In 2022, the median age for the first wedding among women in the United States stood at 28.6 years. For men, the median age was 30.5 years. The median age of Americans at their first wedding has been steadily increasing for both men and women since 1998.

This statistic contains data on the estimated median age of Americans at their first wedding in the United States in 2021, by race and origin. In 2021, the median age for the first wedding among Asian women stood at 28.8 years.

United States Marriage Statistics

Marriage rates by gender, age group, and year in the United States (2005-2017)

By Throwback Thursday [source]

About this dataset

This dataset, titled United States Marriage Status 2005-2017, provides detailed information on marriage rates and population estimates in the United States. The data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.

The dataset includes several key attributes that offer insights into different aspects of marriage status. These attributes include Year, Gender, Age Group, Metric, Estimated Percent, and Estimated Population.

The Year attribute represents the year in which the data was collected, spanning from 2005 to 2017. It allows for analysis of trends and changes in marriage rates over time.

The Gender attribute categorizes the population groups based on their gender. This information helps explore any variations or differences between male and female populations in terms of marital status.

Age Group attribute classifies individuals into specific age categories within the population. By segmenting the data based on age groups, it becomes possible to analyze how different age demographics contribute to overall marriage rates.

Metric serves as a descriptor for specific measurements or indicators being reported within this dataset. This attribute provides further context for understanding different aspects related to marriage status and its calculation methods.

Estimated Percent denotes the estimated percentage of a particular population group falling into a specific category related to marital status. It offers valuable insights into relative proportions within each demographic group.

Estimated Population showcases estimated count figures representing various subgroups' populations classified by gender, age groupings, and metric categories specified previously. These estimates allow researchers to explore potential correlations between population sizes and marriage rates across various segments of society over time period covered by this dataset.

Overall, this comprehensive United States Marriage Status dataset provides a valuable resource for analyzing trends in marriage rates while considering gender demographics, age distributions within these populations along with respective metrics indicating changes occurring over time periods marked since 2005 until 2017 (date-range excluding exact dates provided). By exploring relationships among these factors using reliable census data available through American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, researchers can gain deep understanding of marriage status dynamics in the United States

How to use the dataset

• Understand the Columns:

  • Year: This column represents the year in which the data was collected. It provides a timeline for analyzing marriage trends over time.
  • Gender: This column categorizes individuals based on their gender, providing insights into marriage rates and patterns specific to each gender.
  • Age Group: This column categorizes individuals based on their age group. It allows for a detailed analysis of marriage rates and statistics among different age groups.
  • Metric: This column specifies the type of data or measurement being reported, providing clarity on what aspect of marriage is being analyzed.
  • Estimated Percent: This column represents the estimated percentage of individuals within a population group falling into a particular category. It quantifies marriage rates as percentages.
  • Estimated Population: This column provides an estimation of the total population count within a specific category, offering insights into the size and distribution of different population groups.

• Analyzing Trends: Use this dataset to analyze trends in US marriage statistics by leveraging various combinations of columns:

  • Gender vs Metric: Compare different metrics (e.g., number of marriages, divorce rate) between genders, allowing for an understanding of any gender-specific variations in marital trends.
  • Year vs Metric: Study changes in various metrics over time (e.g., changes in average age at first marriage), identifying trends and potential shifts in societal attitudes towards marriage.
  • Age Group vs Metric/Gender/Year: Examine how different age groups contribute to overall marital statistics (e.g., comparing divorce rates among different age groups or analyzing changes over time within specific age cohorts).

• Interpreting Results: When analyzing this dataset's results, keep these factors in mind:

  • Size Differences: Ensure you factor in the estimated population count for eac...

Since the mid-2000s, the average age at first wedding in France has increased gradually, for both men and women. It seems to be common for the first marriage to be celebrated later and later in Western countries. For example, the median age at first marriage in the United States went from **** years old for males and ** years old for females in 1998, up to **** years old for males and **** for females in 2022. The same thing occurred in Europe, where Spain was the country where the median age at first wedding was the oldest in 2022. French people wait longer to marry According to the source, in 2004, the average age at first wedding for French men was **** compared to **** for women. If men still tend to be older than women at first marriage, the average age at marriage for both males and females increased from 2004 to 2024. In 2024, men were on average **** at their first wedding, compared to **** for women. Most marriages in France happened between men and women, despite the implementation of same-sex marriage in 2013. The mean age at gay marriages appears to be even older than in different-sex weddings. Marriage and divorce in France Thus, the percentage of married persons in France has decreased since 2006, while the share of single and divorced people rose. However, in 2016, France was the second European country with the highest number of marriages behind Germany. On the other hand, like most other Western nations, France also has a high divorce rate. In 2016, the number of French divorces was ** per 100 marriages.

81 percent of the Silent generation were married between the age of 23 and 38. This is true for only 44 percent of Millennials.

