Nigeria - Demographic and Health Survey - 2004

Publication date: 2004

Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2003 National Population Commission Federal Republic of Nigeria ORC Macro Calverton, Maryland, USA April 2004 National Population Commission ORC Macro U.S. Agency for International Development This report summarizes the findings of the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS), which was conducted by the National Population Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. ORC Macro provided technical assistance. Funding was provided by the U.S. Agency for international development (USAID). This publication was made possible through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development under the terms of Contract No. HRN-C-00-97-00019-00. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Additional information about the 2003 NDHS may be obtained from the headquarters of the National Population Commission, Plot 2031, Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Zone 7 Wuse, PMB 0281, Abuja, Nigeria; Telephone: (234) 09 523- 9173, Fax: (234) 09 523-1024. Additional information about the DHS project may be obtained from ORC Macro, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD 20705; Telephone: 301-572-0200, Fax: 301-572-0999, Internet: www.measuredhs.com. Recommended citation: National Population Commission (NPC) [Nigeria] and ORC Macro. 2004. Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2003. Calverton, Maryland: National Population Commission and ORC Macro. Contents | iii CONTENTS Page Tables and Figures . ix Message from the Vice President . xv Message from the Chairman . xvii Preface . xix Acknowledgments . xxi Summary of Findings . xxiii Map of Nigeria . xviii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 History, Geography, and Economy of Nigeria .1 1.2 Population and Basic Demographic Indicators .3 1.3 Population and Health Policies and Programmes .4 1.4 Education .7 1.5 Organization and Objectives of the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey.7 1.6 Response Rates.10 CHAPTER 2 HOUSEHOLD POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 2.1 Household Population by Age, Sex, and Residence .11 2.2 Household Composition .12 2.3 Educational Attainment.13 2.4 Household Characteristics .19 CHAPTER 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS AND WOMEN’S STATUS 3.1 Characteristics of Survey Respondents .23 3.2 Educational Attainment by Background Characteristics .23 3.3 Access to Mass Media .28 3.4 Employment .30 3.5 Measures of Women’s Empowerment.37 CHAPTER 4 FERTILITY 4.1 Current Fertility .51 4.2 Fertility Differentials.53 4.3 Fertility Trends.54 iv | Contents 4.4 Children Ever Born and Living .55 4.5 Birth Intervals .56 4.6 Age at First Birth .58 4.7 Teenage Pregnancy and Motherhood .59 CHAPTER 5 FAMILY PLANNING 5.1 Knowledge of Contraceptive Methods .61 5.2 Ever Use of Contraception .64 5.3 Current Use of Contraception.66 5.4 Number of Children at First Use of Contraception .70 5.5 Knowledge of Fertile Period.70 5.6 Source of Contraception.71 5.7 Informed Choice .72 5.8 Future Use of Contraception.73 5.9 Exposure to Family Planning Messages.75 5.10 Contact of Nonusers with Family Planning Providers.78 5.11 Discussion of Family Planning with Husband .79 5.12 Attitudes Toward Family Planning.80 CHAPTER 6 OTHER PROXIMATE DETERMINANTS OF FERTILITY 6.1 Current Marital Status .83 6.2 Polygyny.84 6.3 Age at First Marriage .86 6.4 Age at First Sexual Intercourse .87 6.5 Recent Sexual Activity.89 6.6 Postpartum Amenorrhoea, Abstinence, and Insuseptibility .92 6.7 Menopause .93 CHAPTER 7 FERTILITY PREFERENCES 7.1 Desire for More Children.95 7.2 Desire to Limit Childbearing .96 7.3 Need for Family Planning .98 7.4 Ideal Number of Children. 101 7.5 Ideal Number of Children by Background Characteristics. 102 7.6 Wanted and Unwanted Fertility. 104 7.7 Wanted Fertility Rates. 105 7.8 Ideal Number of Children and Unmet Need by Women’s Status . 105 CHAPTER 8 8.1 Data Quality Assessment. 107 8.2 Levels . 108 Contents | v 8.3 Comparison of Infant Mortality Rates with Previous Demographic and Health Surveys . 108 8.4 Socioeconomic Differentials in Childhood Mortality . 110 8.5 Demographic Differentials in Childhood Mortality . 111 8.6 Mortality Differentials by Women’s Status. 112 8.7 High-Risk Fertility Behaviour. 113 CHAPTER 9 MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH 9.1 Antenatal Care. 115 9.1.1 Number and Timing of ANC Visits . 115 9.1.2 Components of ANC . 118 9.1.3 Tetanus Toxoid. 119 9.2 Place of Delivery . 121 9.2.1 Assistance during Delivery . 122 9.2.2 Delivery Characteristics . 123 9.3 Postnatal Care . 125 9.4 Reproductive Health Care by Women’s Status. 126 9.5 Vaccination of Children . 128 9.5.1 Vaccination by Background Characteristics . 129 9.5.2 Vaccination in the First Year of Life. 130 9.6 Acute Respiratory Infection and Fever. 131 9.7 Household Hygiene. 133 9.7.1 Presence of Materials for Washing Hands . 133 9.7.2 Disposal of Children’s Stools. 134 9.8 Diarrhoea . 134 9.8.1 Knowledge of ORS Packets. 136 9.8.2 Diarrhoea Treatment . 136 9.8.3 Feeding Practices During Diarrhoea. 137 9.9 Children Health Care by Women’s Status . 138 9.10 Perceived Problems in Accessing Health Care. 139 9.11 Use of Smoking Tobacco . 141 CHAPTER 10 MALARIA 10.1 Mosquito Nets . 143 10.2 Antimalarial Drug Use During Pregnancy . 146 10.3 Treatment of Children with Fever or Convulsions. 148 vi | Contents CHAPTER 11 INFANT FEEDING AND CHILDREN’S AND WOMEN’S NUTRITIONAL STATUS 11.1 Breastfeeding. 151 11.1.1 Age Pattern of Breastfeeding. 153 11.1.2 Duration and Frequency of Breastfeeding. 154 11.2 Types of Food Consumed by Children . 156 11.3 Micronutrient Supplementation . 159 11.3.1 Use of Iodized Salt in Households . 159 11.3.2 Micronutrient Status of Young Children . 160 11.3.3 Micronutrient Intake Among Women . 162 11.4 Nutritional Status of Children. 163 11.5 Nutritional Status of Women . 166 CHAPTER 12 HIV/AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS 12.1 Knowledge of Ways to Avoid HIV/AIDS . 169 12.2 Beliefs about AIDS. 172 12.3 Stigma and Discrimination . 174 12.4 Knowledge of Mother-to-Child Transmission. 177 12.5 HIV Testing and Counselling . 178 12.6 Sexual Negotiation, Attitudes, and Communication . 179 12.7 High-Risk Sex and Condom Use . 182 12.8 Sexual Behaviour among Young People . 186 12.9 Sexually Transmitted Infections. 193 12.10 Orphanhood . 197 CHAPTER 13 FEMALE CIRCUMCISION 13.1 Knowledge and Prevalence of Female Circumcision. 201 13.2 Flesh Removal and Infibulation . 201 13.3 Age at Circumcision. 202 13.4 Circumcision of Daughters. 203 13.5 Attitudes toward Female Circumcision. 205 13.6 Reasons for Supporting Female Circumcision. 207 13.7 Reasons for Not Supporting Female Circumcision . 208 REFERENCES . 209 APPENDIX A SAMPLE DESIGN . 211 Contents | vii APPENDIX B SAMPLING ERRORS . 217 APPENDIX C DATA QUALITY TABLES. 231 APPENDIX D 2003 NIGERIA DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY PERSONNEL . 237 APPENDIX E QUESTIONNAIRES . 243 APPENDIX F WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN INDICATORS . 333 Tables and Figures | ix TABLES AND FIGURES Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Table 1.1 Basic demographic indicators. 3 Table 1.2 Results of the household and individual interviews . 10 CHAPTER 2 HOUSEHOLD POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS Table 2.1 Household population by age, sex, and residence . 11 Table 2.2 Household composition. 13 Table 2.3 Educational attainment of household population . 14 Table 2.4 School attendance ratios. 17 Table 2.5 Grade repetition and dropout rates. 18 Table 2.6 Household characteristics . 20 Table 2.7 Household durable goods. 21 Figure 2.1 Population pyramid . 12 Figure 2.2 Age-specific attendance rates. 15 CHAPTER 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS AND WOMEN’S STATUS Table 3.1 Background characteristics of respondents . 24 Table 3.2 Educational attainment by background characteristics. 25 Table 3.3 Literacy. 27 Table 3.4.1 Exposure to mass media: women. 29 Table 3.4.2 Exposure to mass media: men . 30 Table 3.5.1 Employment status: women. 31 Table 3.5.2 Employment status: men . 32 Table 3.6.1 Occupation: women. 34 Table 3.6.2 Occupation: men . 35 Table 3.7.1 Type of employment: women. 36 Table 3.7.2 Type of employment: men . 36 Table 3.8 Decision on use of earnings and contribution of earnings to household expenditures. 38 Table 3.9 Women’s control over earnings . 39 Table 3.10 Women’s participation in decisionmaking . 40 Table 3.11.1 Women’s participation in decisionmaking by background characteristics: women . 41 Table 3.11.2 Women’s participation in decisionmaking by background characteristics: men . 43 Table 3.12.1 Women’s attitude toward wife beating . 45 Table 3.12.2 Men’s attitude toward wife beating. 46 Table 3.13.1 Women’s attitutde toward refusing sex with husband . 48 x | Tables and figures Table 3.13.2 Men’s attitude toward wife refusing sex with husband . 49 Figure 3.1 Employment status of women and men . 33 Figure 3.2 Type of earnings of employed women and men . 37 Figure 3.3 Number of decisions in which women participate in the final say . 43 CHAPTER 4 FERTILITY Table 4.1 Current fertility . 51 Table 4.2 Fertility by background characteristics. 53 Table 4.3 Trends in age-specific fertility rates . 54 Table 4.4 Children ever born and living. 56 Table 4.5 Birth intervals. 57 Table 4.6 Age at first birth . 58 Table 4.7 Median age at first birth by background characteristics. 59 Table 4.8 Teenage pregnancy and motherhood . 60 Figure 4.1 Age-specific fertility rates, by residence. 52 Figure 4.2 Total fertility rate by region . 54 Figure 4.3 Trends in total fertility rates. 55 CHAPTER 5 FAMILY PLANNING Table 5.1.1 Knowledge of contraceptive methods: women . 62 Table 5.1.2 Knowledge of contraceptive methods: men . 63 Table 5.2 Knowledge of contraceptive methods by background characteristics. 64 Table 5.3.1 Ever use of contraception: women. 65 Table 5.3.2 Ever use of contraception: men . 66 Table 5.4 Current use of contraception . 67 Table 5.5 Current use of contraception by background characteristics . 68 Table 5.6 Current use of contraception by women’s status . 69 Table 5.7 Number of children at first use of contraception . 70 Table 5.8 Knowledge of fertile period. 71 Table 5.9 Source of contraception. 71 Table 5.10 Informed choice . 73 Table 5.11 Future use of contraception . 74 Table 5.12 Reasons for not intending to use contraception. 74 Table 5.13 Preferred method of contraception for future use . 75 Table 5.14.1 Exposure to family planning messages: women . 76 Table 5.14.2 Exposure to family planning messages: men. 77 Table 5.15 Contact of nonusers with family planning providers . 