Child marriage will cost developing countries trillions of dollars in the next decade, seriously hampering global efforts to eradicate poverty, the World Bank said on Tuesday, Gulf Times reported.
An estimated one in three girls in the developing world is married before the age of 18, with one girl married off every two seconds, according to experts.
The World Bank said ending child marriage would reduce population growth, boost girls' educational achievements and increase their earnings.
It would also lead to women having healthier and better educated children, further boosting prosperity.
‘Child marriage not only puts a stop to girls' hopes and dreams, it also hampers efforts to end poverty and achieve economic growth and equity,’ World Bank economist Quentin Wodon said in a statement.
‘Ending this practice is not only the morally right thing to do but also the economically smart thing to do,’ added Wodon, who co-authored the report - the first to look at the economic impact of child marriage.
