Age at First Marriage of Women in Bangladesh: Levels, Trends and Determinants

Abstract

Age at first marriage is an important demographic event affecting births, deaths, and women’s and children’s health. This study aims to explore the levels, trends and determinants of age at first marriage of women in Bangladesh. This study utilized data from the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. The univariate (some basic statistics), bivariate (simple cross-tabulation and χ2-test) and multivariate (analysis of covariance, multiple classification analysis and binary logistic regression) techniques were adopted to analyze the data. Age of women at first marriage in Bangladesh has been increasing over time, while the pace is sluggish. Respondent’s education has a strong positive effect on age at marriage. Women with a higher level of education are more likely to get delayed marriage. Current age, religion, region, place of residence and husband’s education are also influential factors affecting age at marriage. Wealth index is partially significant, that is, women from households with economically poor status are significantly more likely to marry early than those from affluent households. The change in age at marriage is associated with major social structural changes such as women’s educational attainment and urbanization process.