79 Table 5.16 Discussion of family planning with husband. 80 Table 5.17 Attitudes of couples toward family planning. 81 Figure 5.1 Current use of any contraceptive method among currently married women age 15-49, by background characteristics . 68 Figure 5.2 Source of family planning methods among current users of modern methods . 72 Figure 5.3 Percentage of women and men exposed to family planning messages. 78 Tables and Figures | xi CHAPTER 6 OTHER PROXIMATE DETERMINANTS OF FERTILITY Table 6.1 Current marital status. 83 Table 6.2 Polygyny. 85 Table 6.3 Age at first marriage . 86 Table 6.4 Median age at first marriage. 87 Table 6.5 Age at first sexual intercourse. 88 Table 6.6 Median age at first intercourse . 89 Table 6.7.1 Recent sexual activity: women. 90 Table 6.7.2 Recent sexual activity: men . 91 Table 6.8 Postpartum amenorrhoea, abstinence, and insusceptibility . 92 Table 6.9 Median duration of postpartum insusceptibility by background characteristics . 93 Table 6.10 Menopause . 93 Figure 6.1 Percentage of married men with two or more wives, by region . 85 CHAPTER 7 FERTILITY PREFERENCES Table 7.1 Fertility preferences by number of living children. 96 Table 7.2 Desire to limit childbearing by background characteristics . 97 Table 7.3 Need for family planning among currently married women. 99 Table 7.4 Need for family planning among all women and among women who are not currently married . 100 Table 7.5 Ideal number of children . 102 Table 7.6 Mean ideal number of children by background characteristics . 103 Table 7.7 Fertility planning status . 104 Table 7.8 Wanted fertility rates . 105 Table 7.9 Ideal number of children and unmet need for family planning by women’s status . 106 CHAPTER 8 INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITY Table 8.1 Early childhood mortality rates. 108 Table 8.2 Comparison of infant mortality rates from the 2003 NDHS and the 1990 NDHS . 109 Table 8.3 Early childhood mortality rates by background characteristics . 110 Table 8.4 Early childhood mortality rates by demographic characteristics . 111 Table 8.5 Early childhood mortality by women’s status indicators . 112 Table 8.6 High-risk fertility behaviour. 114 CHAPTER 9 MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH Table 9.1 Antenatal care . 116 Table 9.2 Number of antenatal care visits and timing of first visit . 117 Table 9.3 Antenatal care content. 119 Table 9.4 Tetanus toxoid injections . 120 Table 9.5 Place of delivery . 121 Table 9.6 Assistance during delivery . 123 Table 9.7 Delivery characteristics . 124 Table 9.8 Postnatal care by background characteristics. 126 Table 9.9 Reproductive health care by women’s status. 127 Table 9.10 Vaccinations by source of information . 128 Table 9.11 Vaccinations by background characteristics. 130 xii | Tables and figures Table 9.12 Vaccinations in first year of life. 131 Table 9.13 Prevalence and treatment of symptoms of ARI and fever.132 Table 9.14 Hand-washing materials in the household.133 Table 9.15 Disposal of child’s stools .134 Table 9.16 Prevalence of diarrhoea .135 Table 9.17 Knowledge of ORS packets .136 Table 9.18 Diarrhoea treatment .137 Table 9.19 Feeding practices during diarrhoea .138 Table 9.20 Child health care by women’s status .139 Table 9.21 Problems in accessing health care .140 Table 9.22 Use of smoking tobacco.142 Figure 9.1 Number of antenatal care visits .117 Figure 9.2 Problems in accessing health care .141 CHAPTER 10 MALARIA Table 10.1 Ownership of mosquito nets. 144 Table 10.2 Use of mosquito nets by children. 145 Table 10.3 Use of mosquito nets by pregnant women . 146 Table 10.4 Use of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) by pregnant women. 147 Table 10.5 Use of specific drugs for intermittent preventive treatment. 148 Table 10.6 Prevalence and prompt treatment of fever/convulsions . 149 Table 10.7 Type and timing of antimalarial drugs . 150 CHAPTER 11 INFANT FEEDING AND CHILDREN’S AND WOMEN’S NUTRITIONAL STATUS Table 11.1 Initial breastfeeding .152 Table 11.2 Breastfeeding status by child’s age .154 Table 11.3 Median duration and frequency of breastfeeding.155 Table 11.4 Foods consumed by children in the day or night preceding the interview .157 Table 11.5 Frequency of foods consumed by children in the day or night preceding the interview .158 Table 11.6 Frequency of foods consumed by children in preceding seven days .159 Table 11.7 Iodization of household salt .160 Table 11.8 Micronutrient intake among children .161 Table 11.9 Micronutrient intake among mothers .163 Table 11.10 Nutritional status of children.165 Table 11.11 Nutritional status of women by background characteristics.167 Figure 11.1 Median duration of breastfeeding by background characteristics. 156 Figure 11.2 Prevalence of stunting among children under five years by region and mother’s education. 164 CHAPTER 12 AIDS/HIV/STI-RELATED KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOUR Table 12.1 Knowledge of aIDS . 170 Table 12.2 Knowledge of HIV prevention methods . 171 Table 12.3.1 Beliefs about AIDS: women . 173 Table 12.3.1 Beliefs about AIDS: men. 174 Table 12.4.1 Accepting attitudes towards those living with HIV: women . 175 Table 12.4.2 Accepting attitudes towards those living with HIV: men . 176 Tables and Figures | xiii Table 12.5 Knowledge of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. 177 Table 12.6 Population who had an HIV test and received test results . 178 Table 12.7 Pregnant women counselled about HIV. 179 Table 12.8 Attitudes toward negotiating safer sex with husband . 180 Table 12.9 Men’s attitude toward condoms . 181 Table 12.10 Discussion of HIV/AIDS with partner . 182 Table 12.11 High-risk sex and condom use at last high-risk sex: women and men age 15-49 . 183 Table 12.12 High-risk sex and condom use at last high-risk sex among young women and men by background characteristics. 184 Table 12.13 Paid sex in past year . 186 Table 12.14 Age at first sex among young women and men . 187 Table 12.15 Knowledge of a source for condoms among young women and men . 188 Table 12.16 Condom use at first sex among young women and men . 189 Table 12.17 Prevalence of premarital sex in the past year and use of a condom during premaritl sex among young women and men. 190 Table 12.18 Age mixing in sexual relationships. 191 Table 12.19 Multiple sex partnerships among young women and men. 192 Table 12.20.1 Knowledge of symptoms of STIs: women. 194 Table 12.20.2 Knowledge of symptoms of STIs: men. 195 Table 12.21 Self-reporting of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and STI symptoms . 196 Table 12.22 Women and men seeking treatment for STIs. 197 Table 12.23 Orphanhood and children’s living arrangements . 198 Table 12.24 Schooling of children 10-14 by orphanhood and living arrangements . 199 Figure 12.1 High-risk sex among cohabiting and noncohabiting young women and men. 185 Figure 12.2 Abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms among young women and men. 193 CHAPTER 13 FEMALE CIRCUMCISION Table 13.1 Knowledge and prevalence of female circumcison. 202 Table 13.2 Age at circumcision . 203 Table 13.3 Daughter’s circumcision experience and type of circumcision. 204 Table 13.4 Aspects of daughter’s circumcision. 205 Table 13.5.1 Attitutdes toward female circumcision: women. 206 Table 13.5.2 Attitutdes toward female circumcision: men . 207 Table 13.6 Perceived benefits of undergoing female circumcision . 208 Table 13.7 Reasons for not supporting female circumcision. 208 APPENDIX A SAMPLE DESIGN Table A.1 Allocation of the sample . 212 Table A.2 Sample implementation: women . 214 Table A.5 Sample implementation: men. 215 APPENDIX B ESTIMATES OF SAMPLING ERRORS Table B.1 List of selected variables for sampling errors . 220 Table B.2 Sampling errors for national sample . 221 Table B.3 Sampling errors for urban sample. 222 Table B.4 Sampling errors for rural sample. 223 xiv | Tables and figures Table B.5 Sampling errors for North Central sample . 224 Table B.6 Sampling errors for North East sample. 225 Table B.7 Sampling errors for North West sample. 226 Table B.8 Sampling errors for South East sample. 227 Table B.9 Sampling errors for South South sample. 228 Table B.10 Sampling errors for South West sample. 229 APPENDIX C DATA QUALITY TABLES Table C.1 Household age distribution. 231 Table C.2.1 Age distribution of eligible and interviewed women. 232 Table C.2.2 Age distribution of eligible and interviewed men . 232 Table C.3 Completeness of reporting . 233 Table C.4 Births by calendar years . 233 Table C.5 Reporting of age at death in days . 234 Table C.6 Reporting of age at death in months . 235 Message from the Vice President | xv MESSAGE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT In the past, demographic data required for meaningful development planning was scarce and scanty. The present administration, in its efforts to ensure the production of adequate, reliable and timely demographic data, will continue to support the conduct of surveys and population censuses periodically. The implementation of the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) further shows the renewed effort of government to alleviate poverty and to resolve related health problems with the goal of overall improvement in the quality of life in Nigeria. Nigeria’s commitment to population and reproductive health issues is of paramount concern to the government, and efforts will continue to be strengthened so as to ensure that the set objectives are achieved and realized. Information provided in this report should be fully utilized by all at the three tiers of government to ensure success in the health sector. I commend USAID for the generous support provided for the study and urge the National Population Commission to continue its effort to generate additional demographic data required for meaningful planning and development. His Excellency Atiku Abubakar (Turakin Adamawa) Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeria Abuja Message from the Chairman | xvii MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN I am delighted to present the final report of the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS). The 2003 NDHS is the latest in the periodic Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) series, which started in Nigeria at the national level in 1990. The surveys are designed to measure levels, patterns, and trends of demographic and health indicators. This report, which is a sequel to the prelimi- nary report that was produced in October of last year, is more detailed and comprehensive. The success of the 2003 NDHS was made possible by the support and collaboration of a number of organizations and individuals. In this connection, I wish to acknowledge the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Nigeria), which provided the funding for the sur- vey. I also wish to express appreciation to ORC Macro for its technical assistance in all the stages of the survey. The National Population Commission remains grateful to other development partners, especially the Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UNICEF for their supportive roles. Finally, I wish to commend the report of the 2003 NDHS to policymakers, programme administrators and researchers. The text and the tables have been presented in a user-friendly manner and I hope end-users will avail themselves of this vital information. Chief S. D. Makama (Ubandoman Pyem) Chairman National Population Commission Abuja Preface | xix PREFACE The 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) is the third national Demo- graphic and Health Survey (DHS) in a series under the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys pro- gramme. The first Nigeria DHS survey was conducted in 1990. Funding for the 2003 NDHS survey was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID/Nigeria), while technical assistance was provided by ORC Macro. