# Prevalence of widowhood across states and union territories in India, 1993–2021: a repeated cross-sectional study

## TL;DR

This study examines how widowhood in India has changed over time, finding that more older women are widows due to longer life expectancy and shifting marriage ages.

## Contribution

The study provides sub-national, age- and gender-disaggregated estimates of widowhood in India from 1993 to 2021.

## Key findings

- Widowhood prevalence has stabilized, but the number of widows has increased significantly in India.
- Female widowhood prevalence remains higher, with over 50% among women aged 65 or older.
- A North-South divide in widowhood patterns persists due to differing sociocultural norms.

## Abstract

Globally, widowhood affects 258 million females, with India contributing 56 million individuals and 78% of spousal losses being women. Increased life expectancy and reduced mortality inequalities imply a rise in widowhood. Despite profound personal and societal consequences, granular demographic and temporal insights into widowhood in India are limited. This study provides estimates of widowhood prevalence and headcount disaggregated by age and gender at the sub-national level.

The complete case records of ever-married persons from five rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), between 1993 to 2021 were analysed. We estimate widowhood prevalence and headcount by age and gender across states and union territories. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series Population Weight (IPUMS POPWT) methodology was utilised to estimate the headcount. Additionally, Standardized Absolute Change (SAC) was estimated to quantify the change in percentage point of widowhood prevalence.

Widowhood prevalence has remained relatively stable; however, the headcount has increased from 40 819 749 to 77 079 889 between 1993 to 2021 in India. At the state-level, the prevalence of widowhood has declined and converged, while its headcount has increased and diverged. Female widowhood prevalence has consistently remained higher, but a faster decline among females, primarily driven by an increased age at marriage. For instance, among females aged 65 years or above, prevalence of widowhood exceeds 50%. This shifts widowhood towards older ages for females, suggesting feminisation and rectangularisation of widowhood in India. A pronounced North-South divide persisted, influenced by differing sociocultural norms.

Widowhood prevalence is increasingly concentrated among older females across states in India. Given the multiple vulnerabilities faced by widows, it is imperative to gain insight from areas where widows survive for extended period after their spouse's death as well as areas, where widows have shorter lifespan such as the northern regions to meaningfully address their specific vulnerabilities.