UNESCO gender report says the share of girls married before eighteen fell from 25 to 18 per cent

8 October 2026

UNESCO has published the 2026 Global Education Monitoring Gender Report for the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October 2026. It finds that enrolment is now roughly equal for girls and boys globally from pre-primary through upper secondary. The share of girls married before 18 fell globally from 25 per cent in 2000 to 18 per cent in 2025, but stands at 25 per cent in Central and Southern Asia and 31 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. About 6 million pregnant girls and young mothers aged 10 to 19 were out of school in sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, and fewer than 5 per cent of pregnant and parenting girls in that region return to school. Averages hide disparities: in India, rural areas have 59 girls per 100 boys completing upper secondary while urban areas have parity, and in Angola the poorest households have 30 girls per 100 boys completing upper secondary. UNESCO data for 2026 show 58 per cent of countries guarantee the right to education without sex or gender discrimination and 35 per cent explicitly protect that right for pregnant and parenting girls. An estimated 2.4 million girls and women are denied education in Afghanistan.