Descriptive statistics with the pooled sample of characteristics of DHS data in sub-Saharan Africa
| Variable | Pooled sample | Low prevalence | Average prevalence | High prevalence | P value |
| Total (N) | 315 751 | 15 586 | 259 019 | 34 069 | |
| Prevalence of polygyny (mean (SD)) | 22.20 (13.64) | 2.19 (1.11) | 19.80 (10.67) | 45.57 (2.63) | <0.001 |
| Family structure | <0.001 | ||||
| Polygynous | 181 144 (57.4) | 11 434 (73.4) | 148 098 (57.2) | 17 734 (52.1) | |
| Monogamy | 58 260 (18.5) | 239 (1.5) | 40 328 (15.6) | 14 818 (43.5) | |
| Cohabit | 40 050 (12.7) | 1143 (7.3) | 38 275 (14.8) | 551 (1.6) | |
| Single mother | 36 297 (11.5) | 2770 (17.8) | 32 318 (12.5) | 966 (2.8) | |
| Rurality (mean (SD)) | 69.75 (22.93) | 69.23 (24.39) | 67.85 (23.86) | 81.52 (7.24) | <0.001 |
| Access to electricity (mean (SD)) | 27.93 (24.35) | 40.53 (30.32) | 28.03 (24.60) | 25.31 (17.76) | <0.001 |
| Gender inequality (mean (SD)) | 0.90 (0.48) | 1.57 (1.00) | 0.89 (0.42) | 0.74 (0.28) | <0.001 |
| Household size (mean (SD)) | 7.34 (4.55) | 5.77 (2.42) | 7.13 (4.15) | 9.28 (6.80) | <0.001 |
| Maternal years of education (mean (SD)) | 4.09 (2.33) | 4.05 (1.98) | 4.10 (2.34) | 3.99 (2.62) | <0.001 |
| Wealth (%) | 105 202 (33.3) | 4594 (29.5) | 82 869 (32.0) | 14 494 (42.5) | |
| Poorer | 105 331 (33.4) | 4888 (31.4) | 85 936 (33.2) | 12 210 (35.8) | |
| Average | 105 218 (33.3) | 6104 (39.2) | 90 214 (34.8) | 7365 (21.6) | |
| Richer | 100 271 (34.5) | 241 (1.8) | 69 613 (29.2) | 25 530 (80.6) | <0.001 |
| Maternal age at birth (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| <20 | 18 970 (6.0) | 590 (3.8) | 16 001 (6.2) | 2016 (5.9) | |
| 20–34 | 223 141 (70.7) | 11 618 (74.5) | 182 777 (70.6) | 23 865 (70.0) | |
| >35+ | 73 640 (23.3) | 3378 (21.7) | 60 241 (23.3) | 8188 (24.0) | |
| Birth order (mean (SD)) | 3.63 (2.38) | 2.73 (1.91) | 3.60 (2.35) | 4.18 (2.58) | <0.001 |
| Sibship size | 4.15 (4.50) | 3.09 (3.99) | 4.26 (4.54) | 3.57 (4.19) | <0.001 |
| Preceding birth interval (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| First-born | 66 052 (20.9) | 4870 (31.2) | 54 506 (21.0) | 5441 (16.0) | |
| <24 months | 53 563 (17.0) | 1732 (11.1) | 44 346 (17.1) | 6408 (18.8) | |
| >24 months | 196 136 (62.1) | 8984 (57.6) | 160 167 (61.8) | 22 220 (65.2) | |
| Kid female=1 (%) | 156 781 (49.7) | 7815 (50.1) | 128 721 (49.7) | 16 740 (49.1) | 0.070 |
| Multibirth (%) | 9681 (3.1) | 348 (2.2) | 8182 (3.2) | 968 (2.8) | <0.001 |
DHS, Demographic and Health Surveys.