This research studies the nuptiality patterns in Egypt and the Maghreb countries of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Despite the importance of nuptiality as a demographic component, it is considerably under studied when compared to fertility, or mortality, particularly in the Arab region. Nuptiality studies in the Arab region are very sparse and marital status is usually analysed in terms of education and age without looking at other potential explanatory variables and interactions. In general, education and employment experiences can enhance autonomy and self-recognition, which in turn change people's expectations and prospective gains from marriage. However, the effect of both education and employment on marriage decisions is rather complex and does not usually follow the expected pattern in all the countries in the region. For example, the persistence of the kinship system, in many countries in the region, which benefits arranged marriage can well limit the role of education and employment on marriage. Such observations invited the elaboration of an analytical framework that takes into account the relationships between different factors that can interact and affect nuptiality.

Both the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Pan Arab Project surveys (PAPCHILD) provide national information on some of marriage aspects in the four countries. The data used come from the Egypt DHS 1995, Morocco DHS 1992, Tunisia DHS 1988, and Algeria PAPCHILD 1993. The available data are used to study the nuptiality patterns in the four countries and draw comparisons between them in the light of the proposed fame-work. In addition to the standard DHS questionnaires, the Egypt DHS 1995 includes a women’s status module, which provides richer information on the marriage and husband selection process as well as indicators of post marital inter-spousal dynamics. Such information is used to perform an in-depth analysis of nuptiality patterns in Egypt and to study the relationship between the intermediate variables and characteristics of the marriage, as well as with inter-spousal relationships and the post-marital profile of women.