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A Statistical Snapshot
of Child Protection in
West and Central Africa
© UNICEF/NYHQ2013-0122/Dicko
Child marriage
Around 4 in 10 young women were married as
children
The prevalence of child marriage among males is
10 times lower than among females
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union
before ages 15 and 18
Percentage of men aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union before
ages 15 and 18
Cabo Verde
Ghana
Gabon
Guinea-Bissau
Togo
Equatorial Guinea
Benin
Senegal
Côte d'Ivoire
Congo
Mauritania
Sao Tome and Principe
Liberia
Gambia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cameroon
Sierra Leone
Nigeria
Burkina Faso
Guinea
Mali
Central African Republic
Chad
Niger
Senegal
Sao Tome and Principe
Togo
Guinea
Nigeria
Cabo Verde
Equatorial Guinea
Ghana
Benin
Burkina Faso
Côte d'Ivoire
Gabon
Liberia
Niger
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congo
Sierra Leone
Cameroon
Mali
Central African Republic
Married before age 15
Married at age 15 or after, but before age 18
West and Central Africa
Married before age 15
Married at age 15 or after, but before age 18
West and Central Africa
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys (MICS), 2005-2014.
Notes: The estimates for West and Central Africa are based on a subset of 20 countries covering 95 per cent of the regional
population of men aged 20 to 24 years. Data for some countries cannot be directly compared with data on the prevalence of
child marriage among women since data sources for women are more recent than those for men for some countries.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2014.
Around 8 million young women aged 20 to 24
were married as children; one in three of these
child brides live in Nigeria
Countries with high levels of child marriage tend
to also have high levels of early childbearing
Nigeria
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Niger
Cameroon
Burkina Faso
Chad
Mali
Côte d'Ivoire
Guinea
Ghana
Senegal
Central African Republic
Benin
Sierra Leone
Togo
Liberia
Congo
Mauritania
Gambia
Guinea-Bissau
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Cabo Verde
Sao Tome and Principe
3,155,000
1,144,000
542,000
409,000
393,000
391,000
353,000
304,000
276,000
253,000
219,000
152,000
151,000
107,000
81,000
66,000
62,000
60,000
31,000
17,000
17,000
10,000
5,000
3,000
West and Central Africa
8,200,000
Note: Figures in this table have been rounded.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2014. Population data are from: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2012 revision, CD-ROM edition, United
Nations, New York, 2013.
100
90
Women aged 20 to 24 who gave birth before age 18
Number of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union
before age 18
Number of women aged 20 to 24
married or in union before age 18
Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were married or in union
before age 18 and percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who gave birth
before age 18
80
70
60
50
Chad
Equatorial Guinea
40
30
20
Guinea
Liberia
Sierra Leone
Guinea-Bissau
Gabon
Nigeria
Cabo Verde
Ghana
Niger
Central African
Republic
Togo
Burkina Faso
Senegal
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Women aged 20 to 24 who were married or in union before age 18
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2008-2014.
100
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING
Prevalence of FGM/C varies widely, from 97 per
cent in Guinea to 1 per cent in Cameroon
In half of the countries with available data, the
majority of girls were cut before age 5
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have undergone
FGM/C
Percentage distribution of girls who have undergone FGM/C (as reported by
their mothers), by age at which cutting occurred
0–4 years
5–9 years
15+ years
10–14 years
Missing/don't know
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Nigeria
Mali
Ghana
Mauritania
Senegal
Niger
Burkina Faso
Côte d'Ivoire
Benin
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Sierra Leone
Chad
Central African
Republic
Togo
0
Less than 10%
10% – 25%
26% – 50%
51% – 80%
Above 80%
FGM/C is not concentrated in these countries
Notes: In Liberia, only cut girls and women were asked questions on attitudes towards FGM/C. MICS data for Ghana (2011) are not
used to report on attitudes towards FGM/C due to the fact that information is missing for girls and women with no living daughters;
data from MICS 2006 are used. The estimate for West and Central Africa is based on all the practising countries in the region.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2004-2013.
West and Central Africa
Mauritania
Mali
Guinea
Sierra Leone
Chad
0
Nigeria
0
Senegal
10
Côte d'Ivoire
10
Cameroon
20
Burkina Faso
20
Benin
30
Niger
30
West and Central Africa
40
Mali
40
Guinea
50
Sierra Leone
50
Chad
60
Gambia
60
Mauritania
70
Liberia
70
Nigeria
80
Guinea-Bissau
80
Senegal
90
Central African Republic
90
Niger
100
Côte d'Ivoire
100
Togo
Percentage of boys and men aged 15 to 49 (or 59, see note) years who have
heard of FGM/C and think the practice should stop
Cameroon
Percentage of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years who have heard of
FGM/C and think the practice should stop
Burkina Faso
Most boys and men also think that FGM/C
should end
Benin
The majority of girls and women think that
FGM/C should end
Ghana
Notes: This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory
or the delimitation of any frontiers. In Liberia, only girls and women who have heard of the Sande society were asked whether
they were members (this provides indirect information on FGM/C since it is performed during initiation).