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Chil- dren’s Fund (UNICEF) also provided logistical support. Fieldwork for the survey took place between March and September 2003 in selected clusters nationwide. The major objective of the 2003 NDHS, which is a follow-up to the 1999 NDHS, is to obtain and provide information on fertility, fertility preferences, use and knowledge of family planning methods, ma- ternal and childhood health, maternal and childhood mortality, breastfeeding practices, nutrition, knowl- edge of HIV/AIDS, and other health issues. Compared with the 1999 NDHS, the 2003 NDHS has a wider scope. For example, unlike the 1999 survey, the 2003 survey includes a module on malaria and another on testing for salt. In addition, the 2003 data are geo-referenced to allow for more detailed geo- graphical analysis. Other innovations of the 2003 NDHS include the concurrent processing of data even as fieldwork was ongoing. This innovation served a dual purpose by facilitating field checks for errors and hastening the process of data entry and analysis. As may be expected, the findings of the 2003 NDHS are more comprehensive than findings for the two previous DHS surveys conducted in the country. Indeed, the production of the survey report within nine months after the completion of fieldwork is unprecedented, making the findings the most timely and up to date. The enforcement of standards and consistency and a response rate of more than 90 percent also make the findings very reliable. In addition to presenting national estimates, the report provides estimates of key indicators of fer- tility, mortality, and health for rural and urban areas in Nigeria and for the six geo-political zones. Over- all, the report provides information on a number of key topics to guide planners, policymakers, pro- gramme managers and researchers in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of popula- tion and health programmes in Nigeria. Highlights of the 2003 NDHS indicate on the one hand a national total fertility rate of 5.7, and on the other hand, a national infant mortality rate of 100 deaths per 1,000 live births and an under-five mor- tality rate of 203 deaths per 1,000 live births. The gap between knowledge and use of family planning methods is still wide. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS remains high. The unprecedented success of the 2003 NDHS was made possible by the contributions of a num- ber of organizations and individuals. I wish to acknowledge the support of USAID/Nigeria for funding the survey. Similarly, I appreciate ORC Macro’s technical support in the design and implementation of the survey. The personal commitment of the ORC Macro Country Manager, Ms. Holly Newby, and her colleagues is particularly remarkable and is very much appreciated. I also acknowledge and appreciate the logistics support provided by other development partners, especially the UNFPA, DFID, and UNICEF. The 2003 NDHS witnessed the support and collaboration of other stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Health. Their contributions are very much appreciated. xx | Preface As the National Population Commission continues with its efforts to ensure the availability and dissemination of up to date and reliable demographic and health data, it is hoped that end users will make use of the available information for programme evaluation and for socio-economic planning. Dr. A. O. Akinsanya Director-General National Population Commission Acknowledgments | xxi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the recent past, adequate, timely and reliable data in Nigeria have been scarce and very limited for planning and socio-economic development. The 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) is the latest in the series of DHS surveys conducted in Nigeria and provides indicators for the strategic management and monitoring of socio-economic activities including health programmes. The 2003 NDHS was designed to provide data to monitor the population and health situation in Nigeria. Specifically, the 2003 NDHS collected information on fertility levels and preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, maternal and child health, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of mothers and young children, childhood mortality, use of bed nets, female genital cutting, marriage, sexual activity, and awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. On behalf of the Commission, I gratefully acknowledge the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Nigeria) in providing funds to cover the cost of the 2003 NDHS. The technical support provided by ORC Macro played a key role during the implementation period. Wor- thy of mention is Ms. Holly Newby, the ORC Macro Country Manager who worked tirelessly during the period. Her efforts are greatly appreciated. Mr. Albert Themme and Ms. Elizabeth Britton handled data processing of the NDHS marvelously and in record time. Their efforts deserve our appreciation and grati- tude. I wish to commend the efforts of Dr. Alfredo Aliaga, the Sampling Specialist at ORC Macro, who provided technical support during the sample selection exercise. Other ORC Macro officials, such as Ms. Anne Cross, Dr. Fern Greenwell and Ms. Arlinda Zhuzhuni, deserve our deep appreciation for their con- tributions at different stages of the 2003 NDHS implementation. In the area of logistics, we acknowledge with gratitude the support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Department for International Develop- ment (DFID). The Chairman of the Commission and his team of Federal Commissioners greatly assisted during the implementation period by providing excellent leadership and advocacy support. The unflinching sup- port and technical assistance provided by the Director-General and all Directors is hereby acknowledged. The U.N. Chief Technical Adviser, Prof. G.B. Fosu, took pains in providing technical support, including the review of the report, and his efforts are highly appreciated. During the implementation period of the survey, the core team—also referred to as Zonal Coordinators—worked tirelessly and their efforts are hereby acknowledged. The survey could not have been conducted in such a timely and successful fashion without the commitment of the entire field staff of the 2003 NDHS. The entire data processing staff is also commended for their important role in the timely processing of the data. A number of organizations rendered immense support during the implementation stage including the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Action Committee on AIDS, and the National Programme on Immunization. Some members of academia in various Nigerian universities served as resource persons during the report writing exercise. Their useful contributions and commitment are commendable and hereby acknowledged. xxii | Acknowledgments Finally, our special gratitude goes to all the households, men, and women who were selected and who responded very well during the survey; without their participation and support, this project would have been a failure. Our appreciation goes to the entire people of Nigeria for their understanding and for making possible an enabling environment conducive to the conduct of this very important survey. Samuel A. Ogunlade Project Director National Population Commission Summary of Findings | xxiii SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) is the third national Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Nigeria. The 2003 NDHS is based on a nation- ally representative sample of over 7,000 house- holds. All women age 15-49 in these households and all men age 15-59 in a subsample of one- third of the households were individually inter- viewed. The survey provides up-to-date infor- mation on the population and health situation in Nigeria. Specifically, the 2003 NDHS collected information on fertility levels and preferences, awareness and use of family planning methods, maternal and child health, breastfeeding prac- tices, nutritional status of women and young children, childhood mortality, use of bed nets, female genital cutting, marriage, sexual activity, and awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in Ni- geria. The National Population Commission con- ducted the survey, which was in the field from March to August 2003. ORC Macro, though the MEASURE DHS+ project, provided technical support. The U.S. Agency for International De- velopment (USAID)/Nigeria funded the survey. Other development partners, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Department for International Development (DFID), also provided support for the survey. FERTILITY Fertility Levels, Trends, and Preferences. The total fertility rate (TFR) in Nigeria is 5.7. This means that at current fertility levels, the av- erage Nigerian woman who is at the beginning of her childbearing years will give birth to 5.7 children by the end of her lifetime. Compared with previous national surveys, the 2003 survey shows a modest decline in fertility over the last two decades: from a TFR of 6.3 in the 1981-82 National Fertility Survey (NFS) to 6.0 in the 1990 NDHS to 5.7 in the 2003 NDHS. How- ever, the 2003 NDHS rate of 5.7 is significantly higher than the 1999 NDHS rate of 5.2. Analysis has shown that the 1999 survey underestimated the true levels of fertility in Nigeria. On average, rural women will have one more child than urban women (6.1 and 4.9, respectively). Fertility varies considerably by region of residence, with lower rates in the south and higher rates in the north. Fertility also has a strong negative correlation with a woman’s