Editing Polygyny (section)

==Incidence==
Polygyny is more widespread in [[Africa]] than in any other [[continent]].<ref>Clignet, R., ''Many Wives, Many Powers'', Northwestern University Press, Evanston (1970), p. 17.</ref> Some scholars theorize that the [[History of slavery|slave trade]]'s impact on the male-to-female sex ratio was a key factor in the emergence and fortification of polygynous practices in regions of Africa.<ref name="dalton" />

Polygyny is most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in [[West Africa]] and [[Central Africa]], with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being [[Burkina Faso]], [[Mali]], [[Gambia]], [[Niger]] and [[Nigeria]].<ref name="pewresearch.org">{{cite web |last1=Kramer |first1=Stephanie |title=Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/12/07/polygamy-is-rare-around-the-world-and-mostly-confined-to-a-few-regions/ |website=Pew Research Center |date=December 7, 2020}}</ref> In the region of [[sub-Saharan Africa]], polygyny is common and deeply rooted in the culture, with 11 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in such marriages (25 percent of the Muslim population and 3 percent of the Christian population, as of 2019).<ref name="pewresearch.org"/> Polygyny is especially widespread in West Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest polygyny prevalence in the world as of 2019 being Burkina Faso (36%), Mali (34%) and Gambia (30%).<ref name="pewresearch.org"/> Outside of Africa, the highest prevalence is in [[Afghanistan]], [[Yemen]] and [[Iraq]].
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Historically, polygyny was partly accepted in ancient [[Hebrews|Hebrew]] society, in [[Ancient China|classical China]], and in sporadic traditional Native American, [[Africa]]n and [[Polynesia]]n cultures. In the [[Indian subcontinent]], it was known to have been practiced during ancient times.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=polygyny is legal today  in Bangladesh for Hindus as well as muslims. In Pakistan and India  it is legal for muslim men to have upto four wives with certain conditions }} It was accepted in [[Ancient Greece]], until the [[Roman Empire]] and the [[Catholic Church]]. {{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

In [[North America]], polygyny is practiced by some Mormon sects, such as the [[Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints]] (FLDS Church).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://archive.sltrib.com/printfriendly.php?id=2925222&itype=NGPSID | title=LDS splinter groups growing &#124; the Salt Lake Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40709250 | title=Canadian polygamists found guilty| work=BBC News| date=2017-07-25}}</ref>

Polygyny is more common in societies that have the custom of [[bride price]].<ref name=Oxford2007>''The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology'', Edited by Robin Dunbar and Louise Barret (2007). Oxford University Press, Chapter 26, "The evolutionary ecology of family size".</ref>

Some studies of [[mitochondrial DNA]] have shown that there have been more mothers than fathers in the genetic record of the human species, meaning that the proportion of females that have reproduced in each generation has generally been greater than the proportion of men that reproduced. The authors of one 2014 study attributed these findings to widespread polygyny.<ref name=MoreMothers>{{cite web |last1=Geggel |first1=Laura |title=Humanity Has More Mothers Than Fathers, DNA Reveals |url=https://www.livescience.com/47976-more-mothers-in-human-history.html |website=livescience.com |access-date=1 March 2023 |language=en |date=24 September 2014}}</ref>