Socioeconomic and demographic determinants of polygynous marriages in India: Multilevel analysis of nationally representative survey data, 2019-21

Abstract Polygyny occurs when a man has more than one wife at the same time. The present study examines the prevalence and determinants of polygyny marriage at the district and all India levels. The present study utilized the cross-sectional data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) conducted during 2019–21.The sample size for the present study was 513,251 women who were currently married. Moreover, the number of women whose husbands had more than one wife is 8,284. A multilevel logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of polygyny marriage. There is a decline in polygynous marriage, but still very high in a few regions (states) of India such as Mizoram, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. The prevalence of polygyny marriage is high among women in the 25–34, and 35–49 age groups, with no or primary education, consanguineous marriage, being Muslim, scheduled caste, and belonging to rural residence and poorest wealth index were factors associated with polygyny marriage. Individual and community-level factors were identified as predictors of polygyny, even though polygamy is illegal under the Indian Penal Code, except among Muslim. There is need to improve education and awareness about the act among the community level.