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2004-2013.
Notes: Data for Cameroon are not presented since they are based on less than 25 unweighted cases. Gambia could not be
included as data on the most recently cut daughter were not collected in MICS 2006. Data for Ghana and Togo are based on 25-49
unweighted cases. For all countries, data refer to the most recently cut daughter among mothers aged 15 to 49 with at least one
living daughter who has undergone FGM/C. Data for Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea,
Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo are from earlier surveys that collected data on the most recently cut daughter
among mothers aged 15 to 49 with at least one living daughter who has undergone FGM/C, since data from the most recent
surveys include some girls aged 0 to 14 years who have not undergone FGM/C but are still at risk of experiencing the practice
once they have reached the customary age for cutting.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2013.
Notes: Data for Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal refer to boys and men aged 15-59 years. Data for all other countries refer
to boys and men aged 15-49 years. Data for Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal are from an older source than data on attitudes
among girls and women since the opinions of boys and men were not asked in the most recent surveys for these countries. The
estimate for West and Central Africa is based on a subset of 12 countries covering 81 per cent of the population of boys and men
aged 15 to 49 years from practising countries in the region.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2004-2013.
Birth registration
The lowest levels of birth registration are found in
Chad, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia
Birth registration is lower in rural areas than
urban areas across almost all countries
Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered
Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered, by place
of residence
100
Gabon
90
Children living in rural areas
80
Less than 25%
25% – 50%
51% – 75%
76% – 90%
Above 90%
Sao Tome
and Principe
60
Children living in rural areas are
more likely to be registered
40
30
Benin
Democratic Republic
Children living in urban
of the Congo
Nigeria areas are more likely to be
Guinea-Bissau
20
registered
10
0
Mali
Burkina
Faso
Togo
Central
Senegal
African
Niger
Ghana Republic
Côte d'Ivoire
Gambia
Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Mauritania Cameroon
70
50
Congo
Sierra
Leone
Chad
Liberia
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Children living in urban areas
80
90
100
Notes: This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Data for Liberia refer only to children with a birth certificate.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, MICS and censuses, 2008-2014.
Note: Data for Liberia refer only to children with a birth certificate.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2008-2014.
Most children whose births are recorded have a
birth certificate
Many mothers lack knowledge of how to register
a child’s birth
Percentage distribution of children under age five whose births are registered,
by whether or not they have a birth certificate
Percentage distribution of children under age five whose births are not
registered, by a mother’s (or caregiver’s) knowledge of how to register a child
Do not have a birth certificate
Have a birth certificate
Unregistered children whose mothers know
how to register them
Unregistered children whose mothers do
not know how to register them
Chad
Equatorial Guinea
Mali
Ghana
Togo
Sao Tome and Principe
Congo
Mauritania
Cameroon
Gabon
Gambia
Benin
Central African Republic
Guinea
Côte d'Ivoire
Burkina Faso
Senegal
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nigeria
Niger
Sierra Leone
Guinea-Bissau
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2008-2014.
50
60
70
80
90
100
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on MICS, 2010-2011.
Gambia
Central African
Republic
Ghana
Togo
Mauritania
Sierra Leone
Chad
Nigeria
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
0
Violent discipline
Almost 9 out of 10 children experience violent discipline
Percentage of children aged 2 to 14 years who experienced any violent discipline, psychological aggression or physical punishment in the past month
Any violent discipline
Physical punishment
Psychological aggression
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
West and Central Africa
Ghana
Togo
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Côte d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Gambia
Liberia
Mauritania
Congo
Chad
Burkina Faso
Sierra Leone
Niger
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Guinea-Bissau
0
Notes: Data for the Democratic Republic of the Congo refer to children aged 1 to 14 years. The estimate for West and Central Africa is based on a subset of 16 countries covering 88 per cent of the regional population of children aged 2 to 14 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2006-2014.
