Nearly 3,000 Court Rulings Granted Underage Marriages in Ukraine

Underage Marriage Statistics in Ukraine

According to Главком: Over the past five years, Ukrainian courts have issued 2,874 decisions permitting marriages involving minors. Refusals occurred in only 48 cases, representing roughly 2% of the total. The highest number of rulings came in 2021 with 790, followed by 641 in 2022 and 356 in 2025. Since the start of 2025, 92 decisions have already been recorded.

Regional Breakdown

Lviv Oblast leads the country with 240 cases. Other regions with high numbers include:

• Vinnytsia Oblast – 187 cases
• Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – 175 cases
• Rivne Oblast – 164 cases
• Volyn Oblast – 164 rulings

Regions with the fewest cases include:

• Luhansk Oblast – 12 rulings
• Kherson Oblast – 23 cases
• Kyiv – 42 cases
• Donetsk Oblast – 45 cases

According to the data, pregnancy was cited as the reason for granting permission in 72% of cases, corresponding to 2,025 decisions. In a quarter of instances, courts justified permission based on alignment with general interests-704 rulings. The presence of a shared child was the basis for approval in 97 cases. Meanwhile, courts refused in 36 instances due to failure to prove the marriage served the applicants' interests, closed 7 cases for lack of subject matter, and denied 5 because the applicant had not reached the age of 16.

An earlier draft of the Civil Code included a provision allowing marriage from age 14 with court approval, but this clause was removed from the final text. Discussions on the matter are ongoing.

This data points to a rise in underage marriages across Ukraine, likely tied to social and economic factors such as early pregnancy. Court denials remain rare, indicating a degree of leniency within the judicial system toward such cases. However, the absence of an adopted norm permitting marriage at 14 suggests a lack of societal consensus on the issue, warranting further debate and analysis. Future legal developments in this area could significantly affect the legal status and rights of minors in marriage.