POLYGAMY in Solomon Islands is relatively high with six percent of women reporting their husbands having more than one wife from a survey carried out in urban and rural areas.

The Solomon Islands Demographic and Health Survey (SIDHS) 2006—2007 report shows that women aged 15—29 reported their husband as having more than one wives besides themselves.

The findings were basically done according to background characteristics at the time the survey was carried-out in urban and rural area across Solomon Islands.

The background characteristics were done according to age, residence, region, education and wealth quintile, which resulted in the figure of 4,086 as number of women’s co-wives and 2,237 as the number of men’s wives.

It stated that adult women, women living in urban areas on Malaita province and other provinces, women with higher education and women living in middle wealth quintile households are more likely to report having more than one co-wives.

Overall three percent of married men aged 15—49 claim they have two or more wives compared with six percent married women aged 15—49 who reported their husband having more than one wives.

In urban areas, five percent of currently married men have more than one wives compared to two percent in rural areas, according to SIDHS.

Amongst region in Solomon Islands, Honiara recorded the highest registering six percent of men with multiple wives followed by four percent in Western province while other provinces were placed at two percent.

The proportion of currently married men with more wives increased because of increasing wealth while interestingly men with no education claim to have more wives compared to men in other educational categories, the SIDHS reports highlight.