianity edit Catholic canon law adopted Roman law which set the minimum age of marriage at 12 years old for females and 14 years old for males The Roman Catholic Church raised the minimum age of marriage to 14 years old for females and to 16 years old for males in 1917 and lowered the age of majority to 18 years old in 1983 blank Without parental or ordinary officer consent With parental consent With ordinary officer consent NotesMale consent Female consent Male consent Female consent Male consent Female consentRoman Catholic Church 18 18 16 14 16 14 The minimum ages of consent for marriage in the Catholic Church are 14 for girls and 16 for boys Being underage constitutes a diriment impediment That is a marriage involving an underage bride or groom is canonically invalid A Conference of Bishops may adopt a higher age for marriage but in that case the higher age only creates a prohibitive impediment that is a marriage involving a bride or groom above the Church s minimum age but below that set by the Conference is valid but illicit Permission to marry against a civil authority s directive requires the permission of the Ordinary which in the case of sensible and equal laws regarding marriage age is not usually granted The permission by the Ordinary is also required in case of a marriage of a minor when their parents are unaware of his marriage or if their parents reasonably oppose the marriage 282 Higher ages set by Conferences of Bishops edit Male consent Female consent NotesCanada 18 283 England and Wales 16 284 Gambia 18 16 285 Liberia 18 16 285 New Zealand 16 283 Nigeria see note Each bishop has the authority to set a higher prohibitive minimum age 286 Philippines 21 18 287 Sierra Leone 18 16 285 Islam edit Golden age edit Hanafi and Ja fari schools of classical Islamic jurisprudence interpret the age of marriage in the Quran 24 59 65 4 as the beginning of puberty that is 9 11 years old Buchler and Schlater mention that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence madhaahib set the following marriageable ages for boys and girls 288 Male consent Female consent NotesHanafi 12 9 SunniJa fari 15 9 ShiaMarriages were traditionally contracted by the father or guardian of the bride and her intended husband 277 Shafiʽi Hanbali and Maliki schools of classical Islamic jurisprudence interpret the age of marriage in the Quran 24 59 as completion of puberty that is 15 17 For Shafiʽi Hanbali and Maliki schools of Islamic jurisprudence in Sunni Islam the condition for marriage is physical bulugh maturity and mental rushd maturity Buchler and Schlater mention that the schools of Islamic jurisprudence madhaahib set the following marriageable ages for boys and girls 288 Male consent Female consent NotesShafiʽi 16 SunniHanbali 15 SunniMaliki 17 SunniBuchler and Schlater state that marriageable age according to classical Islamic law coincides with the occurrence of puberty The notion of puberty refers to signs of physical maturity such as the emission of semen or the onset of menstruation 288 In his Shafiʽi jurisprudential compilation The Stocks of the Sojourner Ahmad Ibn Naqib Al Misri died 1368 A D writes Guardians are moreover two types a binder and a non binder The binder is the father and the grandfather mainly as to the marriage of a virgin and so is the master as to the marriage of his slave girl The meaning of binder is that he may marry her off without her consent The non binder may not marry her off without her consent and permission When virgin though the father or the grandfather may marry her off without her permission but it is commendable to ask her and her silence should signify acquiescence The sane minded non virgin however may not be married off by anyone after maturity unless with her express consent be it by the father the grandfather or anyone else Before maturity the non virgin may not be married off at all 289 Modern period edit Marriages are traditionally contracted by the father or guardian of the bride and her intended husband 277 The 1917 codification of Islamic family law in the Ottoman empire distinguished between the age of competence for marriage which was set at 18 for boys and 17 for girls and the minimum age for marriage which followed the traditional Hanafi minimum ages of 12 for boys and 9 for girls Marriage below the age of competence was permissible only if proof of sexual maturity was accepted in court while marriage under the minimum age was forbidden During the 20th century most countries in the Middle East followed the Ottoman precedent in defining the age of competence while raising the minimum age to 15 or 16 for boys and 15 16 for girls Marriage below the age of competence is subject to approval by a judge and the legal guardian of the child Egypt diverged from this pattern by setting the age limits of 18 for boys and 16 for girls without a distinction between competence for marriage and minimum age 290 Many senior clerics in Saudi Arabia have opposed setting a minimum age for marriage arguing that a girl reaches adulthood at puberty 291 However in 2019 Members of the Saudi Shoura Council in 2019 approved fresh regulations for child marriage that will see to outlaw marrying off 15 year old children and force the need for court approval for those under 18 Chairman of the Human Rights Committee at the Shoura Council Dr Hadi Al Yami said that introduced controls were based on in depth studies presented to the body He pointed out that the regulation vetted by the Islamic Affairs Committee at the