Divorce in Ethiopia: The impact of early marriage and childlessness

Forty-five per cent of first marriages in Ethiopia end in divorce within 30 years, and two-thirds of women who divorce do so within the first 5 years of marriage. This paper looks at two factors that may have an impact on the risk of divorce in Ethiopia: early age of first marriage, and childlessnes s within the first marriage. Data used were from the 1990 National Family a nd Fertility Survey conducted by the Government of Ethiopia. A total of 875 7 women of reproductive age (15-49) were analysed. Life table analysis was used to determine the median age at first marriage, first birth and the med ian duration of marriage. Cox models were analysed to determine the differe ntials of divorce. The results of this analysis showed that both early age at marriage and childlessness have a significant impact on the risk of divo rce. An inverse relationship was found between age at marriage and risk of divorce. Having a child within the first marriage also significantly reduce d the risk of divorce. In addition, several cultural and socioeconomic vari ables were significant predictors of divorce.