Demographic and Health Surveys Methodology - Measure DHS

NUMBER OF CO-WIVESStatistics: Percent Distribution of Currently Married Women by Number of Co-WivesDefinitionPercentage of women who are either legally or formally married or who are living in a consensual union,by the number of other wives that her partner has.A. Coverage: Currently married women.B. Numerator categories: Number of women, by number of other wives of her current partner.C. Denominator: Number of currently married women in sample.CalculationFor each number of co-wives, 100 times the quotient of the numerator divided by the denominator.Handling of Missing ValuesIf number of co-wives is unknown by respondent or missing, respondent is excluded from bothdenominator and numerator.Notes and ConsiderationsPercentages add up to 100 percent.Questions on number of co-wives are normally only asked in questionnaires using the B core (lowprevalence), primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.Guide to DHS Statistics 68 Updated September 2006