Shoura Council has raised the age of marriage to 18 and prohibited it for those under 15 292 Baha i Faith edit In the Bahai religious book Kitab i Aqdas the age of marriage is set at 15 for both boys and girls It is forbidden to become engaged before the age of 15 293 Indian religions edit The Dharmasastras state that females can marry only after they have reached puberty However there is no fixed age in Hinduism as the religion is not under any single institution 294 Furthermore The Legal Age for Marriage in India is being proposed to be amended increasing the marriage age for girls in India in 2022 from 18 to 21 years 295 See also editList of countries by age at first marriage Age disparity in sexual relationships Arranged marriage Child marriage Convention on Consent to Marriage Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages UN treaty Legality of polygamy Mature minor doctrine Polygamy Teenage marriageReferences edit Child marriage UNICEF DATA Retrieved 22 April 2019 Pomeroy Sarah B Burstein Stanley M Donlan Walter Tolbert Roberts Jennifer Tandy David W Tsouvala Georgia 2019 A Brief History of Ancient Greece Politics Society and Culture New York NY Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0190925307 Blundell Sue Blundell Susan 1995 Women in Ancient Greece Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674954731 Cohn Haft Louis 1995 Divorce in Classical Athens The Journal of Hellenic Studies 115 1 14 doi 10 2307 631640 JSTOR 631640 S2CID 161594618 Boatwright MT Gargola DJ Talbert RJ 2013 A Brief History of The Romans 2nd ed Oxford University Press p 176 ISBN 978 0 19 998755 9 Mark J Vestal Virgin Ancient History a b Rawson B Weaver PR eds 1999 The Roman family in Italy status sentiment space Oxford University Press p 21 ISBN 978 0 19 815283 5 a b Hallett JP 1984 Fathers and daughters in Roman society women and the elite family Princeton N J Princeton University Press p 142 ISBN 978 0 691 10160 6 Caldwell LE 2014 Roman girlhood and the fashioning of femininity Cambridge pp 3 4 ISBN 978 1 316 20398 9 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Frier BW 2004 A casebook on Roman family law Oxford England Oxford University Press p 66 ISBN 978 0 19 516186 1 a b Rawson B 1986 The Roman Family The Family in ancient Rome new perspectives Ithaca N Y Cornell University Press p 21 ISBN 978 0 8014 1873 0 a b c Arjava A 1996 Women and law in late antiquity Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 978 0 19 815033 6 a b c d e f g Dahl GB August 2010 Early teen marriage and 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Family Law tarlton law utexas edu Retrieved 2021 12 17 Tarlton Law Library Exhibit Aztec and Maya Law Maya Family Law tarlton law utexas edu Retrieved 2021 12 17 Marrying Too Young UNFPA Report PDF Unfpa org Retrieved 2015 11 20 a b Child marriage ban takes effect in Finland Yle Uutiset June 2019 Teivainen A 9 December 2014 UN urges Finland to prohibit child marriage Helsinkitimes fi Retrieved 28 July 2015 Automatic Emancipation of Minors Family findlaw com Republique Algerienne Democratique et Populaire PDF Joradp dz Retrieved 2015 11 20 Angola Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Benin Child Marriage Around The World Girls Not Brides Girlsnotbrides org Retrieved 22 April 2019 Botswana Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 2015 11 20 Archived copy PDF www legiburkina bf Archived from the original PDF on 23 November 2015 Retrieved 15 January 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Child Law Resources PDF 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amp Barbuda Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Chapter 261 The Marriage Act Antigua and Barbuda PDF Laws gov ag Archived from the original PDF on 2013 11 26 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas Publicas Argentina InfoLEG Retrieved 2015 11 20 CHAPTER 120 MARRIAGE PDF Laws bahamas gov bs Retrieved 22 April 2019 Barbados Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 40 of the Covenant Initial reports of States parties due in 2015 Belize PDF Tbinternet ohchr org Retrieved 22 April 2019 Codigo de las Familias y del Proceso Familiar PDF Ministra De Justicia Estado Plurinacional De Bolivia May 26 2017 Archived from the original PDF on 2017 05 26 Brazil Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 2015 11 20 Civil Marriage Act Laws lois justice gc ca 18 June 2015 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Criminal Code Laws lois justice gc ca Retrieved 2015 11 20 Nacional Biblioteca del Congreso LEY NUM 21 515 QUE MODIFICA DIVERSOS CUERPOS LEGALES PARA ESTABLECER LA MAYORIA DE EDAD COMO REQUISITO ESENCIAL PARA LA CELEBRACIoN DEL MATRIMONIO www bcn cl leychile in Spanish Retrieved 29 December 2022 Chile Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Colombia Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Costa Rica Child Marriage Around The World Girls Not Brides Girlsnotbrides org Cuba prohibits corporal punishment in the home and alternative care child marriages and more End Violence Against Children 1 December 2022 Retrieved 24 November 2023 Dominica Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Leighfield J January 1 2021 Dominican Republic bans child marriage World News Euro Weekly News Spain Ecuador Child Marriage Around The World Girls Not Brides Girlsnotbrides org El Salvador scraps controversial law allowing pregnant minors to wed Reuters com 18 August 2017 Retrieved 22 April 2019 