Do women marry later in urban or rural Pakistan?
Last reviewed:
Direct answer
Across the DHS analyses, women living in urban areas generally had a higher age at first marriage than women living in rural areas. For currently married women aged 25–49 in the 2017–18 wave, the reported mean was about 20.20 years in urban areas and 19.18 in rural areas. Residence overlaps with education, wealth, employment, province, and access to services, so the gap should be treated as descriptive rather than caused by location alone.
Sources used
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18
National Institute of Population Studies and The DHS Program
National survey evidence for marriage timing, women, households and health indicators.View sourceFactors associated with female age at first marriage in Pakistan
PLOS One
Peer-reviewed analysis of all Pakistan DHS waves, including selection effects in younger age cohorts.View source