United States US: Unmet Need for Contraception: % of Married Women Aged 15-49 data was reported at 9.000 % in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 8.000 % for 2010. United States US: Unmet Need for Contraception: % of Married Women Aged 15-49 data is updated yearly, averaging 6.000 % from Dec 1988 (Median) to 2014, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.000 % in 2014 and a record low of 4.000 % in 1988. United States US: Unmet Need for Contraception: % of Married Women Aged 15-49 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Unmet need for contraception is the percentage of fertile, married women of reproductive age who do not want to become pregnant and are not using contraception.; ; Household surveys, including Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Largely compiled by United Nations Population Division.; Weighted Average; Unmet need for contraception measures the capacity women have in achieving their desired family size and birth spacing. Many couples in developing countries want to limit or postpone childbearing but are not using effective contraception. These couples have an unmet need for contraception. Common reasons are lack of knowledge about contraceptive methods and concerns about possible side effects.

In 2022, there were 67.85 million married men and 68.45 million married women living in the United States. This is compared to 3.7 million widowed men and 11.48 million widowed women.

Marriage in the United States

Nevada had the highest marriage rate in the United States in 2021, followed by Hawaii and Montana. This can be attributed to marriage accessibility in the state. Las Vegas weddings are known for being quick, easy, and inexpensive chapel weddings. In comparison to the cheap weddings available in Las Vegas, the average expenditure for a wedding in the United States was the highest in New Jersey, clocking in at 51,000 U.S. dollars.

Same-sex marriage

The number of Americans who think that same-sex marriage should be recognized by law has more than doubled since 1996, while the number of Americans who think it should not be valid has decreased. It was not until June 26, 2015 that the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Before then, it was up to the states to decide if they allowed same-sex marriage. States in the Southeast are the most opposed to same-sex marriage, whereas the strongest support comes from Northern coastal states.

NOTE: For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/doc/sf1.pdf..Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census..NOTE: "Families" consist of a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state issuing marriage certificates for same-sex couples. Responses of "same-sex spouse" were edited during processing to "unmarried partner."

This dataset provides valuable insights into the work and household characteristics of married individuals in the United States. With 753 observations representing individuals, the dataset offers a comprehensive view of various factors that influence work patterns and family dynamics.

Details

These data seem to have come from the same source as carData::Mroz, though each data set has variables not in the other. The variables that are shared have different names. On 2019-11-04 Bruno Rodrigues explained that Ecdat::Mroz['work'] had the two labels incorrectly swapped, and wooldridge::mroz['inlf'] was correct; wooldridge matches carData::Mroz['lfp'].

Source

Mroz, T. (1987) “The sensitivity of an empirical model of married women's hours of work to economic and statistical assumptions”, Econometrica, 55, 765-799. 1976 Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

References

Greene, W.H. (2003) Econometric Analysis, Prentice Hall, https://archive.org/details/econometricanaly0000gree_f4x3, Table F4.1.

United States US: Demand for Family Planning Satisfied by Modern Methods: % of Married Women with Demand for Family Planning data was reported at 77.200 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 83.400 % for 2010. United States US: Demand for Family Planning Satisfied by Modern Methods: % of Married Women with Demand for Family Planning data is updated yearly, averaging 86.300 % from Dec 1988 (Median) to 2014, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 88.300 % in 1988 and a record low of 77.200 % in 2014. United States US: Demand for Family Planning Satisfied by Modern Methods: % of Married Women with Demand for Family Planning data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Demand for family planning satisfied by modern methods refers to the percentage of married women ages 15-49 years whose need for family planning is satisfied with modern methods.; ; Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).; Weighted average;

This statistic shows the average income of married and unmarried men in the United States in 2016, by age. In that year, 45-year-old married men had an average income of **** thousand U.S. dollars, compared to 45-year-old unmarried men, who had an average income of **** thousand U.S. dollars.

The Wedding Services industry provides a wide variety of wedding day services, apparel retailers and venues. Evolving social norms and medical advancements, which enable women to safely give birth later in life, have caused the marriage rate to decline in recent decades. Extended periods of cohabitation before marriage and family planning have increasingly become normal among young couples. As a result, the industry has contended with declining revenue over the past five years. Despite fewer couples getting married, increasing per capita disposable income has enabled those seeking to spend more on their big day, limiting revenue declines. Nonetheless, as couples postponed or downsized their weddings during the COVID-19 pandemic, industry revenue dropped significantly in 2020 alone. Consequently, industry revenue fell at a CAGR of 4.1% to $70.3 billion over the past five years, including a decrease of 0.6% in 2023 alone.Despite rising wedding budgets, which translated to higher revenue, heightened competition has hindered revenue per operator. Over the past five years, the barriers to entry for operators in this industry have decreased as more couples can find vendors through the internet. Online marketing and social media have increased visibility for wedding services and lowered marketing budgets, making it easier for new companies to enter the industry. But, coronavirus-related pressures forced many of these new entrants out of the industry. Also, limited demand because of the declining marriage rate has led to lower revenue per operator somewhat deterring new entrants.Moving forward, industry demand will continue to be pressured by the marriage rate, which will further decline over the next five years. Even so, continued pent-up demand from previously postponed weddings will support industry revenue. During the outlook period, rising consumer confidence indicates that individuals will be more willing to take on nonessential expenditures and incur high wedding costs. Also, the increasing average age of marriage and the length of engagements will give couples more time to plan and save money for their ceremonies. Overall, industry revenue will rise at a CAGR of 0.2% to $71.1 billion over the next five years.

