Risky society and the mean age at first marriage of women and men in Iran

Increased unemployment and rising incidence of divorce are instances of a risky society that can affect women and men’s decisions about family formation. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between the indicators of risky society and the mean age at first marriage among women and men in Iran. The paper uses the district-level data from the 2011 Iranian census. The results show that these indicators a considerable proportion of the district-level differences in age at marriage (51% of the variation in the mean age at first marriage of men and 38% of the variation in the mean age at first marriage of women). In particular, economic indicators (i.e. unemployment rate and unemployment rate among highly educated people) have the greatest positive impact on the mean age at first marriage among both men and women. The percentage of divorced men is another variable with a positive association with the mean age at first marriage among both sexes. Thus, actions towards job creation and increasing the stability of marriage can be expected to reduce the risk factors associated with marriage and facilitate its formation.