Nepal has the third-highest prevalence of child marriage, with 41 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 married before they turn 18.1 Nepal also ranks in the top 10 countries for the prevalence of child marriage among boys.

COVID-19 has further exacerbated cases of child marriage. People were pushed into poverty as they lost their jobs during the ongoing pandemic, and children had to stop attending school. This makes children vulnerable to early marriage, which has long-term consequences. Child marriage leads to children dropping out of school. They often bear children, leading to significant health risks for the mother and child.

Big data from online searches and public posts were analysed for Nepal to identify potential trends related to child marriage. The reference period for search data ranged from April 2021 to March 2022, whereas for social media posts it ran from January 2018 to April 2022.