Socio­-economic Differentials of Female Age at First Marriage: A study of Chuadanga District, Bangladesh

This paper aims to investigate the main socio­economic determinants of female age at first marriage in Chuadanga dis­ trict, Bangladesh, over the year 2005, and attempts to find some explanations for the differences in the age at marriage among socio­ economic characteristics. The findings of the multiple classification analysis (MCA) suggest that among all the variables analyzed in the study, education levels have a positive association with age at marriage. Age at marriage is increased with the level of husband's and wife's education. The MCA also indicates that female educa­ tion has the strongest influence on age at marriage while husband's education is the second strongest determinant. The analysis reveals that the mean age at marriage of women is 16.77 years: 16.05 in ru­ ral areas and 18.22 in urban areas. It also shows that respondent's occupation and religion have an important significant contribution to female age at first marriage.