More than one in three children experience
severe physical punishment in the Central
African Republic, Chad and Nigeria
Nearly half of adults believe that physical
punishment is necessary to properly raise or
educate children
Percentage of children aged 2 to 14 years who experienced severe physical
punishment in the past month
Percentage of adults who think that physical punishment is necessary to raise/
educate children
50
Nigeria
Liberia
Ghana
Niger
Sierra Leone
Cameroon
Gambia
Côte d'Ivoire
Chad
Burkina Faso
Mauritania
Togo
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Guinea-Bissau
Congo
40
30
20
West and Central Africa
Ghana
Togo
Gambia
Sierra Leone
Burkina Faso
Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Cameroon
Mauritania
Guinea-Bissau
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Liberia
Niger
Nigeria
Central African Republic
0
Chad
10
Notes: Data for the Democratic Republic of the Congo refer to children aged 1 to 14 years. The estimate for West and Central
Africa is based on a subset of 16 countries covering 88 per cent of the regional population of children aged 2 to 14 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2006-2014.
West and Central Africa
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Notes: Data for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau refer to mothers/primary caregivers. Data for all other
countries refer to any adult household member who responded to questions about discipline. The estimate for West and Central
Africa is based on a subset of 16 countries covering 88 per cent of the regional population of adults.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2006-2014.
PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AMONG GIRLS
Nearly one in three adolescent girls report incidents
of physical violence since age 15
1 in 10 girls have experienced acts of sexual violence
in their lifetime
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who experienced any physical
violence since age 15 and percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who
experienced any physical violence in the last 12 months
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who ever experienced forced sexual
intercourse or any other forced sexual acts (including in childhood), and
percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who experienced forced sexual intercourse or any other forced sexual acts in the last 12 months
Experienced physical violence since age 15
Experienced physical violence in the last 12 months
Cameroon
Sierra Leone
Equatorial Guinea
Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea
Ghana
Gabon
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liberia
Gabon
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liberia
Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Sao Tome and Principe
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Sao Tome and Principe
Nigeria
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Experienced sexual violence in the
last 12 months
West and Central Africa
West and Central Africa
0
10
20
30
40
20
30
40
50
Among adolescent girls who have been
subjected to sexual violence, the most likely
perpetrator was an intimate partner
Percentage distribution of girls aged 15 to 19 years who ever experienced
forced sexual intercourse or any other forced sexual acts, by age at first
incident of the violence
15 to 19 years
10
Notes: Data for Côte d’Ivoire refer only to ever-married girls aged 15 to 19 years; there are no lifetime prevalence data available for the country. The estimates for West and Central Africa are based on a subset of 10 countries covering 72 per cent of
the regional population of girls aged 15 to 19 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, 2007-2014.
In most countries, girls were first-time victims of
sexual violence in late adolescence
10 to 14 years
0
50
Note: The estimates for West and Central Africa are based on a subset of 12 countries covering 76 per cent of the regional
population of girls aged 15 to 19 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS 2005-2014.
Under age 10
Experienced sexual violence ever
Côte d'Ivoire n/a
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who ever experienced forced
sexual intercourse or any other forced sexual acts (including in childhood),
by perpetrator
Don't know/missing
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, 2007-2013.
Missing
1
7
7
7
7
7
7
13
0
1
11
6
5
0
0
0
10
0
10
1
5
8
0
0
6
0
5
1
45
0.3 14
10
1
0.2
0
0
27
0
0
7
0
-
5
Gabon
15
3
3
4
1
41 0.2
Ghana
10
43
3
0
-
5
Liberia
15
12
14
2
-
0
Nigeria
22
17
5
0
0.2
9
In-law
21
Own friend/acquaintance
Other
100
Stranger
90
Priest/religious leader
80
Police/soldier
70
Employer/someone at work
60
Teacher
50
9
Other relative
40
7
Brother/stepbrother
30
-
Father/stepfather
20
0.2
Former husband/partner
10
0
Current/former boyfriend
0
1
26
Ghana
Liberia
0
Cameroon
Nigeria
Cameroon
7
Current husband/partner
Gabon
Family friend
Persons who committed sexual violence against girls
0.3 14
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, 2007-2013.
Intimate partner violence among adolescents
More than one in four ever-married girls have
experienced partner violence
More than 1 in 10 adolescent girls in Equatorial
Guinea, Gabon and Liberia admit to having
initiated physical violence against their partners
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years who ever experienced any physical,
sexual or emotional violence committed by their husbands or partners
Percentage of ever-married girls aged 15 to 19 years who reported ever
committing physical violence against their husbands or partners when the
men were not already beating or physically hurting them
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Cameroon
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gabon
Liberia
Liberia
Sierra Leone
Sao Tome and Principe
Sierra Leone
Ghana
Cameroon
Côte d'Ivoire
Cabo Verde
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nigeria
Ghana
Mali
Burkina Faso
Nigeria
Côte d'Ivoire
West and Central Africa
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
100
10
20
30
40
50
Notes: Data for Côte d’Ivoire refer only to adolescent girls who are currently married or in union. Data for Cabo Verde and
Equatorial Guinea are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. The estimate for West and Central Africa is based on a subset of 13
countries covering 79 per cent of the regional population of girls aged 15 to 19 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, 2005-2014.