educational attainment. Most Nigerians, irrespective of their number of living children, want large families. The ideal num- ber of children is 6.7 for all women and 7.3 for cur- rently married women. Nigerian men want even more children than women. The ideal number of children for all men is 8.6 and for currently married men is 10.6. Clearly, one reason for the slow decline in Nigerian fertility is the desire for large families. Birth Intervals. A 36-month interval between deliveries is best for mother and child; longer birth intervals also contribute to reduction in overall lev- els of fertility. The median birth interval in Nigeria is 31 months, which is close to the optimal interval. The median interval is lowest among mothers age 15-19 (26 months) and highest among mothers age 40-49 (39 months). While there is no difference in birth intervals between urban and rural women, birth intervals do vary considerably by region of resi- dence. Women in the South West have the longest median birth interval (37 months) and women in the South East have the shortest median birth interval (27 months), a difference of almost one year. Initiation of Sexual Behaviour and Child- bearing at Young Ages. One-third of women age 25-49 reported that they had had sexual intercourse by age 15. By age 20, more than three-quarters of women, and by age 25, nine in ten women have had sexual intercourse. One-quarter of teenage women has given birth or is pregnant. Early childbearing is more of a rural phenomenon, with 30 percent of ru- ral women age 15-19 having begun childbearing compared with 17 percent of urban women in the same age group. Overall, median age at first birth is increasing. Whereas median age at first birth is less than 19 years among women over age 35, it is 20.3 years among women age 25-29. xxiv | Summary of Findings FAMILY PLANNING Knowledge of Family Planning Methods. About eight in ten women and nine in ten men know at least one modern method of family planning. The pill, injectables, and the male condom are the most widely known modern methods among both women and men. Mass media is an important source of information on family planning. Radio is the most frequent source of family planning messages: 40 percent of women and 56 percent of men say they heard a radio message about family planning during the months preceding the survey. However, more than half of women (56 percent) and 41 percent men were not exposed to family plan- ning messages from a mass media source. Current Use. A total of 13 percent of cur- rently married women are using a method of family planning, including 8 percent who are us- ing a modern method. The most common mod- ern methods are the pill, injectables, and the male condom (2 percent each). Urban women are more than twice as likely as rural women to use a method of contraception (20 percent versus 9 percent). Contraceptive use varies significantly by region. For example, one-third of married women in the South West use a method of con- traception compared with just 4 percent of women in the North East and 5 percent of women in the North West. Source of Family Planning Methods. Fifty-eight percent of users get their contracep- tive methods from private health care providers, more than twice as many as get them from the public sector (23 percent). The private sector is the most common source for the pill (74 percent) and male condoms (59 percent). Provision of in- jectables for current users is shared equally by the private sector and the public sector (48 per- cent each). Unmet Need for Family Planning. While most women want large families, there is a mi- nority who want to limit their family size or wait a period of time before having their next birth but are not using contraception. Seventeen per- cent of currently married women are in these two categories and have an unmet need for fam- ily planning. Information on contacts of nonusers with fam- ily planning providers is important for determining whether family planning initiatives are effective or not. During the year preceding the survey, 4 percent of nonusers reported that they were visited by a fam- ily planning service provider at home; 6 percent of nonusers visited a health facility and discussed fam- ily planning with a provider; and 24 percent of non- users who visited a health facility did not discuss family planning. This is an indication of missed op- portunities for increasing family planning accep- tance and use. CHILD HEALTH Mortality. The 2003 NDHS survey estimates infant mortality to be 100 per 1,000 live births for the 1999-2003 period. This infant mortality rate is significantly higher than the estimates from both the 1990 and 1999 NDHS surveys; the earlier surveys underestimated mortality levels in certain regions of the country, which in turn biased downward the na- tional estimates. Thus, the higher rate from the 2003 NDHS is more likely due to better data quality than an actual increase in mortality risk overall. The rural infant mortality rate (121 per 1,000) is considerably higher than the urban rate (81 per 1,000), due in large part to the difference in neonatal mortality rates. As in other countries, low maternal education, a low position on the household wealth index, and shorter birth intervals are strongly associ- ated with increased mortality risk. The under-five mortality rate for the 1999-2003 period was 201 per 1,000. Vaccinations. Only 13 percent of Nigerian children age 12-23 months can be considered fully vaccinated, that is, have received BCG, measles, and three doses each of DPT and polio vaccine (exclud- ing the polio vaccine given at birth). This is the low- est vaccination rate among African countries in which DHS surveys have been conducted since 1998. Less than half of children have received each of the recommended vaccinations, with the excep- tion of polio 1 (67 percent) and polio 2 (52 percent). More than three times as many urban children as ru- ral children are fully vaccinated (25 percent and 7 percent, respectively). WHO guidelines are that children should complete the schedule of recom- mended vaccinations by 12 months of age. In Nige- ria, however, only 11 percent of children age 12–23 Summary of Findings | xxv months received all of the recommended vacci- nations before their first birthday. Childhood Illness. In the two weeks pre- ceding the survey, 10 percent of children experi- enced symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI), and 31 percent had a fever. Among chil- dren who experienced symptoms of ARI or fe- ver, almost one-third (31 percent) sought treat- ment from a health facility or health care pro- vider. Approximately one-fifth of children had di- arrhoea in the two weeks preceding the survey. Twenty-two percent of mothers reported that their children with diarrhoea were taken to a health provider. Overall, 40 percent received oral rehydration salts (ORS), recommended home fluids (RHF), or increased fluids. Less than one-fifth of children (18 percent) were given a solution made from ORS, despite the fact that 65 percent of mothers say they know about ORS packets. Although 20 percent of mothers said they gave their sick child more liq- uids than usual to drink, 38 percent of mothers said they curtailed fluid intake. NUTRITION Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is almost uni- versal in Nigeria, with 97 percent of children born in the five years preceding the survey hav- ing been breastfed. However, just one-third of children were given breast milk within one hour of birth (32 percent), and less than two-thirds were given breast milk within 24 hours of birth (63 percent). Overall, the median duration of any breastfeeding is 18.6 months, while the median duration of exclusive breastfeeding is only half a month. Complementary Feeding. At age 6-9 months, the recommended age for introducing complementary foods, three-quarters of breast- feeding infants received solid or semisolid foods during the day or night preceding the interview; 56 percent received food made from grains, 25 percent received meat, fish, shellfish, poultry or eggs, and 24 percent received fruits or vegeta- bles. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A were consumed by 20 percent of breastfeeding infants age 6-9 months. Nutritional Status of Children. Overall, 38 percent children are stunted (short for their age), 9 percent of children are wasted or thin (low weight- for-height), and 29 percent of children are under- weight (low weight-for-age). Generally, children who live in rural areas or in the north and children of uneducated mothers are significantly more likely to be undernourished than other children. The children in the North West are particularly disadvantaged— one-third are severely stunted, which reflects exten- sive long-term malnutrition in the region. Nutritional Status of Women. The mean body mass index (BMI) of Nigerian women is 22.3, which falls well within the internationally accepted normal range (between 18.5 and 24.9). Almost two-thirds of women (64 percent) have BMIs falling in the normal range; 15 percent are thin, including 2 percent who are severely thin. The youngest women are the most likely of all the population subgroups to be thin; one-quarter of women age 15-19 have a BMI of less than 18.5. One-fifth of Nigerian women weigh more than they should: 15 percent are overweight and 6 percent are obese. The likelihood of being over- weight or obese increases with age. WOMEN’S HEALTH Maternal Care. Almost two-thirds of mothers in Nigeria (63 percent) received some antenatal care (ANC) for their most recent live birth in the five years preceding the survey. While one-fifth of moth- ers (21 percent) received ANC from a doctor, almost four in ten women received care from nurses or midwives (37 percent). Almost half of women (47 percent) made the minimum number of four recom- mended visits, but most of the women who received antenatal care did not get care within the first three months of pregnancy. In terms of content of care, slightly more than half of women who received antenatal care said that they were informed of potential pregnancy compli- cations (55 percent). Fifty-eight percent of women received iron tablets; almost two-thirds had a urine or blood sample taken; and 81 percent had their blood pressure measured. Almost half (47 percent) received no tetanus toxoid injections during their most recent birth. The majority of births in Nigeria occur at home (66 percent). Only one-third of live births during the five years preceding the survey occured in a health xxvi | Summary of Findings facility. Slightly more than one-third of births are attended by a doctor, nurse, or midwife. A smaller proportion of women receive postnatal care, which is crucial for monitoring and