Prevalence and determinants of consanguineous marriage and its types in India: evidence from the National Family Health Survey, 2015-2016

The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and examine the determinants of consanguineous marriage types in India. Data for 456,646 ever-married women aged 15-49 years were analysed from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 conducted in 2015-16. The overall prevalence of consanguineous marriage was 9.9%; the South region (23%) and North-East region (3.1%) showed the highest and lowest prevalences, respectively. Muslims had a higher prevalence (15%) than Hindus (9%). The prevalence of first cousin marriage (8.7%) was more than that of second cousin (0.7%) and of uncle-niece marriages (0.6%). Women living in urban areas and in nuclear families, having a higher level of education and belonging to affluent families were less likely to marry their cousins (p < 0.01). Women living in the South region of the country were more likely to marry their cousins, as well as uncles (p < 0.001). Close scrutiny of the trends in the results (odds ratios) revealed no clear relationship between socioeconomic condition and consanguineous marriage. The study results suggest that religion and north-south regional dichotomy in culture largely determine consanguineous marriage rather than socioeconomic condition in India.