Age at first marriage, female in India
India: Age at first marriage, female was 21.4 in 2016. ▲ Rising
Age at first marriage, female in India, 1971–2016
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Marriage Data 2019.
Analysis
In 2016, age at first marriage, female in India stood at 21.4. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age at first marriage, female in India peaked at 21.4 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 17.7, in 1971.
India ranks 134th of 166 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17.7 | 17.7 | 17.7 | 1 |
| 1980s | 18.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 1 |
| 1990s | 19.4 | 19.2 | 19.7 | 3 |
| 2000s | 20.2 | 20.2 | 20.2 | 2 |
| 2010s | 21.05 | 20.7 | 21.4 | 2 |
Countries ranked near India
- 132 Afghanistan 21.5 compare
- 132 Dominican Republic 21.5 compare
- 134 Papua New Guinea 21.4 compare
- 136 Ethiopia 21.3 compare
- 136 Togo 21.3 compare
More gender data for India
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 10.96 million (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 11.71 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 10.92 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 11.70 million (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 10.89 million (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 11.70 million (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 10.88 million (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 11.71 million (2025)
- Age population, age 04, female, interpolated 10.89 million (2025)
- Age population, age 04, male, interpolated 11.75 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age at first marriage, female in India?
- Age at first marriage, female in India was 21.4 in 2016, according to United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Marriage Data 2019.
- What is the highest age at first marriage, female recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4 in 2016.
- What is the lowest age at first marriage, female recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.7 in 1971.
- How does India rank for age at first marriage, female?
- India ranks 134th out of 166 countries with data for 2016.
- Is age at first marriage, female rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Marriage Data 2019, published as part of Age at first marriage, female. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Mean age at marriage, female shows the average length of single life expressed in years among those females who marry before age 50. It is a synthetic indicator calculated from marital status categories of men and women aged 15 to 54 at the census or survey date.