Adolescents, currently about 20 percent of the world’s population, have special reproductive health concerns and face risks related to early sexual experience, marriage and fertility. A rise in the age of marriage globally has contributed to declines in adolescent fertility. However, up to 50 percent of women in some countries still marry or enter a union by age 18, with this figure rising to 70 per- cent by age 20. The proportion of young women married or in union by age 20 is closely linked to adolescent fertility and exposure to reproductive health risks