The National Couples' Health and Time Study (NCHAT) is a population-based study of couples in America that contains representative samples of racial and ethnic diverse and sexual and gender diverse individuals. NCHAT entered the field on September 1, 2020, and data collection completed in April 2021. A follow-up survey (Wave 2) was fielded in 2022. The Wave 1 sample includes 3,642 main respondents. The sample frame included adults in the United States who ranged in age from 20-60 years old, who were married or cohabiting, and who were able to read English or Spanish. About 1,515 partners participated. NCHAT sample participants were recruited through the Gallup Panel. About 9 percent of the sample was non-Latinx Black, 6 percent non-Latinx Asian, 5 percent non-Latinx Multirace, 16 percent Latinx, and 1 percent another racial or ethnic identity. Approximately 55 percent of the sample identified as heterosexual, 20 percent as gay or lesbian, 10 percent as bisexual, and 15 percent as another sexual identity or multiple sexual identities. The sample was about evenly split between men and women, and almost 3 percent identified as another gender identity. 27 percent of couples were the same gender, and 4 percent were non-binary. About 75 percent were married and the remainder were cohabiting. The average age was 45. 65 percent of the sample had no children. One-third of the sample was in an interracial couple. 10 percent were born outside the US. Survey, time diary, experience sampling method, and geospatial data were collected. NCHAT is uniquely suited to address COVID, stress, family functioning, and physical and mental health and includes an abundance of contextual and acute measures of race and racism, sexism, and heterosexism.

Abstract

The Ukraine Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) is a nationally representative survey of 6,841 women age 15-49 and 3,178 men age 15-49. Survey fieldwork was conducted during the period July through November 2007. The UDHS was conducted by the Ukrainian Center for Social Reforms in close collaboration with the State Statistical Committee of Ukraine. The MEASURE DHS Project provided technical support for the survey. The U.S. Agency for International Development/Kyiv Regional Mission to Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus provided funding.

The survey is a nationally representative sample survey designed to provide information on population and health issues in Ukraine. The primary goal of the survey was to develop a single integrated set of demographic and health data for the population of the Ukraine.

The UDHS was conducted from July to November 2007 by the Ukrainian Center for Social Reforms (UCSR) in close collaboration with the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of Ukraine, which provided organizational and methodological support. Macro International Inc. provided technical assistance for the survey through the MEASURE DHS project. USAID/Kyiv Regional Mission to Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus provided funding for the survey through the MEASURE DHS project. MEASURE DHS is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist countries worldwide in obtaining information on key population and health indicators.

The 2007 UDHS collected national- and regional-level data on fertility and contraceptive use, maternal health, adult health and life style, infant and child mortality, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The survey obtained detailed information on these issues from women of reproductive age and, on certain topics, from men as well.

The results of the 2007 UDHS are intended to provide the information needed to evaluate existing social programs and to design new strategies for improving the health of Ukrainians and health services for the people of Ukraine. The 2007 UDHS also contributes to the growing international database on demographic and health-related variables.

MAIN RESULTS

• Fertility rates. A useful index of the level of fertility is the total fertility rate (TFR), which indicates the number of children a woman would have if she passed through the childbearing ages at the current age-specific fertility rates (ASFR). The TFR, estimated for the three-year period preceding the survey, is 1.2 children per woman. This is below replacement level.

• Contraception : Knowledge and ever use. Knowledge of contraception is widespread in Ukraine. Among married women, knowledge of at least one method is universal (99 percent). On average, married women reported knowledge of seven methods of contraception. Eighty-nine percent of married women have used a method of contraception at some time.

• Abortion rates. The use of abortion can be measured by the total abortion rate (TAR), which indicates the number of abortions a woman would have in her lifetime if she passed through her childbearing years at the current age-specific abortion rates. The UDHS estimate of the TAR indicates that a woman in Ukraine will have an average of 0.4 abortions during her lifetime. This rate is considerably lower than the comparable rate in the 1999 Ukraine Reproductive Health Survey (URHS) of 1.6. Despite this decline, among pregnancies ending in the three years preceding the survey, one in four pregnancies (25 percent) ended in an induced abortion.

• Antenatal care. Ukraine has a well-developed health system with an extensive infrastructure of facilities that provide maternal care services. Overall, the levels of antenatal care and delivery assistance are high. Virtually all mothers receive antenatal care from professional health providers (doctors, nurses, and midwives) with negligible differences between urban and rural areas. Seventy-five percent of pregnant women have six or more antenatal care visits; 27 percent have 15 or more ANC visits. The percentage is slightly higher in rural areas than in urban areas (78 percent compared with 73 percent). However, a smaller proportion of rural women than urban women have 15 or more antenatal care visits (23 percent and 29 percent, respectively).

• HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections : The currently low level of HIV infection in Ukraine provides a unique window of opportunity for early targeted interventions to prevent further spread of the disease. However, the increases in the cumulative incidence of HIV infection suggest that this window of opportunity is rapidly closing.

