Residents of age 12 years and over
[Question 34 and 35 are asked of resident persons age 12+.]
34. Marital status
[] 1 Single (c)
[] 2 Cohabiting/common-law marriage (ul)
[] 3 Married to a woman without a co-wife, with 1 co-wife, 2 co-wives, etc. (follow the instructions in the manual) (m1, m2, m3, m4)
[] 7 Separated or divorced (sd)
[] 8 Widowed (v)
Question 34: Marital status
Marital status indicates a person's status in relation to marriage. Any individual whose union has been formalized in a civil or religious ceremony or according to customary rites is considered "married." After conducting the interview, select the appropriate code that corresponds to the situation of the person interviewed. For example:
1 = C: single. A single person: is a person who has never been married and who is not living with a person of the opposite sex.
2 = UL: cohabitation. Any individual who is unmarried (civilly, religiously, or according to customary rites) and living with a partner is considered to be cohabitating.
3 = M1: man married to one wife (monogamous union)
4 = M2: man married to two wives or to one wife and one co-wife (polygamous union)
5 = M3: man married to three wives or to one wife and two co-wives (polygamous union)
6 = M4+: man married to four wives or more, or to one wife and three or more co-wives (polygamous union)
7 = SD: Divorced/Separated. Any person whose marriage has been broken by divorce and who has not remarried is divorced. Even if his/her former spouse died subsequent to the divorce, he/she is still divorced.
Note: People who are separated are considered divorced.
A polygamist who divorces from one of his wives is not considered divorced, but remains married.
8 = Ve: Widow(er). A widow(er) is a person whose marriage has ended due to the death of his/her spouse and who has not remarried. A polygamist who loses one of his spouses is not a widower, but is still married.
How to conduct the interview on marital status?
For each resident 12 years of age or older, ask: "Do you live with a woman (or a man)?"
2.1 - If "yes," ask: Has your union been formalized in a civil or religious ceremony or according to customary rites?
a) If "yes," the person is married
If the individual is a man, ask: "How many women are you married to?"
If the individual is a woman, ask: "How many co-wives do you have?"
And circle one of the following codes as appropriate:
3 = M1: Man married to a married spouse or wife without co-wife
4 = M2: Man married to one wife, or married woman with one co-wife
5 = M3 Man married to three wives, or married woman with two co-wives
6 = M4: Man married to four or more wives, or married woman with three or more co-wives.
b) If "No," the person is not married, but is cohabitating; circle code 2 = UL: Cohabitation.
2.2 - If "No" (to the question, "Do you live with a woman (or a man)?" ask: "Have you ever been married?"
- If "no," circle code 1 = C: single
- If "yes," ask: "Are you divorced from your spouse?"
- If "yes," circle code 7 - SD: divorced/separated
- If "No," ask: "Are you a Widow(er)?"
- If "yes," circle code 8 = Ve: widow(er)
- If "no," there must be an inconsistency in the answers; go through the interview again