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ST/ESA/STAT/SER.K/WWW/16/Rev.5
22 April 2005

The World's Women reports
 
Table 2a - Indicators on marriage
Source | Technical notes

Country

Year

Population
15 - 19 ever married (%)

Singulate mean age at marriage

Notes

 

 

W

M

W

M

 

Africa

Algeria

1992

4

..

26

..

 

Benin

1996

29

..

20

..

 

Botswana

1991

5

2

27

31

 

Burkina Faso

1999

35

1

19

26

 

Burundi

1990

7

1

22

26

 

Cameroon

1998

36

4

20

27

 

Cape Verde

1990

7

1

26

28

 

Central African Republic

1995

42

8

20

24

 

Chad

1996

49

6

18

24

 

Comoros

1996

12

3

24

28

 

Cote d'Ivoire

1999

25

2

22

28

 

Egypt

1996

15

2

22

28

 

Eritrea

1995

38

2

20

25

 

Ethiopia

2000

30

3

21

26

 

Gabon

2001

22

4

22

26

 

Gambia

1993

39

2

20

28

 

Ghana

1998

16

3

21

27

 

Guinea

1999

46

2

19

28

 

Kenya

1998

17

1

22

26

 

Lesotho

1986

18

2

21

26

 

Liberia

1986

36

..

20

..

 

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

1995

1

0

29

32

 

Madagascar

1997

34

..

21

..

 

Malawi

2000

37

4

19

24

 

Mali

1996

50

5

18

26

 

Mauritania

2001

28

1

22

29

 

Mauritius

1990

11

1

24

28

 

Morocco

1994

13

1

25

30

 

Mozambique

1997

47

4

18

23

 

Namibia

1992

8

..

26

..

 

Niger

1998

62

4

18

24

 

Nigeria

1999

28

3

21

27

 

Réunion

1990

2

0

28

30

 

Rwanda

2000

7

2

23

26

 

Sao Tome and Principe

1991

20

2

18

23

 

Senegal

1997

29

..

22

..

 

Sierra Leone

1992

47

6

20

28

 

South Africa

1996

3

1

28

30

 

Sudan

1993

21

2

23

29

 

Swaziland

1991

9

1

26

29

 

Togo

1998

20

2

21

27

 

Tunisia

1994

3

0

27

30

 

Uganda

2001

32

7

20

23

 

United Republic of Tanzania

1996

25

3

21

25

 

Zambia

2002

24

2

21

26

(1)

Zimbabwe

1999

23

1

21

26

 

America, North

Bahamas

1990

4

1

27

29

 

Barbados

1990

1

0

32

34

 

Belize

1991

8

1

26

28

 

Canada

2002

3

1

27

30

 

Costa Rica

1986

20

..

21

..

 

Dominican Republic

1996

29

4

21

26

 

El Salvador

2000

16

4

22

25

 

Guadeloupe

1990

1

0

30

32

 

Guatemala

1999

26

..

20

..

 

Haiti

2000

19

3

22

27

 

Honduras

1996

31

..

20

..

 

Jamaica

1991

1

0

33

35

 

Martinique

1990

1

0

31

33

 

Mexico

2000

17

6

23

25

 

Netherlands Antilles

2001

1

0

30

33

 

Nicaragua

1998

32

9

21

24

 

Panama

2000

22

5

22

26

 

Puerto Rico

1996

19

..

23

..

 

Saint Lucia

1991

1

0

34

35

 

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

1991

1

0

31

34

 

Trinidad and Tobago

1990

9

1

27

30

 

United States of America

2000

4

2

26

29

 

America, South

Argentina

1991

12

3

23

26

 

Bolivia

1998

12

5

23

25

 

Brazil

1996

17

4

23

25

 

Chile

1992

12

5

23

26

 

Colombia

2000

18

3

23

27

 

Ecuador

2001

22

7

22

25

 

French Guiana

1999

1

0

32

34

 

Guyana

1991

7

1

28

30

 

Paraguay

1992

17

2

22

26

 

Peru

1996

13

3

23

27

 

Uruguay

1996

13

3

23

26

 

Venezuela

1990

18

5

22

25

 

Asia

Armenia

2000

9

..

23

..

 

Azerbaijan

1999

13

2

24

27

 

Bahrain

1991

7

0

26

28

 

Bangladesh

2000

48

..

19

..

 

Bhutan

1990

27

8

21

24

 

Brunei Darussalam

1991

8

1

25

27

 

Cambodia

1998

12

3

22

24

 

China

1999

1

1

23

25

 

   Hong Kong SAR

1996

2

1

29

31

 

   Macao SAR

1991

2

1

27

29

 

Cyprus

1992

8

1

23

27

 

Georgia

1999

16

..

24

..

 

India

1999

30

4

20

25

 

Indonesia

2000

13

3

23

26

 

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

1996

18

3

22

25

 

Iraq

1987

21

6

22

26

 

Israel

1999

4

0

25

28

 

Japan

2000

1

0

29

31

 

Jordan

1994

8

2

25

..

 

Kazakhstan

1999

7

1

23

26

 

Kuwait

1996

5

0

25

28

 

Kyrgyzstan

1999

11

1

22

25

 

Lao People's Democratic Republic

2000

27

..

21

..

 

Malaysia

2000

5

1

25

29

 

Maldives

2000

12

1

22

26

 

Mongolia

2000

6

1

24

26

 

Myanmar

1991

11

3

25

26

 

Nepal

2001

40

11

19

23

 

Occupied Palestinian Territory

1997

24

2

22

25

 

Oman

1995

16

1

22

26

 

Pakistan

1998

21

6

21

26

 

Philippines

1995

10

3

24

27

 

Qatar

1998

4

0

26

29

 

Republic of Korea

1995

1

0

26

29

 

Saudi Arabia

1987

16

1

22

26

 

Singapore

2001

1

0

27

30

 

Sri Lanka

1993

7

..

25

..

 

Tajikistan

1989

12

1

21

23

 

Thailand

1990

15

4

24

26

 

Turkey

1998

16

..

22

..

 

Turkmenistan

2000

6

..

23

..

 

United Arab Emirates

1987

19

3

23

26

 

Uzbekistan

1996

13

..

21

..

 

Viet Nam

1997

8

..

22

..

 

Yemen

1997

27

..

21

..

 

Europe

Albania

1989

8

1

23

27

 

Austria

1991

3

1

26

29

 

Belarus

1999

6

1

23

25

 

Belgium

2000

1

0

28

30

 

Bulgaria

1985

16

3

21

25

 

Croatia

2001

2

0

26

30

 

Czech Republic

2000

1

0

25

28

 

Denmark

2001

1

0

31

33

 

Estonia

1989

9

3

22

25

 

Finland

2000

1

0

30

32

 

France

2000

0

0

30

32

 

Greece

1991

6

1

25

29

 

Hungary

2000

2

0

26

29

 

Iceland

2000

1

0

31

33

 

Ireland

2002

0

0

31

32

 

Italy

1999

1

0

28

32

 

Latvia

2002

1

0

27

29

 

Lithuania

2001

2

0

25

27

 

Luxembourg

1991

2

0

26

29

 

Malta

1985

3

0

22

26

 

Netherlands

2002

1

0

30

33

 

Norway

2002

0

0

31

34

 

Poland

1999

2

0

25

28

 

Portugal

1991

6

1

24

27

 

Republic of Moldova

1989

12

2

21

24

 

Romania

2000

6

0

24

27

 

Russian Federation

1989

11

3

22

24

 

Serbia and Montenegro

1991

11

2

23

27

 

Slovakia

2001

2

0

25

28

 

Slovenia

2001

0

0

30

32

 

Spain

1991

2

1

26

28

 

Sweden

2001

0

0

32

35

 

Switzerland

2001

1

0

29

32

 

The FYR of Macedonia

1994

9

1

23

27

 

Ukraine

1999

10

..

22

..

 

United Kingdom

1991

2

1

26

28

 

Oceania

Australia

2000

1

0

29

31

 

Fiji

1996

10

2

23

26

 

French Polynesia

1996

1

0

30

32

 

Guam

1990

6

2

24

27

 

Micronesia (Federated States of)

1994

10

4

..

..

 

New Caledonia

1996

1

0

30

32

 

New Zealand

1996

7

3

25

27

 

Papua New Guinea

1996

21

..

21

..

 

Samoa

1999

8

1

24

27

 

Tonga

1996

5

2

26

28

 

Vanuatu

1989

12

2

23

25

 

Top

 
Sources
 
United Nations, World Fertility Report 2003 (United Nations publication ST/ESA/SER.A/234).
 
Footnotes
 

1

Data for singulate mean age at marriage refer to 1999.
 
Technical notes
 

This table presents two indicators on the timing of marriage: the percentage of 15-19 year olds that are ever married and the singulate mean age at marriage. The indicators are derived from population censuses or nationally representative household surveys.

Singulate mean age at marriage, the average age at which women and men first marry, is an estimate of the average number of years lived prior to first marriage by a hypothetical cohort, if they marry before age 50. Singulate mean age at marriage is calculated on the basis of a single census or survey according to procedures described by Hajnal in "Age at marriage and proportions marrying" (Population Studies, vol. 7, No. 2. 1953).

Top

 
United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics