The number of men choosing to marry more than one wife is dropping, a new government report has revealed.

According to the Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2022, the percentage of men who reported having multiple wives has decreased from 18% in 2000-01 to 17% in 2022.

At the same time, the percentage of women who reported that they were in polygynous unions (having co-wives) has decreased from 29% in 2000-01 to 23% in 2022.

The report was released on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at Mestil Hotel Kampala by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics in conjunction with the health ministry.

About one in four women (23%) reported that their husband or partner had other wives and the percentage of men who reported multiple wives (17%) was less than that of women (6%), according to the report.

“Among women reporting to have co-wives, 25% live in rural areas while 20% live in urban areas. The percentage of women with co-wives is high among women aged 35-39, 40-44 and 45-49 at 32%, respectively,” said the report.

According to the report, the number of Ugandans aged between the ages 15-49 who reported being married or in cohabitation currently stands at 61% for women and 54% for men.

Never married

It said, however, that currently, three per cent of women and one per cent of men between 45 and 49 have never been married.

“Eleven per cent of women and six per cent of men were separated and only three per cent of women and less than one per cent (0.2 per cent) of men are widowed,” the report says. 

According to the report, at age 15-19 years, the proportion of women who reported being in any union was higher than that of men by 16% (17% versus 1%), adding: “Early marriage increases the risk of teenage pregnancy, which can have a profound on the health and lives of young women and contribute to the country's high fertility rate".

The report says the percentage of women married or living together has declined from 63% in 2011 to 61% in 2022, which implies that there are now more women opting out of marriage or are widowed than there were 10 years ago.

Age at first Marriage

According to the report, the median age at first marriage is 18.8 years among women aged 25-49 and 24.8 years among men of the same age.

“Forty-two per cent of women aged 25-49 marry before their eighteenth birthday compared to 13% of men aged 25-49 that marry young,” the report revealed, adding that educated women marry much later.

The median age is the age at the midpoint of the population. Currently, the median age for Uganda stands at 16.5 years. 

The report noted that there is a five-year difference in the median age at first marriage between women aged 25-49 with no education (19.7 years) and more than secondary education (24.6 years).