Knowledge Brief Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice BASIC PROFILE OF CHILD MARRIAGE IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Chata Malé and Quentin Wodon March 2016 Child Marriage Series with Education Global Practice KEY MESSAGES:  Measures of child marriage are high in the DRC. The share of women ages 18-22 who married as children is 35.9 percent, but it has declined over time. The share of girls marrying very early, before the age of 15, at just under 10 percent has also declined.  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 the DRC. The brief is part of a series of standardized briefs on this How is the question answered? Measures and a profile of topic for several countries. child marriage inspired by the literature on poverty are provided. Page 1 HNPGP Knowledge Brief  A third of women in DRC still marry early. but it will also have other negative consequences for her as well as for her children. The analysis is based on data from the 2013-14 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for the DRC. This Most studies on child marriage report the incidence of is the latest DHS available. Table 1 provides basic child marriage - the share of girls who marry early (before statistics on the age at first marriage for women. Two 18), sometimes also with the share of girls who marry samples are considered: women ages 18 to 22, which is very early, before age 15. Such statistics are useful, but the youngest age group that can be used to measure they do not capture the “depth” and “severity” of the child marriage in the country1, and women ages 18-49 practice very well. Better measures of child marriage can (the women’s questionnaire in the DHS collects data for be adopted from the poverty literature (Ngyuen and women up to age 49). Clearly, a large share of women Wodon (2012). Three measures are used here: the marry below the age of 18, and many do so before the incidence of child marriage or headcount index, the child age of 15, but there are some differences in the likelihood marriage gap, and the squared child marriage gap. of marrying as children between the two groups. This Definitions of these measures is provided in the annex. suggests that child marriage has decreased over time. The measures are estimated for child marriage as well as very early marriage defined as marrying before age 15. Table 1: Age at First Marriage for Women (%) 18-22 years 18-49 years The child marriage gap represents the “depth” of child Not Married 45.4 17.0 marriage. It takes into account not only the share of girls 18 or Above 18.7 42.2 who marry early, but also the mean number of years of Below 12 0.8 1.1 early marriage. When using the child marriage gap for the 12 1.4 1.6 evaluation of programs or policies, instead of simply 13 2.9 3.6 14 4.5 6.1 looking at the share of the girls who marry early, more 15 6.4 7.8 weight is placed on the girls who marry at a very young 16 9.3 9.6 age. While the child marriage gap takes into account the 17 10.6 10.9 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 first marriage 16.6 18.2 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 the DRC in 2013-14 girls marry (see the annex). The headcount (H) measures was lower than that observed 25 years ago. There has the share of girls who marry early. The child marriage gap been a reduction in how early girls marry. (CMG) measures the “depth” of the practice, taking into account how early girls marry. The squared gap (SG) puts Child marriage has been reduced over time. even more weight on the girls who marry very early. Table 2 provides trends over time in the measures of child Beyond the share of girls who marry early, other marriage inspired by the poverty literature. Consider first measures of child marriage are also important. the age group 18-22. In that age group, more than one third of girls marry before the age of 18 (35.9 percent for The negative impact of child marriage for a girl’s health, the 18-22 age group). The child marriage gap (CMG) is at education, and well-being is often larger when the girl 5.3 percent and the squared gap (SG) at 1.1 percent for marries very early. For example, child marriage is known that group. By estimating the same measures on older to have a negative impact on school enrollment and groups, the table provides the trend in child marriage over attainment. The earlier a girl marries, the more likely it is time. When considering the 18 years threshold, there has that she will drop out early and thereby have a low level of been a decline in the headcount as well as in other education attainment. This will not only limit her measures, also suggesting that girls tend to marry slightly employment and earnings potential for the rest of her life, less early when they marry as children. 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 also a decline in the survey could still get married by age 18. It is best to measure headcount for those measures. Overall, the share of girls child marriage as early as possible after the age of 18 to provide marrying as children has decreased by 12 percentage data on conditions as current as possible, which is why the age points over the last 25 years (the approximate time gap bracket 18-22 is used here. Page 2 HNPGP Knowledge Brief  between the first and last age group), and the decline for to richest. For most women the level of wealth observed is extreme child marriage (15 years threshold), is seven that of the household in which they married, not their percentage points2. household or origin, but it is likely that many women marry with men who have similar socio-economic profiles, so the Table 2: Trend in Child and Very Early Marriage (%) quintile after marriage may not be that different from the 18 years 15 years quintile before. Also, for younger women, assets and H CMG SG H CMG SG wealth may be lower than for older women. In the DRC, All 18-49 years 40.7 6.3 1.3 12.4 1.5 0.2 the measures of child marriage differ by quintile, but it is Age group only in the top quintile of wealth that child marriage is 18-22 years 35.9 5.3 1.1 9.6 1.2 0.2 much less prevalent. 