Child Marriage and Early Pregnancy Put Global Progress in Girls’ Education at Risk

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany stressed the need to protect their opportunities to access, complete and thrive in education.

Getting girls into classrooms does not guarantee they can finish their education, especially when marriage or pregnancy interrupts their studies. UNESCO's 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Gender Report, released ahead of the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October, finds that global gender parity in enrolment from pre-primary through upper secondary education has not removed the barriers facing many girls. UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany stressed the need to protect their opportunities to access, complete and thrive in education.

Global Progress Conceals Deep Local Divides

Nepal closed a 33-percentage-point gap in lower secondary completion between girls and boys from 1990 to 2024, and Saudi Arabia reduced its tertiary enrolment gap by three-quarters between 2006 and 2022. Cambodia's girls moved from 22 points behind boys in primary completion in 1981 to 11 points ahead in 2024. Costa Rica's upper secondary completion gap favouring girls narrowed from 12 to seven points between 2011–17 and 2018–24.

National averages can conceal stark disadvantages linked to poverty and location, leaving some girls far from the progress reflected in headline figures. Angola has gender parity among its richest households, but only 30 girls from the poorest households complete upper secondary education for every 100 boys. India has achieved parity in urban areas, with rural communities recording just 59 girls completing upper secondary education for every 100 boys.

Marriage and Motherhood Still Push Girls Out

The global share of girls married before turning 18 fell from 25% in 2000 to 18% in 2025, remaining at 25% in Central and Southern Asia and 31% in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated six million pregnant girls and young mothers aged 10–19 were out of school in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, and fewer than 5% of pregnant and parenting girls in the region return to school. These findings underline the need to end child marriage, prevent early pregnancy and guarantee young mothers' right to continue their education.

The Central African Republic, Tanzania, Cameroon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone and Togo have ended education bans affecting married, pregnant and parenting girls and women. Nine in ten surveyed countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have implemented policies supporting pregnant and parenting adolescents to continue or resume learning. UNESCO's 2026 data show that 58% of countries legally guarantee education without sex- or gender-based discrimination, but only 35% explicitly protect pregnant and parenting girls' education rights.

A Right to Return Needs Practical Support

Permission to resume school means little without affordable transport, childcare, suitable water and sanitation facilities, safe journeys and protection from stigma. Financial pressures and social attitudes can keep education out of reach even after exclusionary policies disappear. Burkina Faso offers evidence of what practical improvements can achieve: building girl-friendly schools increased enrolment by 19 percentage points overall, with larger gains for girls.

UNESCO supports governments through policy advice, technical assistance, capacity development, data and partnerships, connecting education rights with programmes that address girls' circumstances. Its Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future programme has worked with education ministries in 35 countries to expand comprehensive sexuality education, helping millions of young people make informed decisions. In Afghanistan, where an estimated 2.4 million girls and women are denied their right to education, UNESCO provides alternative pathways through community-based learning, literacy and skills programmes, and psychosocial support.

The Her Education, Our Future initiative develops and shares evidence, strengthens cooperation and supports girls and women to gain greater agency through education. UNESCO has scheduled its 2026 Prize for Girls' and Women's Education ceremony for 9 October at its Paris headquarters, recognising two laureates for innovative contributions to educational opportunities. Established in 2015 and funded by the Government of China, the annual prize gives each laureate US$50,000 to further their work.