Determinants of age at first marriage in Ethiopia using 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys: Application of Cox Proportional Hazard model

Abstract Background Although, determining age at first marriage has a various socioeconomic and demographic implications, available information in Ethiopia is nearly scanty.Methods We used data from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. The survival information of a total of 15,683 women with reproductive age (15-49) were examined. Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to identify the determinants of age at first marriage.Results The highest probability of getting age at first marriage occurred in the early age of women, whereas the probability of getting age at first marriage were lower in the later age of women. In Ethiopia more than 44% of women were married before turning 18 years. The median age at first marriage was 17 years old. According to multivariate Cox proportional hazard model, significant variables of age at first marriage were; women’s educational level with secondary and above (HR=0.9, 95% CI: 0.80-0.92), regions; Tigray (HR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.43-1.75), Afar (HR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.43-1.78), Amhara (HR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.46-1.79), Oromia (HR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.18-1.45), Somalia (HR=1.4, 95%CI: 1.26-1.57), Benishangul (HR=1.4, 95%CI: 1.25-1.55), Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) (HR=1.4, 95%CI: 1.29-1.60), Gambela (HR=1.5, 95%CI: 1.30-1.62), Harari (HR=1.2, 95% CI: 1.10-1.35) & Driedawa (HR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.20-1.47), women’s from rural residence (HR=1.1, 95% CI: 1.03-1.18), Muslim women’s (HR=1.1, 95% CI: 1.0-1.20), getting first marriage who had first sex <15 years (HR=2.6, 95%CI: 2.44-2.69) & getting first marriage who had first sex ≥ 20 years and household with ≥5 members (HR=1.1, 95% CI: 1.01-1.12) compared to their counterparts.Conclusion Women’s educational level with secondary and above, regions out of Addis Ababa, women’s from rural area, religion being Muslim, women’s who had first sex <15 years, women’s who had first sex ≥ 20 years and household with ≥5 members were the significant determinants of age at first marriage. Women’s with lower education, residing out of Addis Ababa and rural Ethiopia, being Muslim, who had first sex <15 years old and five & more members in the household deserve special attention.