According to UNICEF, the number of early marriages is decreasing as is the number of early marriages.
According to data released by UNICEF, the percentage of women who married as girls in the last decade has decreased by 15%, estimating the total number of girls married as girls at 12 million per year. The new data points to an overall global reduction of 25 million fewer marriages than predicted 10 years ago worldwide. However, in order to reach the goal set by the Sustainable Development Goals which foresees the end of this practice by 2030, cultural and social processes must accelerate significantly. Without further acceleration, over 150 million more girls will marry before their 18th birthday by 2030.
South Asia has seen the world's largest decrease in child marriage in the past 10 years: the risk of a girl marrying before her 18th birthday has dropped by more than a third, from around 50% to 30%, largely thanks to the progress made in India. Increasing girls' education rates, proactive government investment in teenagers, and strong public messages about the illegality of child marriages and the damage they cause are among the reasons for the change.