In the NDHS surveys, ‘marriage’ is defined as a stable cohabitation between a man and a woman irrespective of whether or not any validating legal, religious or customary ceremonies had been performed. However, informal unions are relatively uncommon in Nepal. Figure shows the percentage of women and men who have never married in 1996, 2001 and 2006 by five-year age cohorts. The data show a consistent decline in the proportions never-married as age increases. However, there was little change in Nepal over the last five years in the proportions of women and men never married in each.