Grenada Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Guatemala ups marriage age to 18 Latin Correspondent Latincorrespondent com 2015 11 09 Archived from the original on 2015 11 21 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Guatemalan congress raises minimum age for marriage to 18 StarTribune com 2015 11 05 Archived from the original on 2015 11 21 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Guyana Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 2015 11 20 Haiti Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 a b Honduras just banned child marriage Independent co uk 13 July 2017 Jamaica Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 2015 Mexico Child Marriage Around The World Girls Not Brides Girlsnotbrides org Agencias de la ONU saludan la prohibicion del matrimonio infantil en todo el territorio nacional www unicef org Codigo de la Ninez y la Adolescencia PDF Mifamilia gob ni Archived from the original PDF on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Panama Child Marriage Around The World Girls Not Brides Girlsnotbrides org Paraguay United States Department of State Retrieved 2022 01 08 Peru Factsheets Youthpolicy org Retrieved 28 July 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Ministry of Social Affairs and the Interior Retrieved 24 May 2020 To get married in Denmark you must both have turned 18 years of age Riigi Infosusteemi Amet Formalizing a marriage Retrieved 28 July 2015 Contraction of marriage Archived from the original on 2015 06 28 Retrieved 28 July 2015 France raises marriage age limit March 23 2006 via news bbc co uk Chapitre Ier Des qualites et conditions requises pour pouvoir contracter mariage Articles 143 a 164 Legifrance www legifrance gouv fr Bundesgesetzblatt Bgbl de Retrieved 2017 08 10 Fassung 1303 BGB a F bis 22 07 2017 geandert durch Artikel 1 G v 17 07 2017 BGBl I S 2429 Buzer de in German Retrieved 2017 08 10 Kabinett billigt Verbot von Kinderehen N tv de in German Retrieved 2017 08 10 Getting Married in Greece Archived from the original on 2015 07 17 Retrieved 28 July 2015 Current Legal Framework Marriage or Child Marriage in Hungary impowr org Archived from the original on 2015 11 17 Retrieved 2015 11 20 Parliament Outlaws Teen Marriage Eases Divorce for Abuse Sufferers 20 June 2022 Department of Justice and Equality 29 June 2021 Minister Flanagan brings landmark Domestic Violence Act into operation Government of Ireland Retrieved 3 June 2023 The Minister for Justice and Equality has announced the commencement of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 the legislative provisions that enable persons who are aged under 18 to marry are repealedCollins Stephen 15 December 2015 Underage marriages to be banned under new legislation The Irish Times Retrieved 3 June 2023 Fitzgerald Frances 1 March 2017 Domestic Violence Bill 2017 Second Stage Seanad Eireann debate Oireachtas Vol 250 No 8 At present section 33 of the Family Law Act 1995 allows an application to court for an exemption to the requirement that a person must be over 18 to marry We are removing the underage marriage exemption Flanagan Charles 12 December 2018 S I No 532 2018 Domestic Violence Act 2018 Commencement Order 2018 electronic Irish Statute Book Attorney General of Ireland The 1st day of January 2019 is appointed as the day on which the Domestic Violence Act 2018 No 6 of 2018 shall come into operation Domestic Violence Act 2018 electronic Irish Statute Book Attorney General of Ireland 8 May 2018 45 1 e Family Law Act 1995 31 1 33 1 as passed 1995 as in force 2022 Commencements Amendments and other effects Liechtenstein Factsheets Youthpolicy org Powered by Google Docs Retrieved 2013 01 14 Mariage et adoption s ouvrent aux couples de personnes du meme sexe Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 28 July 2015 Marriage Act Section 3 Restrictions on Marriage Retrieved 2016 04 08 Archived copy lex justice md Archived from the original on 29 January 2016 Retrieved 11 January 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link PORODICNI ZAKON Paragraf me Retrieved 22 April 2019 wetten nl Regeling Wet tegengaan huwelijksdwang BWBR0037085 Wetten overheid nl in Dutch Retrieved 2018 06 03 LOV 1991 07 04 nr 47 Lov om ekteskap Lovdata no Retrieved 2008 10 27 The Marriage Act PDF Retrieved 2008 10 27 Norway will ban child marriage penalty of three years in prison Devdiscourse com Batha E 22 May 2018 Norway to ban child marriage as it seeks to set a global example Reuters http prawo sejm gov pl isap nsf download xsp WDU19640090059 U D19640059Lj pdf Archived 2019 04 20 at the Wayback Machine bare URL PDF Art 272 Noul cod civil Varsta matrimonială Condiţiile de fond pentru incheierea căsătoriei Incheierea căsătoriei Noul Cod Civil actualizat 2015 Legea 287 2009 Legeaz net 2011 10 29 Retrieved 2015 11 20 helplinelaw Russia Marriage Procedure In Russia Lawyers Law Firms Lawyer Injury Attorney in Russia Helplinelaw com Retrieved 2013 01 14 Semejnyj kodeks RF Statya 13 Vikiteka ru wikisource org in Russian Retrieved 2021 08 22 riforma del diritto di famiglia Consiglio Grande e Generale Consigliograndeegenerale sm Retrieved 22 April 2019 LAW ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RELATIONS corrected text PDF Mddsz gov si Archived from the original PDF on 17 April 2018 Retrieved 22 April 2019 Spain raises marrying age from 14 to 16 BBC News 23 July 2015 Retrieved 28 July 2015 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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