treating complications in the first two days after deliv- ery. Only 23 percent of women who gave birth outside a health facility received postnatal care within two days of the birth of their last child. More than seven in ten women who delivered outside a health facility received no postnatal care at all. Across all maternal care indicators, rural women are disadvantaged compared with urban women, and there are marked regional differ- ences among women. Overall, women in the south, particularly the South East and South West, received better care than women in the north, especially women in the North East and North West. Female Circumcision. Almost one-fifth of Nigerian women are circumcised, but the data suggest that the practice is declining. The oldest women are more than twice as likely as the youngest women to have been circumcised (28 percent versus 13 percent). Prevalence is highest among the Yoruba (61 percent) and Igbo (45 percent), who traditionally reside in the South West and South East. Half of the circumcised respondents could not identify the type of proce- dure performed. Among those women who could identify the type of procedure, the most common type of circumcision involved cutting and removal of flesh (44 percent of all circum- cised women). Four percent of women reported that their vaginas were sewn closed during cir- cumcision. Among the 53 percent of Nigerian women who had heard of female circumcision, two- thirds (66 percent) believe that female circumci- sion should be discontinued, while 21 percent want the practice to continue. Continuation of female circumcision finds greater support among southerners than northerners and among those who are circumcised than the uncircumcised. Even so, less than half of circumcised women want the practice to be continued (42 percent). Among men who had heard of the practice, simi- lar to women, almost two-thirds are against con- tinuation of female circumcision, while about one-fifth of this group were in favour if it. Perceived Constraints to Use of Health Care. Survey respondents were asked to identify barriers to accessing health care services for themselves. Almost half of women cite at least one barrier to care. The most commonly cited problem is getting money for treatment (30 percent), followed by dis- tance to health facility, and having to take transport (24 percent each). One in ten women say that getting permission to go is a problem. WOMEN’S CHARACTERISTICS AND STATUS While the majority of Nigerian women have had some education, 42 percent have never attended school. This is almost twice the proportion of men who have never attended school (22 percent). Slightly over half of women report being cur- rently employed (56 percent). Eighty-four percent of working women earn cash only or cash in addition to in-kind earnings. Almost three-quarters of women who receive cash earnings report that they alone de- cide how their earnings are used. An additional 16 percent say that they decide jointly with their hus- band or someone else. Only 10 percent of women report that someone else decides how their earnings will be used. The 2003 NDHS collected information on women’s participation in different types of decisions in the household. Almost half (46 percent) of cur- rently married women reported that they did not have a final say (either alone or jointly) in any speci- fied decision. Among married women, household decisionmaking is highly dominated by husbands. To assess attitudes toward wife beating, re- spondents were asked whether a husband would be justified in beating his wife for specific reasons. A majority of both women and men (approximately six in ten) believe there are occasions when a man is justified in beating his wife. For example, approxi- mately half of women believe that a husband is justi- fied in hitting his wife if she goes out without telling him or if she neglects the children. These were also the most common justifications cited by men (50 percent and 47 percent, respectively). MALARIA CONTROL PROGRAM INDICATORS Nets. Although malaria is a major public health concern in Nigeria, only 12 percent of households report owning at least one mosquito net. Even fewer, Summary of Findings | xxvii 2 percent of households, own an insecticide treated net (ITN). Rural households are almost three times as likely as urban households to own at least one mosquito net. Overall, 6 percent of children under age five sleep under a mosquito net, including 1 percent of children who sleep under an ITN. Five percent of pregnant women slept under a mosquito net the night before the survey, one-fifth of them under an ITN. Use of Antimalarials. Overall, 20 percent of women reported that they took an antimalarial for prevention of malaria during their last preg- nancy in the five years preceding the survey. Another 17 percent reported that they took an unknown drug, and 4 percent took paracetamol or herbs to prevent malaria. Only 1 percent re- ceived intermittent preventative treatment (IPT)—or preventive treatment with sulfadox- ine-pyrimethamine (Fansidar/SP) during an an- tenatal care visit. Among pregnant women who took an antimalarial, more than half (58 percent) used Daraprim, which has been found to be inef- fective as a chemoprophylaxis during preg- nancy. Additionally, 39 percent used chloro- quine, which was the chemoprophylactic drug of choice until the introduction of IPT in Nigeria in 2001. Among children who were sick with fe- ver/convulsions, one-third took antimalarial drugs, the majority receiving the drugs the same day as the onset of the fever/convulsions or the following day. HIV/AIDS AND OTHER STIS Knowledge. Almost all men (97 percent) and a majority of women (86 percent) reported that they had heard of AIDS. Considerably fewer know how to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus; men are better informed than women. Sixty-three percent of men and 45 per- cent of women reported knowing that condom use protects against HIV/AIDS. More respon- dents (six in ten women and eight in ten men) reported knowing that limiting the number of sexual partners is a way to avoid HIV/AIDS. Less than half of the population knows that mother to child trans- mission of HIV is possible through breastfeeding. Few people (less than one in ten) know that a woman living with HIV can take drugs during preg- nancy to reduce the risk of transmission. HIV Testing and Counselling. Six percent of women and 14 percent of men have been tested for HIV and received the results of their test. During the 12 months preceding the survey, only 3 percent of women and 6 percent of men were tested and re- ceived their test results. About one-quarter of women received counselling or information about HIV/AIDS during an antenatal care visit. High-risk Sex. A much higher percentage of men than women report having had sex with a non- marital, noncohabiting partner at some time during the year preceding the survey (39 percent of men versus 14 percent of women). Less than half of men (47 percent) and less than one-quarter of women (23 percent) reported using a condom the last time they had sex with a nonmarital, noncohabiting partner. Fifteen percent of men who are currently married or cohabiting reported having high-risk sex in the past 12 months. Sexually Transmitted Infections. Five percent of both women and men reported having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or an associated symp- tom during the 12 months preceding the survey. The never-married population of both women and men are most at risk. Eight percent of never-married women and 7 percent of never-married men reported having an STI or STI symptom. Of these, 68 percent of women and 83 percent of men sought treatment for their STI or STI symptom; however, not every- one went to a health professional. Orphanhood. Nationwide, fewer than 1 per- cent of children have lost both parents; 6 percent of children under age 15 have lost at least one parent. Burkina� Faso Niger Cameroon CAR Chad DRCGabon Equatorial� Guinea Benin Togo NORTH EAST NORTH WEST NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH� WEST SOUTH� SOUTH SOUTH� EAST Yobe Kaduna Kano Jigawa Katsina Sokoto Zamfara Kebbi Niger F.C.T. Bauchi Gombe Plateau Nasarawa BenueKogi Kwara Oyo Ogun Ondo Edo Delta Enugu Anambra Cross� River AbiaAbia EbonyiEbonyi Imo Akwa� Ibom Osun Ekiti Borno Adamawa Taraba Gulf of Guinea Lagos Bayelsa Rivers NIGERIA xxviii | Map of Nigeria Introduction | 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND ECONOMY OF NIGERIA History The evolution of Nigeria from the mid-1800s until it attained independence in 1960 is largely the story of the transformational impact of the British on the people and culture of the Niger-Benue area. The British were in the Niger-Benue area to pursue interests that were largely economic and strategic. In the process of seeking to realize those interests, a sociopolitical aggregation—known today as Nigeria— emerged. Nigeria came into existence as a nation-state in 1914 through the amalgamation of the North and South protectorates. Before then, there were various separate cultural, ethnic, and linguistic groups, such as the Oyo, Benin, Nupe, Jukun, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausa-Fulani empires. These peoples lived in king- doms and emirates with traditional but sophisticated systems of government. There were also other rela- tively small but strong—and indeed resistant—ethnic groups (e.g., Ibo, Ibibio, and Tiv). The British established a crown colony type of government after the amalgamation. The affairs of the colonial administration were conducted by the British until 1942, when a few Nigerians became in- volved in the administration of the country. In the early 1950s, Nigeria achieved partial self-government with a legislature in which the majority of the members were elected into an executive council; most were Nigerians. Nigeria became a federation of three regions in 1954 and remained so until its independence in October 1960, with the Lagos area as the Federal Capital Territory. Three years later, on October 1, 1963, Nigeria became a republic. Nigeria has since had different administrative structures. Within the bounda- ries of Nigeria are many social groups with distinct cultural traits, which are reflected in the diverse be- haviour of the people. There are about 374 identifiable ethnic groups, but the Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba are the major groups. Presently, Nigeria is made up of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which are grouped into six geopolitical regions: North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South, and South West. There are also 774 constitutionally recognized Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country. Geography