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A Review of Literature and Projects 2005
educational opportunities, especially for
girls, may have resulted in the
postponement of marriage. Other
reasons include female independence
and work participation away from home
before marriage, and increasing freedom
in the choice of marriage partner. The
socioeconomic and educational basis
behind the rising age of marriage is
further strengthened by ethnic
difference: Malay and Indian girls, as
opposed to Chinese girls, had early
marriages some three or two decades
ago, but that difference has decreased
considerably. This single demographic
profile is a significant contributor to
better health for young people, especially
girls and young women. The delay in
marriage also has implications for family
structures and population growth. As
young people delay marriage, they also
delay childbearing until they are older.
Thus families tend to comprise older
parents with fairly young children, and
such couples are more likely to establish
nuclear families.
Figure 8: Singulate Mean Age at Marriage by Ethnicity, Peninsular Malaysia, 1957, 1970, 1980 and 1991
Source: Leete R. Malaysia’s demographic transition: rapid development, culture and politics. Kuala Lumpur,
Oxford University Press, 1996.
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