Has Tanzania Raised The Legal Age Of Marriage To 30?
A Facebook user, SoftLife, claims that the Tanzanian government has raised the legal age of marriage to 30. The post had a picture of Tanzania’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, with the write-up ‘TANZANIA RAISES LEGAL LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE TO 30.’
This post was captioned, “Following a comprehensive review of national productivity data, the Relevant Government of Tanzania has resolved that citizens who marry before the age of 30 contribute significantly less to GDP than those who do not. The correlation between early marriage and economic underperformance has been deemed a national concern. The legal age of marriage has been raised to 30 with immediate effect. Citizens are advised to use their 20s to build capital, acquire assets, while developing emotional regulation skills sufficient to sustain a household. The Government notes that romantic affection is not a financial plan. Sounded like a wonderful idea to me. Your thoughts .”
When this report was published, the post had over 90 reactions, comments and shares.
VERIFICATION
Available legal documents and recent reports show that Tanzania’s marriage laws put the age under 30. Under the country’s Law of Marriage Act, Section 13-17, the minimum marriage age is 18 for boys and 15 for girls, with court exceptions allowing marriage from age 14 in some circumstances.
Recent advocacy campaigns in Tanzania are pushing for the minimum age of marriage for girls to be raised to 18 years, not 30. Multiple 2026 reports confirm that civil society groups and child-rights advocates are urging reforms to eliminate child marriage loopholes.
In 2016, Tanzania’s High Court ruled against child marriage provisions, declaring sections of the marriage law unconstitutional because they allowed girls under 18 to marry. The Court of Appeal later upheld that decision.
As of when this report was published, there has been no government announcement, parliamentary amendment, or official gazette indicating that Tanzania has changed the legal marriage age to 30.
CONCLUSION
The claim that Tanzania has raised the legal age of marriage to 30 is FALSE. Current debates in Tanzania advocate for raising the minimum marriage age to 18 and ending child marriage, not delaying legal marriage until age 30.
