Malawi 2015-16

4.3 AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE
Median age at first marriage
Age by which half of respondents have been married.
Sample: Women age 20-49 and 25-49, and men age 20-49, 25-49, 20-54 and
25-54
Women tend to marry considerably earlier than men in Malawi. The median age at first marriage is 18.2
years among women age 25-49 and 23 years among men age 25-49 (Table 4.4). Although 47% of women
marry before their eighteenth birthday, only 8% of men marry at that young age.
Trends: The median age at first marriage for women age 25-49 has increased slightly, from 17.8 years in
1992 to 18.2 years in 2015-16. During the same time period, the percentage of women who were married
before age 18 declined from 52% to 47%. For men age 25-54, the median age at first marriage remained
essentially unchanged between 1992 and 2015-16 (23.5 years and 23.0 years, respectively).
Patterns by background characteristics
• Urban women marry later than rural women. For women age 25-49, the median age at first marriage is
1.7 years older among urban women than rural women (19.7 years versus 18.0 years) (Table 4.4).
• Regional variations indicate that women in the
Central region marry at a slightly older age than
women in the Southern and Northern regions.
• Educated women marry much later. The median
age at first marriage for women age 25-49
increases from 17.6 years for women with no
education to 24.8 years for women with more
than secondary education (Figure 4.3).
• Median age at first marriage for women age 25-
49 is higher among women in the highest wealth
quintile (19.6 years) than in other quintiles
(17.8-18.0 years).
4.4 AGE AT FIRST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
Figure 4.3 Women’s median age at
marriage by education
Median age at first marriage among
women age 25-49
17.6 17.7
20.4
24.8
No education Primary Secondary More than
secondary
Median age at first sexual intercourse
Age by which half of respondents have had sexual intercourse.
Sample: Women age 20-49 and 25-49 and men age 20-49, 25-49, 20-54, and
25-54
In Malawi, the median age at first sexual intercourse is 16.8 years for women age 25-49 (Table 4.5).
Nineteen percent of women age 25-49 have first sex before age 15, and 64% before age 18. By age 20,
85% of women have had sexual intercourse.
On average, men in Malawi initiate sexual intercourse at slightly older ages than women. The median age
at first intercourse for men age 25-49 is 18.5 years. Eleven percent of men age 25-49 first have sex before
age 15 and 42% do so before age 18. By age 20, 66% of men have experienced sexual intercourse.
Age at first marriage is widely considered a proxy indicator for the age at which women begin to be
exposed to the risks inherent in sexual activity. A comparison of the median age at first intercourse with
the median age at first marriage can be used as a measure of whether respondents engage in sex before
Marriage and Sexual Activity • 57