Nigeria lies between 4º16' and 13º53' north latitude and between 2º40' and 14º41' east longitude. The country is in the West African subregion and borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cam- eroon in the east, and Benin in the west. To the south, Nigeria is bordered by approximately 800 kilome- tres of the Atlantic Ocean, stretching from Badagry in the west to the Rio del Rey in the east. With a total land area of 923,768 square kilometres, the country is the fourth largest in Africa. Nigeria is diverse climatically and topographically and exhibits a great variety of relief features, encom- passing uplands of 600 to 1,300 metres on the North Central and the east highlands and lowlands of less than 20 metres in the coastal areas. The lowlands extend from the Sokoto plains to the Borno plains in the North, the coastal lowlands of Western Nigeria, and the Cross River basin in the east. The highland in- cludes the Jos Plateau and the Adamawa highlands in the North, extending to the Obudu Plateau and 2 | Introduction Oban Hills in the South East. Other topographic features include the Niger-Benue Trough and Chad Ba- sin. Nigeria has a tropical climate with wet and dry seasons associated with the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone north and south of the equator. The dry season occurs from October to March with a spell of coolness and dry, dusty harmattan wind felt mostly in the north in December and January. The wet season occurs from April to September. The temperature oscillates between 25° and 40°C, while rainfall ranges from 2,650 millimetres in the southeast to less than 600 millimetres in some parts of the north, mainly on the fringes of the Sahara Desert. The vegetation that results from these cli- matic differences consists of mangrove swamp forest in the Niger Delta and Sahel grassland in the north. Within a wide range of climatic, vegetation, and soil conditions, Nigeria possesses potential for a wide range of agricultural production. Economy Nigeria’s economic history and development have been closely tied to its agricultural sector. Be- fore the discovery of oil, the country depended almost entirely on agriculture for food and on agro- industrial raw materials for foreign exchange earnings through commodity trade. Agriculture also pro- vided gainful employment to over 75 percent of the country’s labour force and satisfactory livelihood to over 90 percent of the population at the time of the country’s independence. Over the years, the dominant role of agriculture in the economy, especially in terms of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, gave way to petroleum. Since 1980, oil production has accounted for more than two-thirds of the gross domes- tic product (GDP) and more than 80 percent of total government revenue. To date, the government has largely controlled vast industrial and commercial enterprises; however, there is now a vigorous drive to privatization. There are also large, multinational companies, as well as organized small-scale enterprises. Since the onset of the new democratic administration in 1999, economic policies have become more favourable to investment. Consequently, there has been an improvement in the performance of the domestic economy. Nigeria’s GDP was estimated at 2.7 percent in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000, and 3.8 per- cent in 2001. The aggregate index of agricultural production was 3.9 percent in 2001, compared with 3.7 percent in 1999. The average industrial capacity utilization was 35.5 percent in 2001, representing an in- crease of 4.5 percent over the 1999 figure of 31 percent (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2002). Before the ad- vent of the civilian administration in 1999, Nigeria had a large public sector, comprising over 550 public enterprises in most sectors of the economy and dominating activities in power, telecommunication, petro- leum, and steel sectors. The public enterprise sector accounts for an estimated 50 percent of the total GDP, 57 percent of investments, and two thirds of formal sector employment. Like other developing countries, the civilian administration in Nigeria has recognized the impor- tance of privatization in the restructuring of its economy. The country embarked on a broader economic reform and liberalization programme designed to restore macroeconomic stability, achieve faster sustain- able growth, raise living standards, and reduce poverty. The reform programme was also aimed at pro- moting greater private sector participation in economic activity, and it included the maintenance of sound macroeconomic policies, as well as deregulation, with emphasis on power, telecommunications, and downstream petroleum sectors. It is too early to determine the impact of privatization and liberalization on the Nigerian economy. However, it is believed that these economic policy reforms, combined with investments in human resources and physical infrastructure, as well as the establishment of macroeco- nomic stability and good governance, are essential to achieve a high rate of self-sustaining, long-term economic growth. Introduction | 3 1.2 POPULATION AND BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS In Nigeria, population has always been a contentious issue. Censuses conducted in Nigeria have been controversial and have on occasion given rise to impassioned concerns from sections of the popula- tion. To a large extent, this has been because population figures are used by the federal government as one factor in the allocation of funds. They are also used to determine representation in the Houses of Assem- bly and both chambers of the National Assembly. The first attempt at a population census in Nigeria was in 1866. Subsequent censuses before 1952, such as 1911 and 1922, were restricted to some sections of the country. The 1952-53 enumeration was the first nationwide census. The first postindependence census conducted in 1962 was cancelled be- cause of alleged irregularities in its conduct. Another census conducted in 1963 was officially accepted (Table 1.1). The 1973 exercise was declared unacceptable and was cancelled. Thereafter, no attempt was made at conducting a census until 1991. The total population of Nigeria as reported in the 1991 census was 88,992,220. Using a growth rate of 2.83 percent per annum, the National Population Commission (NPC) estimates the current popula- tion of Nigeria to be about 126 million. This makes Nigeria the most populous nation in Africa and the tenth most populous in the world. The spatial distribution of the population within the country is uneven. Extensive areas in the Chad Basin, the middle Niger Valley, the grass plains, and the Niger Delta, among others, are sparsely populated. In contrast, there are large areas of densely populated rural districts, which support more than 400 persons per square kilometre in parts of Akwa Ibom, Imo, Anambra, and Enugu State, as well as around Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto States. However, the average population density of the country in 1991 was 96 persons per square kilometre. The most densely populated states are Lagos, Anambra, Imo, and Akwa Ibom. Except for Lagos, all states with high population densities are located in the South East of Nigeria. Kano State, with an average density of 281 persons per square kilometre, is by far the most densely populated state in the north. The population of Nigeria is predominantly rural; approximately one-third live in urban areas. The states with the largest proportion of urban population are Lagos (94 percent), Oyo (69 percent), and Anambra (62 percent). The least urbanized states, with an urban population under 15 percent, include Sokoto (14 percent), Kebbi (12 percent), Akwa Ibom (12 percent) Taraba (10 percent), and Jigawa (7 per- cent) (NPC, 1998). Table 1.1 Basic demographic indicators Demographic indicators from various sources, Nigeria 1963-1999 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Census NFS NDHS Census NDHS Indicators 1963 1981-1982 1990 1991 19991 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Population (millions) 55.7 84.7 u 88.9 u Density (pop./sq.km) 60 92 u 96 u Percent urban 19 23 24 36.3 u Crude birth rate (CBR) 66 46 39 44.6 38 Crude death rate (CDR) 27 16 u 14 u Total fertility rate (TFR) u 6.3 6 5.9 5.2 Infant mortality rate (IMR) u 85 87 93 78 Life expectancy at birth 36 48 u 53.2 u –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– u = Unknown (not available) 1 Reported rates. See 1999 NDHS final report for information on data quality. Sources: National Population Commission; Federal Office of Statistics 4 | Introduction The effort to generate reliable demographic data has included the conduct of numerous sample surveys. These include the 1965-66 Rural Demographic Sample Survey and the 1980 National Demo- graphic Sample Survey (NDSS) conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics and the National Population Bureau, respectively. The 1981-1982 Nigeria Fertility Survey (NFS) was the first nationally representative survey on fertility, family planning, contraceptive use, and related topics. The first Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) followed in 1990. In addition to the topics covered by the NFS, the 1990 NDHS also col- lected information on issues related to maternal and child health. In 1994, the first sentinel survey was conducted to serve as a baseline study to monitor the various projects designed to achieve the objectives of the National Population Policy. In 1999, another NDHS was conducted. This was followed by a senti- nel survey conducted in 2000. 