• Adult Health : The major causes of death in Ukraine are similar to those in industrialized countries (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and accidents), but there is also a rising incidence of certain infectious diseases, such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

• Women's status : Sixty-four percent of married women make decisions on their own about their own health care, 33 percent decide jointly with their husband/partner, and 1 percent say that their husband or someone else is the primary decisionmaker about the woman's own health care.

• Domestic Violence : Overall, 17 percent of women age 15-49 experienced some type of physical violence between age 15 and the time of the survey. Nine percent of all women experienced at least one episode of violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. One percent of the women said they had often been subjected to violent physical acts during the past year. Overall, the data indicate that husbands are the main perpetrators of physical violence against women.

• Human Trafficking : The UDHS collected information on respondents' awareness of human trafficking in Ukraine and, if applicable, knowledge about any household members who had been the victim of human trafficking during the three years preceding the survey. More than half (52 percent) of respondents to the household questionnaire reported that they had heard of a person experiencing this problem and 10 percent reported that they knew personally someone who had experienced human trafficking.

Geographic coverage

The survey is a nationally representative sample survey designed to provide information on population and health issues in Ukraine. The 27 administrative regions were grouped for this survey into five geographic regions: North, Central, East, South and West. The five geographic regions are the five study domains of the survey. The estimates obtained from the 2007 UDHS are presented for the country as a whole, for urban and rural areas, and for each of the five geographic regions.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Women age 15-49
• Men age 15-49

Universe

The population covered by the 2007 UDHS is defined as the universe of all women and men age 15-49 in Ukraine.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The 2007 Ukraine Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) was the first survey of its kind carried out in Ukraine. The survey was a nationally representative sample survey of 15,000 households, with an expected yield of about 7,900 completed interviews of women age 15-49. It was designed to provide estimates on fertility, infant and child mortality, use of contraception and family planning, knowledge and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STI), and other family welfare and health indicators. Ukraine is made up of 24 oblasts, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and two special cities (Kyiv and Sevastopol), which together make up 27 administrative regions, each subdivided into lower-level administrative units. The 27 administrative regions were grouped for this survey into five geographic regions: North, Central, East, South and West. The five geographic regions are the five study domains of the survey. The estimates obtained from the 2007 UDHS are presented for the country as a whole, for urban and rural areas, and for each of the five geographic regions.

A men's survey was conducted at the same time as the women's survey, in a subsample consisting of one household in every two selected for the female survey. All men age 15-49 living in the selected households were eligible for the men's survey. The survey collected information on men's use of contraception and family planning and their knowledge and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STI).

SAMPLING FRAME

The sampling frame used for the 2007 UDHS was the Ukraine Population Census conducted in 2001 (SSC, 2003a), provided by the State Statistical Committee (SSC) of Ukraine. The sampling frame consisted of about 38 thousand enumeration areas (EAs) with an average of 400-500 households per EA. Each EA is subdivided into 4-5 enumeration units (EUs) with an average of 100 households per EU. An EA is a city block in urban areas; in rural areas, an EA is either a village or part of a large village, or a group of small villages (possibly plus a part of a large village). An EU is a list of addresses (in a neighborhood) that was used as a convenient counting unit for the census. Both EAs and EUs include information about the location, type of residence, address of each structure in it, and the number of households in each structure.

Census maps were available for most of the EAs with marked boundaries. In urban areas, the census maps have marked boundaries/locations of the EUs. In rural areas, the EUs are defined by detailed descriptions available at the SSC local office. Therefore, either the EA or the EU could be used as the primary sampling unit (PSU) for the 2007 UDHS. Because the EAs in urban areas are large (an average of 500 households), using

Estimates of the average ages at marriage in 1990 for different education levels.

The average American family in 2023 consisted of 3.15 persons. Families in the United States According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. As of 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 84.33 million families in the United States. The average family consisted of 3.15 persons in 2021, down from 3.7 in the 1960s. This is reflected in the decrease of children in family households overall. In 1970, about 56 percent of all family households had children under the age of 18 living in the household. This percentage declined to about 40 percent in 2020. The average size of a family household varies greatly from state to state. The largest average families can be found in Utah, California, and Hawaii, while the smallest families can be found in Wisconsin, Vermont and Maine.

Abstract

The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2), conducted in 1998-99, provides information on fertility, mortality, family planning, and important aspects of nutrition, health, and health care. The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) coordinated the survey, which collected information from a nationally representative sample of more than 90,000 ever-married women age 15-49. The NFHS-2 sample covers 99 percent of India's population living in all 26 states. This report is based on the survey data for 25 of the 26 states, however, since data collection in Tripura was delayed due to local problems in the state.

IIPS also coordinated the first National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) in 1992-93. Most of the types of information collected in NFHS-2 were also collected in the earlier survey, making it possible to identify trends over the intervening period of six and one-half years. In addition, the NFHS-2 questionnaire covered a number of new or expanded topics with important policy implications, such as reproductive health, women's autonomy, domestic violence, women's nutrition, anaemia, and salt iodization.

