More than 500,000 Saudi men have more than one wife each and most of them are above 45 years of age, according to official Saudi data.
Men having more than one wife in the 45-49 age group exceed 73,000 while those aged 50-59 years are estimated at around 143,000, showed the figures by the Saudi General Statistics Authority.
Most of the men aged between 15 and 19 years have one wife while those around 869 men aged 20-24 years have more than one wife, the figures showed.
Experts, quoted by Makka newspaper, said polygamy is widespread in Saudi Arabia due to social and religious reasons. “Many men also have more than a wife because of their strong financial position,” the paper said.