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UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
FEMALE
MALE
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 15
5%
N/A
PREVALENCE OF MARRIAGE BY AGE 18
29%
4%
Year of data:
2022
Source:
DHS 2022
Year of data:
2022
Source:
DHS 2022
LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE
15
18
LOWEST PERMITTED AGE OF MARRIAGE DUE TO EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW
14
14
Law(s) which govern marriage and/or child marriage:
Marriage Act 1971, Supreme Court of Appeal ruling 2019
ABOUT THE LAW AND ANY EXCEPTIONS
The Marriage Act allows girls to marry from 15 with parental consent or 18 without parental consent, and men at 18. In addition, both girls and boys can be married from the age of 14 with judicial consent. The Act also explicitly states that a minister or celebrant of customary and religious marriages cannot dispense of these age requirements, and has the right to refuse to perform a marriage ceremony if the age requirements are not met (Article 17).
In 2019, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling that the legal age of marriage should be 18, and ruled that the Marriage Act of 1971 was unconstitutional as it does not give equal treatment to boys and girls. No amendment to the Marriage Act has been made to reflect this ruling.
CAN MARRIED OR PREGNANT GIRLS GO TO SCHOOL?
In 2021, the ban on pregnant girls and girls who are married attending school was lifted, with specific requirements for schools to support mothers returning to school.