1.3 POPULATION AND HEALTH POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES Population Policies and Programmes On February 4, 1988, the Federal Government of Nigeria approved the National Policy on Popu- lation for Development in response to the pattern of population growth rate and its adverse effect on na- tional development. Since that time, emerging issues highlighted by the 1991 National Population Cen- sus, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the 1999 AIDS/HIV Summit in Abuja, and other fora resulted in a revision of the National Population Policy, which was signed by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Oluse- gun Obasanjo (GCFR), on January 14, 2004.1 The policy recognizes that population factors, social and economic development, and environmental issues are irrevocably entwined and are all critical to the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria. The overall goal of the 2004 National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development is the improvement of the quality of life and the standards of living of the people of Nigeria. The specific goals are the following: • Achievement of sustained economic growth, poverty eradication, protection and preservation of the environment, and provision of quality social services • Achievement of a balance between the rate of population growth, available resources, and the social and economic development of the country • Progress towards a complete demographic transition to reasonable birth rates and low death rates. • Improvement in the reproductive health of all Nigerians at every stage of the life cycle • Acceleration of a strong and immediate response to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and other related infectious diseases • Progress in achieving balanced and integrated urban and rural development. To achieve these goals, the 2004 population policy sets out the following objectives: 1 Although the policy has been approved by the government, some changes are still expected. Introduction | 5 • Increase understanding and awareness of the interrelationships between population factors, social and economic development, and the environment, and their mutual importance to the long-term sustainable development of Nigeria • Expand access and coverage and improve the quality of reproductive and sexual health care services • Strengthen and expand a comprehensive family planning and fertility management pro- gramme that ensures that all couples/individuals who want them have uninterrupted access to a reasonable range of contraceptive methods at affordable prices, and is also adequately re- sponsive to the needs of infertile and subfertile couples • Strengthen and improve safe motherhood programmes to reduce maternal mortality and mor- bidity and enhance the health of women • Reduce infant and child mortality and improve the health and nutritional status of Nigerian children through expanded access to high-quality promotive, preventive, and curative health care services • Promote Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) programmes to increase reproductive and sexual health knowledge, awareness, and behavioural change among Nigerians • Empower women to participate actively and fully in all aspects of Nigeria’s development and effectively address gender issues • Enhance the involvement of men in reproductive health programmes and health care • Increase the integration of adolescents and young people into development efforts and effec- tively address their reproductive health and related needs • Increase and intensify coverage of population and family life education programmes • Accelerate the integration of reproductive health and family planning concerns into sectoral programmes and activities • Use effective advocacy to promote and accelerate attitudinal change towards population and reproductive health issues among public and private sector leaders • Reduce and eventually eliminate harmful social and cultural practices that adversely affect the reproductive health of the population through the promotion of behavioural change and appropriate legislation • Strengthen the national response to HIV/AIDS to rapidly control the spread of the epidemic and mitigate its social and economic impacts • Encourage the integration of population groups with special needs, including nomads, refu- gees and displaced persons, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and remote rural dwellers into the development process • Accelerate progress towards integrated urban and rural development and balanced population distribution 6 | Introduction • Increase enrolment and retention of children, especially girls, in basic education and raise lit- eracy levels among Nigerians • Accelerate the integration of population factors into development planning at national, state and local government levels • Improve the population, social, and economic database; promote and support population and development research; and help leadership groups recognize the important contribution that planning and data utilization make to the good governance of Nigeria • Improve systems for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the population policy and for reviewing the policy at periodic intervals. The Government of Nigeria has set the goal of a 2-percent population growth rate by 2015 or be- yond in its National Economic Policy. The targets for reduction in the total fertility rate and increases in modern contraceptive prevalence indicated below are consistent with this goal. The following key targets have been set to guide policy, programme planning, and implementation: • Achieve a reduction of the national population growth rate to 2 percent or lower by the year 2015 • Achieve a reduction in the total fertility rate of at least 0.6 children every five years • Increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate by at least 2 percentage points per year • Reduce the infant mortality rate to 35 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2015 • Reduce the child mortality rate to 45 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2015 • Reduce the maternal mortality ratio to 125 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2010 and to 75 per 100,000 live births by 2015 • Achieve sustainable universal basic education as soon as possible prior to 2015 • Eliminate the gap between men and women in enrolment in secondary, tertiary, vocational and technical education and training by 2015 • Eliminate illiteracy by 2020 • Achieve a 25 percent reduction in the adult prevalence of HIV every five years. Health Policies and Programmes The Federal Government has several programmes and policies aimed at improving health care de- livery services. The fourth National Development Plan (1981-1985) established a government commit- ment to provide adequate and effective primary health care that is promotive, protective, preventive, re- storative, and rehabilitative to the entire population by the year 2000. A national health policy was conse- quently adopted in 1988. Its goal is to provide a formal framework for the direction of health management in Nigeria. The objective is to provide the population with access not only to primary health care but also to secondary and tertiary care, as needed, through a functional referral system. It defines the roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of government, as well as of civil society and nongovernmental organiza- tions (NGOs). Introduction | 7 In general, the provision of health services is the responsibility of federal, state, and local gov- ernments as well as religious organizations and individuals. The services are organized in a three-tier health care system: 1) Primary health care, which is largely the responsibility of local governments, with the sup- port of the State Ministry of Health 2) Secondary health care, which provides specialized services to patients referred from the pri- mary health care level and is the responsibility of the state government 3) Tertiary health care, which provides highly specialized referral services to the primary and secondary levels of the health care delivery system and is in the domain of the federal and state governments. The national health policy regards primary health care as the framework to achieve improved health for the population. Primary health care services include health education; adequate nutrition; safe water and sanitation; reproductive health, including family planning; immunization against five major infectious diseases; provision of essential drugs; and disease control. The policy document requires that a comprehensive health care system delivered through the primary health centers should include maternal and child health care, including family planning services. The health sector is characterized by wide regional disparities in status, service delivery, and re- source availability. More health services are located in the southern states than in the north. The health sector has deteriorated despite Nigeria’s high number of medical personnel per capita. The current priori- ties in the health sector are in the area of childhood immunization and prevention of HIV/AIDS. 1.4 EDUCATION Education in Nigeria has evolved over a long period of time, with a series of policy changes. As a result, there have been increases in the enrolment of children and in the number of educational institutions both in the public and private sectors. The 1976 National Policy on Universal Primary Education gives every child the right to tuition-free primary education. Later, the 6-3-3-4 system was introduced, estab- lishing six years of primary education, followed by three years of junior secondary and three years of sen- ior secondary education; the last segment of four years is for university or polytechnic education. Subse- quently, the National Literacy Programme for Adults was launched, followed by the establishment of no- madic education to address the needs of children of migrant cattle herders and fishermen in the riverine areas. In October 1999, Universal Basic Education (UBE) was launched, making it compulsory for every child to be educated free of tuition up to the junior secondary school level in an effort to meet Nigeria’s manpower requirement for national development. 1.5 ORGANIZATION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE 2003 NIGERIA DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY The 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) is the latest in a series of nationally representative population and health surveys conducted in Nigeria. The 2003 NDHS was con- ducted by the National Population Commission (NPC); all activities were coordinated by a 12-member committee. The survey was funded by USAID/Nigeria, while ORC Macro provided technical support through MEASURE DHS+, a project sponsored by the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist countries worldwide in conducting surveys to obtain information on key population and health indicators. Other development partners, including the Department for International Develop- ment (DFID), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also provided support for the survey. 