Knowledge Brief Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice BASIC PROFILE OF CHILD MARRIAGE IN MOZAMBIQUE Chata Malé and Quentin Wodon March 2016 Child Marriage Series with Education Global Practice KEY MESSAGES:  Measures of child marriage are high in Mozambique. The share of women ages 18-22 who married as children is 51.5 percent and it has increased over time. However the share of women marrying very early, before the age of 15, has declined, but not rapidly.  Child marriage is associated with lower wealth, lower education levels, and higher labor force participation. These are however only correlations, not necessarily causal effects. In order to design programs and policies to reduce child Box 1: Brief and Series Primer marriage, information is needed on the trend in the How is child marriage defined? Child marriage is defined as a practice over time, where it is most prevalent in a country, marriage or union taking place before the age of 18. and what the characteristics of girls marrying early are. Why a series on child marriage? Child marriage has Measuring child marriage is needed to inform policy. significant negative impacts – not only for girls, but also for a range of development outcomes. Demonstrating these impacts Child marriage is recognized as a major development will assist governments and others to make the case for intervening to reduce the practice. issue that affects girls in many developing countries. The practice has been linked to a number of health risks, What are the topics discussed in the series? The series higher fertility, and lower education attainment, among looks at the impacts of child marriage on health, population, others. The negative impact of child marriage on a wide education, employment, agency, and violence, among other range of development outcomes explains why in many outcomes. The welfare, budget, and non-monetary costs of child countries child marriage is now prohibited by law, and marriage are estimated. Legal/institutional aspects and options why the elimination of child marriage is part of the new to reduce the practice are also discussed. Sustainable Development Goals. Yet more is needed to eliminate the practice than adopting laws. In order to What is the question asked in this brief? The question is: How widespread is the practice, not only in terms of the share of inform program and policies to reduce the practice, this girls marrying early, but also in terms of how early they marry? brief provides a basic profile of child marriage in Mozambique. The brief is part of a series of standardized How is the question answered? Measures and a profile of briefs on this topic for several countries. child marriage inspired by the literature on poverty are provided. Page 1 HNPGP Knowledge Brief  Half of women in Mozambique marry early. employment and earnings potential for the rest of her life, but it will also have other negative consequences for her The analysis is based on data from the 2011 as well as for her children. Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for Mozambique. This is the latest DHS available. Table 1 provides basic Most studies on child marriage report the incidence of statistics on the age at first marriage for women. Two child marriage - the share of girls who marry early (before samples are considered: women ages 18 to 22, which is 18), sometimes also with the share of girls who marry the youngest age group that can be used to measure very early, before age 15. Such statistics are useful, but child marriage in the country1, and women ages 18-49 they do not capture the “depth” and “severity” of the (the women’s questionnaire in the DHS collects data for practice very well. Better measures of child marriage can women up to age 49). Clearly, a large share of women be adopted from the poverty literature (Ngyuen and marry below the age of 18, and many do so before the Wodon (2012). Three measures are used here: the age of 15. There are some differences in the likelihood of incidence of child marriage or headcount index, the child marrying as children between the two groups suggesting marriage gap, and the squared child marriage gap. that child marriage may have increased over time. Definitions of these measures is provided in the annex. The measures are estimated for child marriage as well as Table 1: Age at First Marriage for Women (%) very early marriage defined as marrying before age 15. 18-22 years 18-49 years Not Married 25.0 9.3 The child marriage gap represents the “depth” of child 18 or Above 23.5 46.0 marriage. It takes into account not only the share of girls Below 12 0.8 1.7 who marry early, but also the mean number of years of 12 2.3 2.5 early marriage. When using the child marriage gap for the 13 3.2 3.7 evaluation of programs or policies, instead of simply 14 5.9 6.1 looking at the share of the girls who marry early, more 15 11.0 8.7 weight is placed on the girls who marry at a very young 16 15.0 10.9 age. While the child marriage gap takes into account the 17 13.3 11.1 average number of years of early marriage for girls who Total 100.0 100.0 marry early, the squared gap takes into account the Mean age at 1st marriage 16.4 18.5 square of that number, thereby putting even more Source: Authors’ estimation. emphasis on girls who marry very early and taking into account inequality in the age of marriage among girls The consequences of child marriage are not the same marrying early. whether girls marry at 12 or 17. Measures inspired from the poverty literature help in capturing better how early The incidence of child marriage in Mozambique in 2011 girls marry (see the annex). The headcount (H) measures was higher than that observed 25 years ago. the share of girls who marry early. The child marriage gap (CMG) measures the “depth” of the practice, taking into Child marriage has increased over time. account how early girls marry. The squared gap (SG) puts even more weight on the girls who marry very early. Table 2 provides trends over time in the measures of child marriage inspired by the poverty literature. Consider first Beyond the share of girls who marry early, other the age group 18-22. In that age group more than half of measures of child marriage are also important. girls marry before the age of 18 (51.5 percent for the 18- 22 age group). The child marriage gap (CMG) is at 7.5 The negative impact of child marriage for a girl’s health, percent and the squared gap (SG) at 1.5 percent for that education, and well-being is often larger when the girl group. By estimating the same measures on older groups, marries very early. For example, child marriage is known the table provides the trend in child marriage over time. to have a negative impact on school enrollment and When considering the 18 years threshold, there has been attainment. The earlier a girl marries, the more likely it is an increase in the headcount. There is on the other hand that she will drop out early and thereby have a low level of no increase in other measures which suggests that while education attainment. This will not only limit her girls do not marry earlier when they do marry early. The fact that girls who marry early may marry slightly less 1 early is confirmed by the measures based on the 15 years Child marriage measures must be estimated on the population older than 18, because some younger girls not yet married in the age threshold which suggest a decline in the headcount survey could still get married by age 18. It is best to measure for those measures. Still, overall, the share of girls child marriage as early as possible after the age of 18 to provide marrying very (below age 15) has decreased by only data on conditions as current as possible, which is why the age three percentage points over the last 25 years (the bracket 18-22 is used here. Page 2 HNPGP Knowledge Brief  approximate time gap between the first and last age to richest. For most women the level of wealth observed is group)2. that of the household in which they married, not their household or origin, but it is likely that many women marry Table 2: Trend in Child and Very Early Marriage (%) with men who have similar socio-economic profiles, so the 18 years 15 years quintile after marriage may not be that different from the H CMG SG H CMG SG quintile before. Also, for younger women, assets and All 18-49 years 44.7 7.2 1.6 14.1 1.9 0.3 wealth may be lower than for older women. In Age group Mozambique, the measures of child marriage do not differ 18-22 years 51.5 7.5 1.5 12.1 1.5 0.2 much between the three bottom quintiles. It is only in the 23-30 years 46.5 7.6 1.6 15.4 2.0 0.3 top quintile that child marriage is much less prevalent. 31-40 years 39.3 6.6 1.5 13.6 1.9 0.4 41-49 years 42.0 7.2 1.7 15.0 2.2 0.4 Source: Authors’ estimation. Table 4: Child Marriage by Quintile, Age 18-22 (%) 18 years 15 years Girls are more likely to marry early if they live in rural H CMG SG H CMG SG areas and are from poorer socio-economic groups. All 18-22 years 51.5 7.5 1.5 12.1 1.5 0.2 Wealth quintiles Poorest 63.2 9.2 1.7 14.3 1.7 0.3 Child marriage is more prevalent in rural than in urban Poorer 60.1 8.3 1.6 13.1 1.7 0.3 areas. There are also differences between regions, with Middle 65.4 9.9 2.0 16.1 2.2 0.4 the lowest measures observed in Maputo cidade and the Richer 54.5 8.2 1.6 13.6 1.7 0.3 highest measures observed (according to the headcount Richest 24.4 3.5 0.6 5.7 0.6 0.1 index for the 18 years threshold) in Nampula, followed by Source: Authors’ estimation. Niassa and Cabo Delgado, then, by Manica, Tete and Sofala. Child marriage is less prevalent in Maputo Child marriage is associated with lower education provincia. The ranking of the regions in terms of the attainment and a lower likelihood of literacy. measures obtained with the 15 and 18 years thresholds tends to be very similar. Table 5 provides data on child marriage by level of education of the women, as well as literacy. Child Rural girls are far more likely to marry early than urban marriage affects education attainment negatively, girls. Girls from the bottom four quintiles of wealth are because girls often drop out of school when they marry. much more likely to marry than girls from the top quintile. The causality goes the other way as well, as the ability to pursue one’s education may help delay the age at marriage. This relationship between education and child Table 3: Child Marriage by Location, Age 18-22 (%) marriage is apparent in the data, in that the measures of 18 years 15 years child marriage tend to be higher among women with lower H CMG SG H CMG SG levels of education. The same relationship is observed All 18-22 years 51.5 7.5 1.5 12.1 1.5 0.2 when considering literacy where three categories are Region considered: the woman cannot read at all, can read part Niassa 64.3 10.1 2.2 16.2 2.5 0.5 of a sentence, or can read a full sentence. Cabo Delgado 64.3 9.8 2.0 16.7 2.3 0.4 Nampula 66.8 9.8 1.9 14.3 1.9 0.3 The relationship between child marriage and schooling is Zambezia 52.1 7.5 1.5 11.5 1.5 0.3 important for policy as the causality goes both ways. Child Tete 55.6 8.1 1.6 15.1 1.7 0.2 marriage may lead to dropouts and lower education Manica 61.2 8.8 1.6 14.2 1.5 0.2 attainment. But the reverse is true as well: keeping girls in Sofala 53.8 8.4 1.8 16.2 2.0 0.3 school