The marital status distribution pattern differs from country to country. As seen earlier, in a country like India, child marriages still take place, and the custom of universality of marriage prevails. On the other hand, in a country like Ireland persons marry at a very late age, and a sizable percentage of persons never get married.

In between these two extremes, there are various other patterns of marital status distribution. The percentage distribution of females according to marital status for three important reproductive age groups, namely, 15-19, 20-25 and 25- 29 for India, Pakistan, and United States and Ireland.

The data refer to the period between 1981 and 1991. It is evident that there is great deal of variation in the marital status distribution of these four countries. The percentages of the “never married” differ significantly in the age group 15-19.

In India, nearly 64 per cent of the females in this age group were not married, the corresponding percentages for Pakistan, the United States and Ireland being 69.92 and 95 respectively.

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In the age group 20-24, nearly 83 per cent of the Indian women and almost 76 per cent of the Pakistani women were reported as “ever-married,” the percentages of unmarried being 10 and 24 respectively.

The picture for Ireland and the United States is entirely different; only 22 per cent had been married some time or the other in this age group 20-24 in Ireland, whereas in the United States this percentage was 38.

In the age group 25- 29, nearly 35 per cent of the Irish women were not married, in contrast to the percentage of only about 4 for India. It is also striking that, for Ireland, no figures are mentioned in the category of “divorced or separated”, whereas for the United States these figures are higher than those for India and Pakistan.

By the age of 39, practically all the Indian women are married. The percentages of married females in the age groups 10-14 (4.6 per cent) and 15-19 (35.7 per cent) provide evidence of the prevalence of child marriages.

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It is obvious that the patterns of marital status distribution differ according to urban and rural residence. The difference is particularly marked for the age group 10-14, in which almost 5 per cent of the rural females are already married, while this percentage is 2.3 for urban females.

The same difference is observed for the groups 15-19 and 20-24. In fact, for the entire reproductive period in the age group of 15-49, the percentage of those who were never married in urban areas is almost 59 per cent higher than rural areas.

The marital status distribution for females in the age group 15-44 for 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991, as presented, indicates that several changes have occurred over a period of 40 years.

The main change is that the percentage of the “never married” women has increased and that of widows, divorced and separated women has decreased. This decrease may mainly be accounted for by a decline in mortality rates in India.

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It is also evident that the incidence of child marriage is on the decline. The increase in the percentage of the “never married” women has led to a concomitant decrease in the percentage of currently married females. This may be observed from the following percentage distribution of females in the age group 10-14 for 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991.

1. Census of India 1951, Vol. I, A-II, Demographic Tables, pp. 171-175.

2. Census of India 1961, Vol. I, India Part II-C(i), Social and Cultural Tables, pp. 20-21.

3. Census of India 1971, Series I India, Part II Special, India Census Tables (Estimated from one per cent Sample Data), pp. 118-120 (Mimeographed).

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4. Census of India, 1991, India (Excluding Jammu and Kashmir).

The information for this year is available for the age group 5-14 and not for that of 10-14, as in other years. It is assumed that all the marriage of females in this age group, 5-14, had taken place in the age group 10-14.