Age & Marriage

Is women’s age at first marriage rising in Pakistan?

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Answer

Direct answer

Yes, women’s age at first marriage has risen gradually in Pakistan across the 1990–91, 2006–07, 2012–13, and 2017–18 DHS waves. The change was not a sudden or uniform transformation: it varied by education, residence, province, birth cohort, work history, and husband’s education. Much of the population-level increase coincided with changes in women’s educational composition. The evidence supports a long-term cohort trend, not the claim that every group or locality changed at the same pace.

Evidence

Sources used

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
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
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