Determinants of age at first marriage among women in western Uganda

Peninah Agaba, Makerere University
Leonard K. Atuhaire, Makerere University
Gideon Rutaremwa, Makerere University

This paper analyses the socio-economic determinants of low female age at first marriage inWestern Uganda using data from the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. The life table technique was employed to calculate median age at marriage, Log Rank chi-square to test for equality of the survival times and the proportional hazard model to study the effect of various socioeconomic variables, and to identify the magnitude and significance of their effects on the timing of first marriage. This study which used data from 715 ever married women from western Uganda aged 15-49, found that the median age at marriage was 17.4. Women’s age at marriage varied by education level, occupation, ethnicity, age, district of residence and religion. Girls access to education and information on reproductive health should be emphasizes and providing them with basic life skills to enable them to avoid early marriage