The NFHS-2 survey was carried out in two phases. Ten states were surveyed in the first phase which began in November 1998 and the remaining states (except Tripura) were surveyed in the second phase which began in March 1999. The field staff collected information from 91,196 households in these 25 states and interviewed 89,199 eligible women in these households. In addition, the survey collected information on 32,393 children born in the three years preceding the survey. One health investigator on each survey team measured the height and weight of eligible women and children and took blood samples to assess the prevalence of anaemia.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

Three-quarters (73 percent) of the population lives in rural areas. The age distribution is typical of populations that have recently experienced a fertility decline, with relatively low proportions in the younger and older age groups. Thirty-six percent of the population is below age 15, and 5 percent is age 65 and above. The sex ratio is 957 females for every 1,000 males in rural areas but only 928 females for every 1,000 males in urban areas, suggesting that more men than women have migrated to urban areas.

The survey provides a variety of demographic and socioeconomic background information. In the country as a whole, 82 percent of household heads are Hindu, 12 percent are Muslim, 3 percent are Christian, and 2 percent are Sikh. Muslims live disproportionately in urban areas, where they comprise 15 percent of household heads. Nineteen percent of household heads belong to scheduled castes, 9 percent belong to scheduled tribes, and 32 percent belong to other backward classes (OBCs). Two-fifths of household heads do not belong to any of these groups.

Questions about housing conditions and the standard of living of households indicate some improvements since the time of NFHS-1. Sixty percent of households in India now have electricity and 39 percent have piped drinking water compared with 51 percent and 33 percent, respectively, at the time of NFHS-1. Sixty-four percent of households have no toilet facility compared with 70 percent at the time of NFHS-1.

About three-fourths (75 percent) of males and half (51 percent) of females age six and above are literate, an increase of 6-8 percentage points from literacy rates at the time of NFHS-1. The percentage of illiterate males varies from 6-7 percent in Mizoram and Kerala to 37 percent in Bihar and the percentage of illiterate females varies from 11 percent in Mizoram and 15 percent in Kerala to 65 percent in Bihar. Seventy-nine percent of children age 6-14 are attending school, up from 68 percent in NFHS-1. The proportion of children attending school has increased for all ages, particularly for girls, but girls continue to lag behind boys in school attendance. Moreover, the disparity in school attendance by sex grows with increasing age of children. At age 6-10, 85 percent of boys attend school compared with 78 percent of girls. By age 15-17, 58 percent of boys attend school compared with 40 percent of girls. The percentage of girls 6-17 attending school varies from 51 percent in Bihar and 56 percent in Rajasthan to over 90 percent in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.

Women in India tend to marry at an early age. Thirty-four percent of women age 15-19 are already married including 4 percent who are married but gauna has yet to be performed. These proportions are even higher in the rural areas. Older women are more likely than younger women to have married at an early age: 39 percent of women currently age 45-49 married before age 15 compared with 14 percent of women currently age 15-19. Although this indicates that the proportion of women who marry young is declining rapidly, half the women even in the age group 20-24 have married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years. On average, women are five years younger than the men they marry. The median age at marriage varies from about 15 years in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh to 23 years in Goa.

As part of an increasing emphasis on gender issues, NFHS-2 asked women about their participation in household decisionmaking. In India, 91 percent of women are involved in decision-making on at least one of four selected topics. A much lower proportion (52 percent), however, are involved in making decisions about their own health care. There are large variations among states in India with regard to women's involvement in household decisionmaking. More than three out of four women are involved in decisions about their own health care in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Punjab compared with about two out of five or less in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan. Thirty-nine percent of women do work other than housework, and more than two-thirds of these women work for cash. Only 41 percent of women who earn cash can decide independently how to spend the money that they earn. Forty-three percent of working women report that their earnings constitute at least half of total family earnings, including 18 percent who report that the family is entirely dependent on their earnings. Women's work-participation rates vary from 9 percent in Punjab and 13 percent in Haryana to 60-70 percent in Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh.

FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING

Fertility continues to decline in India. At current fertility levels, women will have an average of 2.9 children each throughout their childbearing years. The total fertility rate (TFR) is down from 3.4 children per woman at the time of NFHS-1, but is still well above the replacement level of just over two children per woman. There are large variations in fertility among the states in India. Goa and Kerala have attained below replacement level fertility and Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab are at or close to replacement level fertility. By contrast, fertility is 3.3 or more children per woman in Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. More than one-third to less than half of all births in these latter states are fourth or higher-order births compared with 7-9 percent of births in Kerala, Goa, and Tamil Nadu.

Efforts to encourage the trend towards lower fertility might usefully focus on groups within the population that have higher fertility than average. In India, rural women and women from scheduled tribes and scheduled castes have somewhat higher fertility than other women, but fertility is particularly high for illiterate women, poor women, and Muslim women. Another striking feature is the high level of childbearing among young women. More than half of women age 20-49 had their first birth before reaching age 20, and women age 15-19 account for almost one-fifth of total fertility. Studies in India and elsewhere have shown that health and mortality risks increase when women give birth at such young ages?both for the women themselves and for their children. Family planning programmes focusing on women in this age group could make a significant impact on maternal and child health and help to reduce fertility.

INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITY

NFHS-2 provides estimates of infant and child mortality and examines factors associated with the survival of young children. During the five years preceding the survey, the infant mortality rate was 68 deaths at age 0-11 months per 1,000 live births, substantially lower than 79 per 1,000 in the five years preceding the NFHS-1 survey. The child mortality rate, 29 deaths at age 1-4 years per 1,000 children reaching age one, also declined from the corresponding rate of 33 per 1,000 in NFHS-1. Ninety-five children out of 1,000 born do not live to age five years. Expressed differently, 1 in 15 children die in the first year of life, and 1 in 11 die before reaching age five. Child-survival programmes might usefully focus on specific groups of children with particularly high infant and child mortality rates, such as children who live in rural areas, children whose mothers are illiterate, children belonging to scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, and children from poor households. Infant mortality rates are more than two and one-half times as high for women who did not receive any of the recommended types of maternity related medical care than for mothers who did receive all recommended types of care.

HEALTH, HEALTH CARE, AND NUTRITION

Promotion of maternal and child health has been one of the most important components of the Family Welfare Programme of the Government of India. One goal is for each pregnant woman to receive at least three antenatal check-ups plus two tetanus toxoid injections and a full course of iron and folic acid supplementation. In India, mothers of 65 percent of the children

Abstract

The 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (2017-18 BDHS) is a nationwide survey with a nationally representative sample of approximately 20,250 selected households. All ever-married women age 15-49 who are usual members of the selected households or who spent the night before the survey in the selected households were eligible for individual interviews. The survey was designed to produce reliable estimates for key indicators at the national level as well as for urban and rural areas and each of the country’s eight divisions: Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet.

The main objective of the 2017-18 BDHS is to provide up-to-date information on fertility and fertility preferences; childhood mortality levels and causes of death; awareness, approval, and use of family planning methods; maternal and child health, including breastfeeding practices and nutritional status; newborn care; women’s empowerment; selected noncommunicable diseases (NCDS); and availability and accessibility of health and family planning services at the community level.

This information is intended to assist policymakers and program managers in monitoring and evaluating the 4th Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Program (4th HPNSP) 2017-2022 of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) and to provide estimates for 14 major indicators of the HPNSP Results Framework (MOHFW 2017).

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual
• Children age 0-5
• Woman age 15-49
• Community

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged 15-49 and all children aged 0-5 resident in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for the 2017-18 BDHS is nationally representative and covers the entire population residing in non-institutional dwelling units in the country. The survey used a list of enumeration areas (EAs) from the 2011 Population and Housing Census of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), as a sampling frame (BBS 2011). The primary sampling unit (PSU) of the survey is an EA with an average of about 120 households.

Bangladesh consists of eight administrative divisions: Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet. Each division is divided into zilas and each zila into upazilas. Each urban area in an upazila is divided into wards, which are further subdivided into mohallas. A rural area in an upazila is divided into union parishads (UPs) and, within UPs, into mouzas. These divisions allow the country as a whole to be separated into rural and urban areas.

The survey is based on a two-stage stratified sample of households. In the first stage, 675 EAs (250 in urban areas and 425 in rural areas) were selected with probability proportional to EA size. The sample in that stage was drawn by BBS, following the specifications provided by ICF that include cluster allocation and instructions on sample selection. A complete household listing operation was then carried out in all selected EAs to provide a sampling frame for the second-stage selection of households. In the second stage of sampling, a systematic sample of an average of 30 households per EA was selected to provide

statistically reliable estimates of key demographic and health variables for the country as a whole, for urban and rural areas separately, and for each of the eight divisions. Based on this design, 20,250 residential households were selected. Completed interviews were expected from about 20,100 ever-married women age 15-49. In addition, in a subsample of one-fourth of the households (about 7-8 households per EA), all ever-married women age 50 and older, never-married women age 18 and older, and men age 18 and older were weighed and had their height measured. In the same households, blood pressure and blood glucose testing were conducted for all adult men and women age 18 and older.

The survey was successfully carried out in 672 clusters after elimination of three clusters (one urban and two rural) that were completely eroded by floodwater. These clusters were in Dhaka (one urban cluster), Rajshahi (one rural cluster), and Rangpur (one rural cluster). A total of 20,160 households were selected for the survey.

For further details on sample selection, see Appendix A of the final report.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The 2017-18 BDHS used six types of questionnaires: (1) the Household Questionnaire, (2) the Woman’s Questionnaire (completed by ever-married women age 15-49), (3) the Biomarker Questionnaire, (4) two verbal autopsy questionnaires to collect data on causes of death among children under age 5, (5) the Community Questionnaire, and the Fieldworker Questionnaire. The first three questionnaires were based on the model questionnaires developed for the DHS-7 Program, adapted to the situation and needs in Bangladesh and taking into account the content of the instruments employed in prior BDHS surveys. The verbal autopsy module was replicated from the questionnaires used in the 2011 BDHS, as the objectives of the 2011 BDHS and the 2017-18 BDHS were the same. The module was adapted from the standardized WHO 2016 verbal autopsy module. The Community Questionnaire was adapted from the version used in the 2014 BDHS. The adaptation process for the 2017-18 BDHS involved a series of meetings with a technical working group. Additionally, draft questionnaires were circulated to other interested groups and were reviewed by the TWG and SAC. The questionnaires were developed in English and then translated into and printed in Bangla. Back translations were conducted by people not involved with the Bangla translations.