23-30 years 40.3 6.2 1.3 11.9 1.5 0.2 31-40 years 42.0 6.6 1.4 13.3 1.6 0.3 41-49 years 47.9 7.9 1.7 16.7 2.1 0.3 Table 4: Child Marriage by Quintile, Age 18-22 (%) Source: Authors’ estimation. 18 years 15 years H CMG SG H CMG SG Girls are more likely to marry early if they live in rural All 18-22 years 35.9 5.3 1.1 9.6 1.2 0.2 Wealth quintiles areas and are from poorer socio-economic groups. Poorest 51.6 7.9 1.6 13.8 1.8 0.3 Poorer 40.1 5.7 1.1 9.2 1.2 0.2 Child marriage is more prevalent in rural than in urban Middle 44.8 6.5 1.3 13.5 1.6 0.2 areas. There are also differences between regions, with Richer 34.2 5.1 1.0 10.0 1.1 0.2 the lowest measures observed in Kinshasa and the Richest 16.5 2.4 0.5 3.9 0.6 0.1 highest measures observed (according to the headcount Source: Authors’ estimation. index for the 18 years threshold) in the Maniema and Equateur, followed by Kasai-Occidental, Orientale, Kasai- Child marriage is associated with lower education Oriental and Sud-Kivu regions. Child marriage is less attainment and a lower likelihood of literacy. prevalent in Bas-Congo. The ranking of the regions in terms of the measures obtained with the 15 and 18 years Table 5 provides data on child marriage by level of thresholds tends to be very similar. education of the women, as well as literacy. Child marriage affects education attainment negatively, Rural girls are much more likely to marry early than urban because girls often drop out of school when they marry. girls. Girls from the bottom four quintiles of wealth are The causality goes the other way as well, as the ability to much more likely to marry than girls from the top quintile. pursue one’s education may help delay the age at marriage. This relationship between education and child marriage is apparent in the data, in that the measures of Table 3: Child Marriage by Location, Age 18-22 (%) child marriage tend to be higher among women with lower 18 years 15 years levels of education. The same relationship is observed H CMG SG H CMG SG when considering literacy where three categories are All 18-22 years 35.9 5.3 1.1 9.6 1.2 0.2 considered: the woman cannot read at all, can read part Province Kinshasa 12.0 2.0 0.5 3.8 0.6 0.1 of a sentence, or can read a full sentence. Bandundu 34.6 4.9 0.9 8.7 1.1 0.2 Bas-Congo 23.2 3.0 0.5 6.7 0.5 - The relationship between child marriage and schooling is Equateur 49.2 7.3 1.5 13.2 1.7 0.3 important for policy as the causality goes both ways. Child Kasai-Occidental 44.8 6.5 1.2 10.7 1.3 0.2 marriage may lead to dropouts and lower education Kasai-Oriental 41.1 5.7 1.1 9.8 1.1 0.2 attainment. But the reverse is true as well: keeping girls in Katanga 37.3 5.0 0.9 6.9 1.0 0.2 Maniema 57.3 9.4 2.1 18.9 2.6 0.5 school is often one of the best ways to delay marriage. Nord-Kivu 24.0 3.5 0.7 7.1 0.7 0.1 Orientale 43.0 6.6 1.4 12.4 1.6 0.3 Marrying between the ages of 15 and 17 tends to affect Sud-Kivu 38.3 6.0 1.2 12.8 1.4 0.2 primarily secondary education enrollment or completion, Residence and may not necessarily affect the completion of primary Urban 24.0 3.4 0.7 5.8 0.7 0.1 education. But marrying even earlier can also prevent Rural 43.5 6.5 1.3 12.1 1.5 0.2 Source: Authors’ estimation. Values rounding to 0.0 not shown. girls from completing their primary education (primary school takes in principle six years to complete, but some Household welfare is measured through a wealth index students start primary school late and may also repeat with households categorized in five quintiles from poorest grades, so the actual age of completion may be delayed). 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 the DRC. Measures of child marriage are very high. The All 18-22 years 35.9 5.3 1.1 9.6 1.2 0.2 share of women ages 18-22 who married as children is Education 35.9 percent and it has declined over time. The share of No education 55.6 8.6 1.8 15.5 2.1 0.4 girls marrying very early, before the age of 15, has also Some primary 50.4 8.1 1.7 16.8 2.1 0.3 declined. Child marriage is associated with lower wealth, Primary, Comp. 46.2 7.0 1.4 14.7 1.7 0.2 lower education levels, and higher labor force Some secondary 29.9 4.0 0.7 6.1 0.7 0.1 Secondary, Comp. 13.3 1.7 0.3 2.4 0.3 0.1 participation. These are however only correlations, not Higher 2.7 0.4 0.1 0.9 0.1 - necessarily causal effects. Other briefs in this series look Literacy at potential causal effects. Cannot read 54.5 8.6 1.8 16.7 2.2 0.4 Limited ability 46.4 6.5 1.2 11.6 1.2 0.2 References Full sentence 26.5 3.7 0.7 6.3 0.7 0.1 No card available 73.0 14.3 2.9 51.4 3.4 0.2 Foster, J., J. Greer, and E. Thorbecke, 1984, A Class of Source: Authors’ estimation. Values rounding to 0.0 not shown. 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 the DRC, child marriage the age threshold defining child marriage (18 years of age, but a measures are lower for women not working, suggesting a lower age threshold can also be used to measure extreme child positive association between child marriage and work. In marriage). The general formula for the FGT class of measures addition, the type of work associated most with child depends on a parameter α which takes a value of zero for the marriage is work without cash earnings, which may be headcount, one for the child marriage gap, and two for the squared child marriage gap in the following expression: work with low productivity. These basic statistics however  1 q  z  yi   z  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 35.9 5.3 1.1 9.6 1.2 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 21.9 3.1 0.6 5.4 0.7 0.1 project’s website: www.costsofchildmarriage.org. Partial funding for the Yes 44.9 6.7 1.3 12.4 1.5 0.2 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 30.0 3.9 0.7 6.2 0.8 0.1 Partnership for Education. Comments from Jeff Edmeades and Cash only 35.8 5.4 1.1 9.9 1.2 0.2 Margareta Norris Harrit are gratefully acknowledged. The opinions Cash and in-kind 56.1 8.4 1.7 15.7 2.0 0.3 expressed in this brief are those of the authors only and need not reflect In-kind only 49.0 7.2 1.4 14.1 1.6 0.2 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