is often one of the best ways to delay marriage. Inhambane 36.0 4.5 0.8 6.4 0.9 0.1 Gaza 42.8 5.4 0.9 8.1 0.8 0.1 Maputo provincia 19.8 2.8 0.5 3.6 0.4 0.1 Marrying between the ages of 15 and 17 tends to affect Maputo cidade 16.1 2.2 0.4 2.3 0.3 0.0 primarily secondary education enrollment or completion, Residence and may not necessarily affect the completion of primary Urban 37.6 5.6 1.1 9.4 1.1 0.2 education. But marrying even earlier can also prevent Rural 60.0 8.7 1.7 13.8 1.7 0.3 girls from completing their primary education (primary Source: Authors’ estimation. school takes in principle six years to complete, but some students start primary school late and may also repeat Household welfare is measured through a wealth index grades, so the actual age of completion may be delayed). with households categorized in five quintiles from poorest 2 These measures have standard errors (not shown to save space). Some differences may not be statistically significant. Page 3 HNPGP Knowledge Brief  Table 5: Child Marriage by Education Level and Conclusion Literacy Status, Age 18-22 (%) 18 years 15 years This brief has provided a basic profile of child marriage in H CMG SG H CMG SG Mozambique. Measures of child marriage are high. The All 18-22 years 51.5 7.5 1.5 12.1 1.5 0.2 share of women ages 18-22 who married as children is Education 51.5 percent and it has increased over time. The share of No education 63.9 9.0 1.8 13.8 1.9 0.3 girls marrying very early, before the age of 15, has Primary, some 63.9 9.9 2.0 18.0 2.2 0.4 however declined. Child marriage is associated with lower Primary, compl. 49.9 6.7 1.2 9.8 1.1 0.2 wealth, lower education levels, and higher labor force Secondary, some 27.9 3.7 0.6 3.5 0.4 0.1 Secondary, compl. 9.3 1.0 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.0 participation but probably with low productivity. These are Higher 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 however only correlations, not necessarily causal effects. Literacy Other briefs in this series look at potential causal effects. Cannot read 65.8 10.1 2.1 17.7 2.4 0.4 Limited ability 56.7 7.4 1.3 11.1 1.2 0.2 References Full sentence 35.6 4.9 0.9 6.6 0.7 0.1 No card available 65.0 3.6 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 Foster, J., J. Greer, and E. Thorbecke, 1984, A Class of Source: Authors’ estimation. Decomposable Poverty Measures, Econometrica 52: 761–776. Relationships between child marriage and labor force Nguyen, M. C., and Q. Wodon, 2012, Measuring Child Marriage, participation can be complex and depend on context. Economics Bulletin 32(1): 398-411. Table 6 provides data on labor force participation. In Annex: Methodological Note some countries child marriage may reduce labor force The headcount index, child marriage gap, and squared child participation through higher fertility. In others, if child marriage gap are the first three measures of the so-called FGT marriage is associated with poverty, women may leave class (Foster et al., 2014). Denote by q the number of girls who little choice but to work. Other effects could be at work, so marry early and by n the number of girls in the overall that the relationship between child marriage and labor population. Denote by yi the age of marriage of girl i and by z force participation is complex. In Mozambique, child the age threshold defining child marriage (18 years of age, but a marriage measures are lower for women not working, lower age threshold can also be used to measure extreme child suggesting a positive association between child marriage marriage). The general formula for the FGT class of measures and work. In addition, the type of work associated most depends on a parameter α which takes a value of zero for the with child marriage is work without cash earnings, which headcount, one for the child marriage gap, and two for the squared child marriage gap in the following expression: may be work with low productivity. These basic statistics  1 q  z  yi   z  however do not imply causality. P  Table 6: Child Marriage by Labor Force Participation n i1   Status, Age 18-22 (%) 18 years 15 years This brief was produced as part of the Economic Impacts of Child H CMG SG H CMG SG Marriage study, a joint project of the International Center for Research All 18-22 years 51.5 7.5 1.5 12.1 1.5 0.2 on Women (ICRW) and the World Bank, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Working Foundation (CIFF). More details on the research can be found at the No 47.2 6.8 1.3 11.4 1.3 0.2 project’s website: www.costsofchildmarriage.org. Partial funding for the Yes 58.4 8.7 1.7 13.4 1.8 0.3 work related to child marriage and education, labor force participation, Type of work earnings, and program responses has been provided by the Global Not paid 65.7 9.8 1.9 15.5 1.9 0.3 Partnership for Education. Comments from Jeff Edmeades and Cash only 43.0 6.8 1.5 9.3 1.5 0.3 Margareta Norris Harrit are gratefully acknowledged. The opinions Cash and in-kind 46.8 7.7 1.7 13.4 2.0 0.3 expressed in this brief are those of the authors only and need not reflect In-kind only 67.3 9.3 1.8 14.3 2.0 0.4 the views of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, of the countries they represent. Source: Authors’ estimation. The Health, Nutrition and Population Knowledge Briefs of the World Bank are a quick reference on the essentials of specific HNP-related topics summarizing new findings and information. These may highlight an issue and key interventions proven to be effective in improving health, or disseminate new findings and lessons learned from the regions. For more information on this topic, go to: www.worldbank.org/health. Page 4