The Child Marriage Data Portal

Showing the progress, not just the number. The portal holds regional and country data on child marriage. The challenge was to show it in three moments, ten years ago, today and 2030, so people can see where each place has been, where it is heading, and what changes if progress speeds up.

Communicating the scale of the problem. Child marriage is a much bigger problem than most people realize: nearly 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, one in five young women worldwide. The challenge was to make that scale felt, not just stated.

Allowing deeper analysis by country. Beyond the global picture, policymakers, researchers and advocates need to look at a single country: how it compares with its region and the world, and who is most at risk inside it. The challenge was to give every country that depth while keeping one consistent way to read them all.

Each country is a vertical line joining two dots: a light one for its prevalence in the past and a dark one for today. Toggles switch to absolute numbers or to child brides under 15, and a question mark explains how to read the chart.

Moving the timeline to 2030 switches the chart to projections, and red takes over. The red dots show the projected prevalence if observed declines continue, and a short card explains that at this pace the goal is still far away. A toggle adds the accelerated scenario so both futures can be compared, and clicking a region opens its countries.

Alongside the main graphic, the site is full of cards that look at the problem from different perspectives, from the wealth gap to teenage pregnancy. Each pairs a strong headline with a simple chart, and together they complement the hard data with the context around it.

One of the main challenges is to show the scale of the problem. A big counter in the hero moves every time a girl is married, and its animation transmits that pulse to the visitor, creating a sense of urgency. A small widget with the same counter follows on every page, so the pulse never leaves.

Comparing is where the profiles open up to analysis. People choose the countries they want to set side by side and follow their trends over time. Further graphics break each comparison down by who is most at risk: urban or rural areas, wealth, education and more. A "how to read" guide helps interpret them, as in the urban and rural graphic shown here, where the size of each bubble shows prevalence.