The 19 million figure is a UNICEF estimate based on the 2017-18 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS); it represents the stock of women currently alive who were married before age 18, not an annual number of new child marriages.
Authoritative sources phrase it as 'nearly 19 million' (UN Women, Nov 2024) rather than exactly 19 million.
No more recent official data (2025-2026) revising this figure was found before the session date; the most recent sources continue to cite ~19 million, so the claim matches the most up-to-date estimate available.
The exact figure is corroborated by a single independent secondary source (UN Women) explicitly stating it, plus the UNICEF Pakistan child-marriage country profile (primary page located, though its exact figure could not be quoted from the search snippet); corroborating sources are all derived from the same underlying UNICEF data.
Sources
PrimaryUNICEF Pakistan — Child Marriage Country ProfileThis country profile presents an overview of child marriage in Pakistan – defined as a marriage or union that occurs before the age of 18 – detailing how [child marriage affects girls in Pakistan].
PrimaryUNICEF Pakistan — press release (campaign launch)UNICEF has launched a video campaign featuring National Ambassador Saba Qamar, to raise awareness about the urgent [issue of child marriage in Pakistan].
SecondaryHuman Trafficking Search (resource page)According to UNICEF, Pakistan is home to nearly 19 million child brides. Although the country has made progress in reducing child marriage in recent years...