World · Latin America · 7 hrs ago
Early unions persist among girls in Mexico despite marriage ban
In 2025, about 146,100 girls aged 12 to 17 in Mexico were married or living in an early union, despite the country’s legal minimum marriage age of 18.
They made up 2.2% of girls in that age group, down from 3.7% in 2020.
Among Indigenous girls aged 12 to 17, the share was 8%, up from 7.5% in 2020.
Early unions can be informal and may occur without civil registration, particularly amid poverty, social inequality and limited educational opportunities.
The issue is the focus of the 2026 International Day of the Girl, which calls for an end to child marriage and more investment in girls’ rights.
In 2025, Mexico also recorded 66,397 births to mothers aged 10 to 17.
In May 2026, Mexico City’s Congress approved a proposal to reinforce the marriage ban in the federal Constitution and sent it to the national Congress.
Despite a legal ban, 146,100 girls and adolescents aged 12 to 17 in Mexico were married or in early unions in 2025.
They represented 2.2% of girls and women in that age group, down from 3.7% in 2020.
Among Indigenous adolescents aged 12 to 17, the share was 8%, up from 7.5% in 2020.
The article says informal unions can occur without civil registration and are linked to poverty, sociocultural practices, gender inequality and limited educational opportunities.
UNICEF’s International Day of the Girl campaign on October 11, 2026, called for ending child marriage and investing in girls’ rights.
- Who
- Girls and adolescents in Mexico, especially Indigenous adolescents.
- What
- Early unions persist despite the legal minimum marriage age of 18.
- When
- The figures are for 2025; the article was published on October 11, 2026.
- Where
- Mexico.
- Why
- The article links early unions to poverty, sociocultural practices, gender inequality and lack of educational opportunities.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights
3.7% of girls and women aged 12 to 17 in Mexico were married or in early unions.
The share among Indigenous adolescents was 7.5%.
Mexico City’s Congress approved a proposed constitutional reform to reinforce the ban and sent it to the federal Congress.
146,100 girls and adolescents aged 12 to 17 were married or in early unions, including 26,800 Indigenous adolescents.
UNICEF’s International Day of the Girl campaign called for ending child marriage and investing in girls’ rights.
- National total
- 146,100 girls and adolescents aged 12 to 17 in early unions in 2025
- National share
- 2.2% in 2025, down from 3.7% in 2020
- Indigenous adolescents
- 26,800 in early unions in 2025
- Indigenous share
- 8% in 2025, up from 7.5% in 2020
- Legal minimum age
- 18 years for marriage in Mexico
Sources
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