Business
8 March 2025
Despite significant achievements in areas such as education over the last three decades, millions of adolescent girls across the world today are still out of school, ill-equipped for the future, facing gaps in life-saving health services and at risk of harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, violence and abuse.
A new report, Girl Goals: What has changed for girls? Adolescent girls’ rights over 30 years, launched by UNICEF, Plan International and UN Women, reviews how adolescent girls’ lives have changed in the last 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action was endorsed by 189 governments in 1995.
Climate change is a threat multiplier and is not gender neutral; inequalities we see today will deepen as the climate crisis unfolds. Women have a 27% higher chance of being severely food insecure and are 14 times more likely to die in a climate disaster.
‘Adolescent girls are a powerful force for global change. With the right support at the right time, they can help deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and reshape our world. Investments in critical areas such as education, skills, protection and essential health and nutrition services can unlock the potential of adolescent girls across the world and lift-up communities and countries.’
CATHERINE RUSSELL
UNICEF executive director
Despite a 39% decrease in out-of-school girls in the last 20 years, 122 million girls remain out of school globally.
Adolescent girls aged 15-19 in South Asia are three times more likely than boys to not be in school, employment or training.
Nearly four in 10 adolescent girls and young women globally do not complete upper secondary school, with girls from rural poor backgrounds and marginalised communities even less likely to complete schooling.
While the number of adolescent girls and young women who are illiterate has nearly halved in the last three decades, nearly 50 million adolescent girls and young women today are unable to read or write a simple sentence.
Nine out of 10 adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries do not have access to the internet, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online.
Nearly one in four adolescent girls who have been married or partnered have experienced intimate partner violence worldwide, and 50 million girls alive today have experienced sexual violence.
More than a third of adolescent girls and boys aged 15-19 globally consider a husband to be justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances.
‘Tireless efforts to combat gender inequality mean that a girl’s chances of going to school are significantly higher than three decades ago, and her chances of marrying or becoming pregnant as a child much lower. There is much to celebrate – but at the same time, this progress is fragile, uneven, and constantly under threat. Too many girls continue to face discrimination and abuse every day, simply for being young and female. Our work to achieve equality for girls must continue, working with girls, women and their allies around the world.’
KATHLEEN SHERWIN
Chief strategy and engagement officer for Plan International
The practice of female genital mutilation is declining, with countries including Burkina Faso and Liberia halving the share of girls subjected to the practice over the last 30 years.
However, the global rate of decline needs to be 27 times faster to meet the 2030 eradication target.
Girls today are less likely to marry under the age of 18, compared with 25 years ago. Still, one in five girls globally marry in childhood. The most progress has been made in South Asia, while Latin America and the Caribbean have observed no progress over the last 25 years.
‘Too many adolescent girls still face violence, limited education, and lack of health services. Our promise of leaving no one behind demands urgent action. We have come a long way, but we have miles to go before every girl’s potential is recognised and protected. Empowering all adolescent girls is the surest investment in a more sustainable, equitable, and peaceful world.’
SIMA BAHOUS
UN Women executive director
Globally, the number of adolescent girls giving birth has nearly halved over the past 30 years. Still, nearly 12 million adolescent girls aged 15-19 are expected to give birth in 2025.
Among younger adolescent girls (aged 10-14), for whom the risk of pregnancy is even more grave, this number is estimated to be more than 325,000.
Complications from pregnancy and childbirth account for roughly one in every 23 deaths among adolescent girls aged 15-19 worldwide.
Globally, the proportion of underweight adolescent girls aged 10-19 has declined slightly in the last three decades, from 10% to 8%.
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