September 10, 2025

NEW DELHI: Hold on tight! The newest Sample Registration System (SRS) report for 2023 has dropped some spicy data about when Indian girls are tying the knot. The mean age at effective marriage for females is now 22.9 years, jumping slightly from 22.7 in 2022. For the first time, the country is seeing most girls say "I do" after turning 18—but beware, child marriages are still bubbling in states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. Let’s talk numbers! The average marriage age varies widely from state to state. West Bengal stands at the younger end with 21.3 years, while Jammu & Kashmir leads with a grown-up 26.3 years. Over five years, from 2019 to 2023, the mean age bounced from 22.1 to 22.9 years, showing a steady rise. But the rural-urban divide is a glaring story here. In villages, girls marry on average at 22.4 years, while city girls wait longer, at 24.3 years. This gap has stayed consistent, with last year’s rural average at 22.2 and urban at 23.9. So, urban life seems to bring a bit more time for young ladies before marriage. Since 1990, SRS has been gathering this marriage-age info every six months during their surveys. They report that at the national level, only 2.1% of girls get married before 18—a progress sign, yet still a spark of worry. Meanwhile, 25% marry between 18 and 20, and a majority of 72.9% marry at 21 or above. Digging deeper, rural areas see 2.5% marrying before 18, 28.1% between 18-20, and 69.4% at 21 or more. Cities show lower child marriage rates with just 1.2% under 18, 17% between 18-20, and a big 81.8% married at 21 or above. Among the big players, the highest child marriage rate belongs to West Bengal at 6.3%, while Kerala proudly boasts only 0.1%. This data not only shines a light on the progress but also on the battles still raging in parts of India to end child marriage. So, why does this matter? Because marriage age affects everything—from education and health to women’s empowerment. As India moves forward, this SRS report offers both hope and a call to action for states still struggling to protect their girls’ futures.

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Tags: Mean age at marriage, Child marriage, Female marriage age, India statistics, Srs report, Rural urban disparity,