Notes: Data for Côte d'Ivoire refer to adolescent girls who are currently married or in union. Data for Equatorial Guinea are based
on 25-49 unweighted cases.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, 2007-2014.
About half of all adolescents think wife-beating
is sometimes justifiable
In most countries, girls are more likely to justify
wife-beating than boys
Percentage of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years who think that a husband/
partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife or partner under certain
circumstances
Percentage of girls aged 15 to 19 years and boys aged 15 to 19 years who
think that a husband/partner is justified in hitting or beating his wife or partner
under certain circumstances
45%
Less than 20%
20% – 40%
41% – 60%
Above 60%
West and
Central Africa
Guinea
Mali
Central African Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gambia
Congo
Senegal
Chad
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Sierra Leone
Niger
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Cameroon
Liberia
Togo
Burkina Faso
Guinea-Bissau
Mauritania
Nigeria
Sao Tome and Principe
Cabo Verde
Benin
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Girls
Boys
West and Central Africa
Notes: This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory
or the delimitation of any frontiers. Data for the Congo and Guinea-Bissau differ from the standard definition. Data for Chad,
Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Togo only refer to adolescent girls since data on adolescent boys are not available
for these countries.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2014.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Notes: Data for the Congo and Guinea-Bissau differ from the standard definition. Data on boys are not available for Chad, Gambia,
Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania and Togo. The regional estimate for girls is based on all 24 countries in the region and for boys is
based on a subset of 18 countries covering 90 per cent of the regional population of boys aged 15 to 19 years.
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2014.
What might the future hold?
Child marriage, FGM/C and birth registration
• The practice of child marriage is slowly declining in West
and Central Africa. The percentage of young women
married before age 18 has dropped from 52 per cent to
42 per cent in the last three decades.
The number of unregistered children will be
higher than it is today
136 million
Total population of children under age 5
• Over approximately the same period, the risk of undergoing FGM/C has declined in two thirds of the affected
countries.
• In the last decade, some progress, albeit small, has been
achieved in raising birth registration levels.
75 million
Additional number of unregistered children under
age 5 if prevalence remains at today's levels
• Progress in all these areas has been uneven across countries, however, and is not fast enough to keep pace with
population growth.
• By 2050, one in five births worldwide will occur in West
and Central Africa, and nearly 220 million more children
will be living in this region than there are today.
• This means that, unless progress is accelerated, the
numbers of children affected by FGM/C and child marriage or deprived of their right to be registered will continue to grow.
72 million
45 million
39 million
Number of unregistered children under age 5
if observed decline continues
Today 2015
2020
2025
2030
2035
2040
2045
2050
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS, MICS and censuses, 2008-2014. Population data are from: United Nations,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2012 revision, CD-ROM edition,
United Nations, New York, 2013.
The number of child brides will continue to rise
significantly
20 million
The number of girls and women cut could
potentially increase by as much as 2.5 times
Total female population
Number of girls and women who will undergo FGM/C if prevalence remains at today's levels
Number of girls and women who will undergo FGM/C if observed decline continues
Additional number of women aged 20 to
24 married or in union before age 18
if prevalence remains at today's levels
15 million
4.5 million
Number of
women aged 20
to 24 married
or in union
before age 18
Number of women aged 20 to 24
married or in union before age 18
if observed decline continues
446 million
184 million
119 million
46 million
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2005-2014. Population data are from: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2012 revision, CD-ROM edition, United
Nations, New York, 2013.
Today 2015
46 million
2020
2025
2030
2035
This brochure was prepared by the Data and Analytics Section of the Division of Data, Research and Policy, UNICEF New York, October 2014.
For information on the data contained in this brochure:
United Nations Children's Fund
Data and Analytics Section
Division of Data, Research and Policy
3 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: +1 212 326 7000
Email: [email protected]
data.unicef.org
2040
2045
2050
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2014, based on DHS and MICS, 2004-2013. Population data are from: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2012 revision, CD-ROM edition, United
Nations, New York, 2013.
For information on programmatic work on child protection in West and Central Africa:
United Nations Children's Fund
Regional Office for West and Central Africa
Bureau Régional de l'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre
Immeuble Maimouna III
P.O. Box 29720, Yoff
Dakar, Senegal
www.unicef.org/wcaro/english/