Cleaning operations

Completed BDHS questionnaires were returned to Dhaka every 2 weeks for data processing at Mitra and Associates offices. Data processing began shortly after fieldwork commenced and consisted of office editing, coding of open-ended questions, data entry, and editing of inconsistencies found by the computer program. The field teams were alerted regarding any inconsistencies or errors found during data processing. Eight data entry operators and two data entry supervisors performed the work, which commenced on November 17, 2017, and ended on March 27, 2018. Data processing was accomplished using Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro) software, jointly developed by the United States Census Bureau, ICF, and Serpro S.A.

Response rate

Among the 20,160 households selected, 19,584 were occupied. Interviews were successfully completed in 19,457 (99%) of the occupied households. Among the 20,376 ever-married women age 15-49 eligible for interviews, 20,127 were interviewed, yielding a response rate of 99%. The principal reason for non-response among women was their absence from home despite repeated visits. Response rates did not vary notably by urbanrural residence.

Sampling error estimates

The estimates from a sample survey are affected by two types of errors: nonsampling errors and sampling errors. Nonsampling errors are the results of mistakes made in implementing data collection and data processing, such as failure to locate and interview the correct household, misunderstanding of the questions on the part of either the interviewer or the respondent, and data entry errors. Although numerous efforts were made during the implementation of the 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) to minimize this type of error, nonsampling errors are impossible to avoid and difficult to evaluate statistically.

Sampling errors, on the other hand, can be evaluated statistically. The sample of respondents selected in the 2017-18 BDHS is only one of many samples that could have been selected from the same population, using the same design and expected size. Each of these samples would yield results that differ somewhat from the results of the actual sample selected. Sampling errors are a measure of the variability among all possible samples. Although the degree of variability is not known exactly, it can be estimated from the survey results.

Sampling error is usually measured in terms of the standard error for a particular statistic (mean, percentage, etc.), which is the square root of the variance. The standard error can be used to calculate confidence intervals within which the true value for the population can reasonably be assumed to fall. For example, for any given statistic calculated from a sample survey, the value of that statistic will fall within a range of plus or minus two times the standard error of that statistic in 95% of all possible samples of identical size and design.

If the sample of respondents had been selected as a simple random sample, it would have been possible to use straightforward formulas for calculating sampling errors. However, the 2017-18 BDHS sample is the result of a multi-stage stratified design, and, consequently, it was necessary to use more complex formulas. Sampling errors are computed in SAS, using programs developed by ICF. These programs use the Taylor linearization method to estimate variances for survey estimates that are means, proportions, or ratios. The Jackknife repeated replication method is used for variance estimation of more complex statistics such as fertility and mortality rates.

Note: A more detailed description of estimates of sampling errors are presented in APPENDIX B of the survey report.

Data

Abstract

The 1990 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics with the aim of gathering reliable information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, maternal care, vaccination status, breastfeeding, and nutrition. Data collection took place two years after implementation of the National Policy on Population and addresses issues raised by that policy.

Fieldwork for the NDHS was conducted in two phases: from April to July 1990 in the southern states and from July to October 1990 in the northern states. Interviewers collected information on the reproductive histories of 8,781 women age 15-49 years and on the health of their 8,113 children under the age of five years.

OBJECTIVES

The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a national sample survey of women of reproductive age designed to collect data on socioeconomic characteristics, marriage patterns, history of child bearing, breastfeeding, use of contraception, immunisation of children, accessibility to health and family planning services, treatment of children during episodes of illness, and the nutritional status of children.

The primary objectives of the NDHS are:

(i) To collect data for the evaluation of family planning and health programmes; (ii) To assess the demographic situation in Nigeria; and (iii) To support dissemination and utilisation of the results in planning and managing family planning and health programmes.

MAIN RESULTS

According to the NDHS, fertility remains high in Nigeria; at current fertility levels, Nigerian women will have an average of 6 children by the end of their reproductive years. The total fertility rate may actually be higher than 6.0, due to underestimation of births. In a 1981/82 survey, the total fertility rate was estimated to be 5.9 children per woman.

One reason for the high level of fertility is that use of contraception is limited. Only 6 percent of married women currently use a contraceptive method (3.5 percent use a modem method, and 2.5 percent use a traditional method). These levels, while low, reflect an increase over the past decade: ten years ago just 1 percent of Nigerian women were using a modem family planning method. Periodic abstinence (rhythm method), the pill, IUD, and injection are the most popular methods among married couples: each is used by about 1 percent of currently married women. Knowledge of contraception remains low, with less than half of all women age 15-49 knowing of any method.

Certain groups of women are far more likely to use contraception than others. For example, urban women are four times more likely to be using a contraceptive method (15 percent) than rural women (4 percent). Women in the Southwest, those with more education, and those with five or more children are also more likely to be using contraception.

