Exposure to sexual intercourse (marriage) (cont.)
Changes in mean age at first marriage
Postponement of marriage make a substantial influence on Cm, proportion of women married.
Change in age at first marriage is one of the important drivers of fertility transition. This is particularly so in the countries where child births are mostly confined within marriage, such as Arab World, the Middle East and East Asia. Contrary, relatively small changes were observed in South Asia, such as Bangladesh.
In the figure below, click on the various legend elements to select a country.
Figure 5. Singulate mean age at first marriage of women, 1965-2006*
Source: United Nations 2009
* Singulate mean age refers to the average length of single life expressed in years among those who marry before age 50.