Polygamy is officially a crime in Laos, though the penalty is minor. The constitution and Family Code bar the legal recognition of polygamous marriages, stipulating that monogamy is the principal form of marriage in the country. Polygamy, however, is still customary among some Hmong people. Only 3.5% of women and 2.1% of men between the ages of 15–49 were in a polygynous union as of 2017.