Child marriage (marriage below 18 years) is a widespread practice affecting both the physical and psychological wellbeing and development of millions of girls in Ethiopia. There is growing momentum – globally and in Ethiopia – to increase efforts to bring an end to child marriage, acknowledging that the practice is a violation of human rights.

This briefing synthesises findings from a national study to identify the patterning and drivers of child marriage – and to locate promising examples of good-practice programming which could be brought to scale as the government moves towards its ambitious goal of eliminating child marriage within a decade.

This research was commissioned by UNICEF Ethiopia and the National Alliance to End Child Marriage in Ethiopia by 2025, spearheaded by the Ethiopian Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs.