Malawi 2015-16

Figure 4.1 Marital status
Percent distribution of women and men age 15-49
Women
Men
Married or living
together
66%
Never married
21%
Divorced/
separated
10%
Widowed
3%
Married or living
together
57%
Never married
40%
Divorced/
separated
3%
Widowed
0%
4.2 POLYGYNY
Polygyny
Women who report that their husband or partner has other wives are
considered to be in a polygynous marriage.
Sample: Currently married women age 15-49
Thirteen percent of women reported that their husband or partner has other wives (Table 4.2.1). The
percentage of men who report multiple wives was about half that of women (7%) (Table 4.2.2).
Trends: The percentage of women who reported that they were in
polygynous unions has decreased since 1992, from 20% in 1992 to
13% in 2015-16. The percentage of men who reported having
multiple wives has changed slightly since 1992, from 9% in 1992 to
7% in 2015-16.
Figure 4.2 Polygyny by
region
Patterns by background characteristics
• Older women are much more likely than younger women to have
co-wives. The percentage of women with co-wives peaks among
women age 40-44 (22%) (Table 4.2.1).
• Women living in the rural areas are more likely to report cowives
(14%) compared with their counterparts living in the urban
areas (5%).
• Women in the Northern region report the highest percentage of
co-wives. Eighteen percent of women living in the Northern
region report having co-wives, compared with 11% of women in
the Southern region (Figure 4.2).
• Less educated women are more likely to have co-wives. Twentyone
percent of women with no education report that their husband
has multiple wives compared with only 3% of women with more
than secondary education.
56 • Marriage and Sexual Activity