Marriage

America's Youngest Child Brides & Grooms

Between 2000 and 2015, at least 207,468 minors were married in the United States. Despite an overall fall in child marriage since 2000 (25,583 to 9,247), there are still a shocking number of young children legally married in the country. Only 14 percent married other minors, meaning 86 percent wedded an adult. As our infographic shows, the youngest to marry since 2000 were three ten year olds. According to Frontline, the three girls married men aged 24, 25 and 31 in Tennessee in 2001.

While certain conditions have to be met before a minor can marry, and consent from a parent or judge is usually required, every state in the U.S. allows children to marry to some extent. In Oregon and Nebraska, for example, the lower limit is set at 17. In 26 states, there is no minimum age for marriage.

Description

This chart shows an age distribution of young children that got married in the U.S. from 2000 to 2015.

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