The cost of not educating girls at the secondary level will be even higher

Child marriage will cost West and Central African countries tens of billions of dollars by 2030, according to new research by the World Bank funded by the Global Partnership for Education and the Children Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). The cost of not educating girls at the secondary level will be even higher.

Ending child marriage and enabling girls to complete their secondary education would contribute to women having fewer children and having them later in life, increase women’s expected earnings in adulthood and improve household welfare, reduce health risks for young children, and improve women’s agency in multiple areas.

According to a new series of notes on Girls’ Education and Child Marriage in West and Central Africa, which were presented at a high level meeting on ending child marriage in the region held in Dakar today, the prevalence of child marriage (marriage or union before the age of 18) has decreased only slowly in the region in the past 25 years. In 22 West and Central African countries for which detailed analysis was conducted, on average 39 percent of women aged 18-22 married as children, and 30 percent have their first child before the age of 18 according to the latest available household surveys.

For girls’ education, while progress has been substantial at the primary level, gains in rates of secondary school completion have been limited, with only 13.5 percent of girls on average across 22 countries completing their upper secondary education at the time of the latest household survey (latest Demographic and Health Survey or MICS).

“Progress towards reducing child marriage and improving secondary education completion has been slow in West and Central Africa,” said Quentin Wodon, lead author of the report. “Child marriage and a low levels of educational attainment rob young girls of their future. They also has major negative consequences for their children and communities. Ending child marriage and educating girls is not only morally the right thing to do, but it is also a smart economic investment.”

In West and Central Africa, two in three early childbirths (children born to a mother younger than 18) are likely due to child marriage. If child marriage were ended, fertility rates could be reduced by about 10 percent in many countries in the region. Thanks to lower population growth, ending child marriage today could generate benefits in terms of gains in standards of living of more than US$50 billion annually by 2030 (in purchasing power parity). If all girls were to complete their secondary education, the reductions in fertility and the associated economic benefits would be even larger.

The analysis also suggests that ending child marriage, and thereby reducing early childbearing, as well as improving educational attainment for girls would reduce rates of under-five mortality and stunting due to a lack of appropriate nutrition. For West and Central Africa, the estimated benefits of lower under-five mortality and malnutrition from an end to child marriage alone could reach close to US$5 billion annually by 2030.

Another important benefit from ending child marriage and educating girls would be an increase in women’s expected earnings in the labor market. Women working today would have had higher earnings if they had not been married as children in their youth and had been able to pursue their education. Finally, while the impact of ending child marriage on a range of other benefits ranging from more decision-making ability within the household to higher rates of birth registration is not as high, educating girls tend to lead to large improvements in those areas.

The analysis also emphasizes that there is a close relationship between child marriage, early childbearing, and girl’s educational attainment. Ending child marriage would help improve girls’ educational attainment. Conversely, keeping girls in school in one of the best ways to end child marriage. To delay marriage, girls and parents need a viable alternative. Schooling can be this alternative, and there are examples of successful interventions in the region that have succeeded in delaying marriage and keeping girls in school.

The new analysis for West and Central Africa expands the analysis of a global study on the Economic Impacts of Child Marriage by the World Bank and the International Center for Research on Women. This study was also co-funded by the Global Partnership for Education. The new analysis for West and Central Africa has been extended to include more countries in the region, consider specifically the impact of girls’ education apart from that of child marriage, analyze the factors leading to girls dropping out of school or marrying early, and review interventions that could help improve girls’ education and end child marriage.