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There is much to celebrate in girls’ education. Since the Education for All movement and the setting of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, the number of out-of-school girls at primary school level has dropped from 58.9 million in 2000 to 30.7 million in 2012 and the share of girls that make up the out-of school population has decreased from 58 to 53 percent.

This study mapping early marriage in West Africa is the product of two years of discovery and learning by a team of development researchers. The result is not only an exhaustive report on the current status of the problem and efforts to combat it, but also an important model for future studies in other areas of the world where the practice persists.

This article explores the pattern of early marriage in Africa. It focuses on the sub-Saharan region as an area with the highest rates of early marriage in the world. The harmful effects of early marriage are explored in terms of impact on the health, education and economic well-being of young girls.

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