Levels of fertility and contraceptive use are not likely to change until there is a drop in desired family size and until the idea of reproductive choice is more widely accepted. At present, the average ideal family size is essentially the same as the total fertility rate: six children per woman. Thus, the vast majority of births are wanted. The desire for childbearing is strong: half of women with five children say that they want to have another child.

Another factor leading to high fertility is the early age at marriage and childbearing in Nigeria. Half of all women are married by age 17 and half have become mothers by age 20. More than a quarter of teenagers (women age 15-19 years) either are pregnant or already have children.

National statistics mask dramatic variations in fertility and family planning between urban and rural areas, among different regions of the country, and by women's educational attainment. Women who are from urban areas or live in the South and those who are better educated want and have fewer children than other women and are more likely to know of and use modem contraception. For example, women in the South are likely to marry and begin childbearing several years later than women in the North. In the North, women continue to follow the traditional pattern and marry early, at a median age of 15, while in the South, women are marrying at a median age of 19 or 20. Teenagers in the North have births at twice the rate of those in the South: 20 births per 1130 women age 15-19 in the North compared to 10 birdas per 100 women in the South. Nearly half of teens in the North have already begun childbearing, versus 14 percent in South. This results in substantially lower total fertility rates in the South: women in the South have, on average, one child less than women in the North (5.5 versus 6.6).

The survey also provides information related to maternal and child health. The data indicate that nearly 1 in 5 children dies before their fifth birthday. Of every 1,000 babies born, 87 die during their first year of life (infant mortality rate). There has been little improvement in infant and child mortality during the past 15 years. Mortality is higher in rural than urban areas and higher in the North than in the South. Undemutrition may be a factor contributing to childhood mortality levels: NDHS data show that 43 percent of the children under five are chronically undemourished. These problems are more severe in rural areas and in the North.

Preventive and curative health services have yet to reach many women and children. Mothers receive no antenatal care for one-third of births and over 60 percent of all babies arc born at home. Only one-third of births are assisted by doctors, trained nurses or midwives. A third of the infants are never vaccinated, and only 30 percent are fully immunised against childhood diseases. When they are ill, most young children go untreated. For example, only about one-third of children with diarrhoea were given oral rehydration therapy.

Women and children living in rural areas and in the North are much less likely than others to benefit from health services. Almost four times as many births in the North are unassisted as in the South, and only one-third as many children complete their polio and DPT vaccinations. Programmes to educate women about the need for antenatal care, immunisation, and proper treatment for sick children should perhaps be aimed at mothers in these areas,

Mothers everywhere need to learn about the proper time to introduce various supplementary foods to breastfeeding babies. Nearly all babies are breastfed, however, almost all breastfeeding infants are given water, formula, or other supplements within the first two months of life, which both jeopardises their nutritional status and increases the risk of infection.

Geographic coverage

The 1990 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is a nationally representative survey. The sample was constructed so as to provide national estimates as well as estimates for the four Ministry of Health regions.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Women age 15-49
• Children under five years

Universe

The population covered by the 1990 DHS is defined as the universe of all women age 15-49 in Nigeria.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The NDHS Sample was drawn from the National Master Sample for the 1987/1992 National Integrated Survey of Households (NISH) programme being implemented by the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS). NISH, as part of the United Nations National Household Survey Capability Programme, is a multi- subject household-based survey system.

The NISH master sample was created in 1986 on the basis of the 1973 census enumeration areas (EA). Within each state, EAs were stratified into three sectors (urban, semiurban, and rural), from which an initial selection of approximately 8C0 EAs was made from each state. EAs were selected at this stage with equal probability within sectors. A quick count of households was conducted in each of the selected EAs, and a final selection of over 4,000 EAs was made over the entire country, with probability proportional to size. This constitutes the NISH master sample from which the NDHS EAs were subsampled.

Prior to the NDHS selection of EAs, the urban and semiurban sectors of NISH were combined into one category, while the rural retained the NISH classification. A sample of about 10,000 households in 299 EAs was designed with twofold oversampling of the urban stratum, yielding 132 urban EAs and 167 rural EAs. The sample was constructed so as to provide national estimates as well as estimates for the four Ministry of Health regions.

The NDHS conducted its own EA identification and listing operation; a new listing of housing units and households was compiled in each of the selected 299 EAs. For each EA, a list of the names of the head of households was constructed, from which a systematic sample of 34 households was selected to be interviewed. A fixed number of 34 households per EA was taken in order to have better control of the sample size (given the variability in EA size of the NISH sample). Thus, the NDHS sample is a weighted sample, maintaining the twofold over sampling of the urban sector.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face

Research instrument

Three questionnaires were used in the main fieldwork for the NDHS: a) the household questionnaire, b) the individual questionnaire, and c) the service availability questionnaire. The first two questionnaires were adapted from the DHS model B questionnaire, which was designed for use in countries with low contraceptive prevalence. The questionnaires were developed in English, and then translated into six of the major Nigerian languages: Efik, Hausa, Igbo, Kanuri,

The highest share of home buyers in the United States in 2024 across all age groups were married couples. Married couples made up at least ** percent of home buyers in all age groups that year, except for homebuyers aged between 18 and 25 years old.