Widow and Widower Mortality in India: A Research Note

Widowhood is associated with elevated mortality risk in many social contexts. This research note is the first study to quantify and contextualize the mortality risk of widowhood for men (widowers) and women (widows) in India. We do so by using data from the first wave of the India Human Development Survey (2004–2005) on individuals whose survival status was observed seven years later in the second wave of the survey. We find no differences in mortality by widowhood status for adults aged 60 or older. However, we find higher mortality risks for widows and widowers aged 25–59 than for individuals who are married. Despite the unique vulnerabilities experienced by Indian widows, we find similar levels of elevated mortality for widows and widowers relative to married individuals aged 25–59. In this age group, we also document higher mortality for widows exposed to conservative and less egalitarian gender norms. These findings suggest that despite India’s similarity to other contexts with elevated mortality for both widows and widowers, unequal gender norms still shape life chances for Indian widows.