Cousin Marriage Around the World

In 2015 Vivid Maps had an article about cousin marriage with a chart showing the percentage in each country.

What explains these rates? Economics and tradition go hand in hand. If your family owns farmland or a business, marrying within the extended family keeps those assets under one roof. You’re not handing over your inheritance to strangers. Then there’s trust — you’ve known your cousin’s parents your whole life because they’re your aunts and uncles. Wedding arrangements become less complicated when both families already understand each other. In smaller communities where everyone’s interconnected through multiple family lines, cousins may make up much of the available marriage pool. Add centuries of religious acceptance and established custom, and the pattern continues generation after generation.

If cousin marriage were actually dangerous then birth defects would be widespread in parts of Africa and Asia.

YouTuber defends marriage between cousins

The Indian website Live Mint had an article about cousin marriage on September 28th:

Keerthika adds that about 14% of Indian marriages are between relatives. In the South, roughly one-third of marriages are between cousins. Cousin marriages in northern states are under 5% due to clan and gotra rules, she argues.

The influencer says cities show a decline. However, rural and traditional areas still follow it. She admits there are genetic risks, especially for first cousins. But, such risks are lower for second cousins, according to her.

Keerthika says South India’s family structure is built around this system, which has shaped social life for centuries.