Age & Marriage

Do women marry later in urban or rural Pakistan?

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Answer

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.

Evidence

Sources used

National Survey · 2019

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 source
Academic Research · 2022

Factors 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
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