Mean age at effective marriage of females, SRS 2023
The mean age at effective marriage of women recorded in India in 2023 is 22.9 years. It is highest in Jammu and Kashmir (26.3 years, which includes Ladakh), Delhi (24.6), Punjab and Himachal Pradesh (24.5) and lowest in West Bengal (21.3), Jharkhand (21.5) and Bihar (21.6). Kerala is at 24.4 and Bihar at 21.6, a gap of 2.8 years. The earlier map put Bihar under 19.
Policy implication
This is the mean age at marriage among marriages recorded in the sample in 2023, so it is not the share of women married before 18, and a state with many very early marriages can still show a mean above 21. NFHS-6 reports women aged 20 to 24 married before 18, which is a better measure of child marriage and is mapped separately. Only the 22 larger states are published.
This is the mean age at marriage among marriages recorded in the sample in 2023, so it is not the share of women married before 18, and a state with many very early marriages can still show a mean above 21. NFHS-6 reports women aged 20 to 24 married before 18, which is a better measure of child marriage and is mapped separately. Only the 22 larger states are published.
Data vintage. The figures are for 2023 and have not been refreshed since this map was made.
Source: ORGI SRS Statistical Report 2023 (2023). See the methodology for notes and limitations.
Part of ImpactMojo. Maps are pedagogical tools for facilitated discussion, not standalone data references. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.