8 | Introduction The 2003 NDHS was designed to provide estimates for key indicators such as fertility, contracep- tive use, infant and child mortality, immunization levels, use of family planning, maternal and child health, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of mothers and young children, use of mosquito nets, female genital cutting, marriage, sexual activity, and awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in Nigeria. Sample Design The sample for the 2003 NDHS was designed to provide estimates of population and health indi- cators (including fertility and mortality rates) for Nigeria as a whole, urban and rural areas, and six major subdivisions. A representative probability sample of 7,864 households was selected for the 2003 NDHS sam- ple. The sample was selected in two stages. In the first stage, 365 clusters were selected from a list of enumeration areas developed from the 1991 population census. In the second stage, a complete listing of households was carried out in each selected cluster. Households were then systematically selected for par- ticipation in the survey. All women age 15-49 who were either permanent residents of the households in the 2003 NDHS sample or visitors present in the household on the night before the survey were eligible to be interviewed. In addition, in a subsample of one-third of all households selected for the survey, all men age 15-59 were eligible to be interviewed if they were either permanent residents or visitors present in the household on the night before the survey. Questionnaires Three questionnaires were used for the 2003 NDHS: the Household Questionnaire, the Women’s Questionnaire, and the Men’s Questionnaire. The content of these questionnaires was based on the model questionnaires developed by the MEASURE DHS+ programme for use in countries with low levels of contraceptive use. The questionnaires were adapted during a technical workshop organized by the National Popula- tion Commission to reflect relevant issues in population and health in Nigeria. The workshop was at- tended by experts from the government, NGOs, and international donors. The adapted questionnaires were translated from English into the three major languages (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba) and pretested dur- ing November 2002. The Household Questionnaire was used to list all usual members and visitors in the selected households. Some basic information was collected on the characteristics of each person listed, including age, sex, education, and relationship to the head of the household. The main purpose of the Household Questionnaire was to identify women and men who were eligible for the individual interview. The Household Questionnaire also collected information on characteristics of the household’s dwelling unit, such as the source of water, type of toilet facilities, materials used for the floor of the house, ownership of various durable goods, and ownership and use of mosquito nets. Additionally, the Household Question- naire was used to record height and weight measurements of women age 15-49 and children under the age of 6. The Women’s Questionnaire was used to collect information from all women age 15-49. These women were asked questions on the following topics: • Background characteristics (e.g., education, residential history, media exposure) • Birth history and childhood mortality Introduction | 9 • Knowledge and use of family planning methods • Fertility preferences • Antenatal and delivery care • Breastfeeding and child feeding practices • Vaccinations and childhood illnesses • Marriage and sexual activity • Woman’s work and husband’s background characteristics • Awareness and behaviour regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections • Female genital cutting. The Men’s Questionnaire was administered to all men age 15-59 living in every third household in the 2003 NDHS sample. The Men’s Questionnaire collected much of the same information found in the Women’s Questionnaire, but was shorter because it did not contain a reproductive history or questions on maternal and child health or nutrition. Training of Field Staff Over 100 people were recruited by the NPC to serve as supervisors, field editors, male and female interviewers, quality control personnel, and reserve interviewers. Efforts were made to recruit high- calibre personnel who came from all of the 36 states and the FCT to ensure appropriate linguistic and cul- tural diversity. They all participated in the main interviewer training, which was conducted from February 17 to March 8, 2003. The training was conducted in English and included lectures, presentations by out- side experts, practical demonstrations, and practice interviewing in small groups. The practice interviews were conducted in the languages that the questionnaires were translated into: English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. Practice in certain less common dialects was also accomplished by translating directly from the English questionnaires. All of the field staff participated in three days of field practice. Finally, a series of special lectures was held specifically for the group comprising supervisors, field editors, quality control personnel, and field coordinators. Fieldwork Fieldwork for the 2003 NDHS took place over a five-month period, from March to August 2003. Twelve interviewing teams carried out data collection. Each team consisted of one team supervisor, one field editor, four female interviewers, one male interviewer, and one driver. Special care was taken to monitor the quality of data collection. First, the field editor was responsible for reviewing all question- naires for quality and consistency before the team’s departure from the cluster. The field editor and su- pervisor would also sit in on interviews periodically. Twelve staff assigned from the NPC coordinated fieldwork activities and visited the teams at regular intervals to monitor the work. In addition, quality con- trol personnel independently reinterviewed selected households after the departure of the teams. These checks were performed periodically through the duration of the fieldwork. ORC Macro also participated in field supervision. Data Processing The processing of the 2003 NDHS results began shortly after the fieldwork commenced. Com- pleted questionnaires were returned periodically from the field to NPC headquarters in Abuja, where they were entered and edited by data processing personnel who were specially trained for this task. The data processing personnel included two supervisors, a questionnaire administrator (who ensured that the ex- pected numbers of questionnaires from all clusters were received), three office editors, 12 data entry op- erators, and a secondary editor. The concurrent processing of the data was an advantage since the NPC was able to advise field teams of problems detected during the data entry. In particular, tables were gener- 10 | Introduction ated to check various data quality parameters. As a result, specific feedback was given to the teams to improve performance. The data entry and editing phase of the survey was completed in September 2003. 1.6 RESPONSE RATES Table 1.2 shows household and individual response rates for the 2003 NDHS. A total of 7,864 households were selected for the sample, of which 7,327 were found. The shortfall is largely due to struc- tures that were found to be vacant. Of the 7,327 existing households, 7,225 were successfully interviewed, yielding a household response rate of 99 percent. In these households, 7,985 women were identified as eligible for the individual interview. Interviews were completed with 95 percent of them. Of the 2,572 eligible men identified, 91 percent were successfully interviewed. There is little difference between urban and rural response rates. Table 1.2 Results of the household and individual interviews Number of households, number of interviews, and response rates, accord- ing to residence, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence ––––––––––––––––– Result Urban Rural Total ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Household interviews Households selected 3,163 4,701 7,864 Households occupied 2,979 4,348 7,327 Households interviewed 2,931 4,294 7,225 Household response rate 98.4 98.8 98.6 Interviews with women Number of eligible women 3,181 4,804 7,985 Number of eligible women interviewed 3,057 4,563 7,620 Eligible woman response rate 96.1 95.0 95.4 Interviews with men Number of eligible men 1,073 1,499 2,572 Number of eligible men interviewed 986 1,360 2,346 Eligible man response rate 91.9 90.7 91.2 Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 11 HOUSEHOLD POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 2 This chapter presents a descriptive summary of some demographic and socioeconomic character- istics of the population in the sampled households. Also examined are environmental conditions such as housing facilities and physical features of the dwelling units in which the population lives. All usual residents of each sampled household, plus all visitors who slept in that household the night before the interview, were listed using the household questionnaire. Some basic information was collected for each person, including age, sex, marital status, and education. In addition, information was collected on whether each person is a usual resident of the household or a visitor, and whether the person slept in the household the night prior to the survey interview. This allows the analysis of either de jure (usual residents) or de facto (those who are physically present there at the time of the survey) populations. 2.1 HOUSEHOLD POPULATION BY AGE, SEX, AND RESIDENCE Table 2.1 shows the distribution of the de facto household population in the 2003 Nigeria Demo- graphic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) by five-year age groups, according to sex and urban-rural resi- dence. The 2003 NDHS households constitute a population of 35,173 persons. The population age struc- ture indicates the history of the population of Nigeria and also its future course (Figure 2.1). About 50 percent of the population is female, and 50 percent is male. The proportion of persons in the younger age groups is substantially larger than the proportion in the older age groups for each sex in both urban and rural areas, which reflects the young age structure of the Nigerian population and is an indication of a population with high fertility. Forty-four percent of the population is below 15 years of age and 4 percent is age 65 or older. Table 2.1 Household population by age, sex, and residence Percent distribution of the de facto household population by five-year age groups, according to sex and resi- dence, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Urban Rural Total ––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––– Age Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– <5 14.8 15.2 15.0 18.2 16.7 17.4 17.0 16.2 16.6 5-9 14.4 13.1 13.7 15.7 14.9 15.3 15.2 14.3 14.8 10-14 12.4 13.4 12.9 12.2 11.8 12.0 12.3 12.3 12.3 15-19 10.8 10.4 10.6 9.5 10.3 9.9 9.9 10.3 10.1 20-24 9.6 9.4 9.5 7.8 8.9 8.4 8.4 9.1 8.8 25-29 7.7 8.8 8.3 6.4 8.1 7.3 6.8 8.4 7.6 30-34 6.3 5.7 6.0 5.7 5.9 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.9 35-39 4.4 5.7 5.1 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.9 4.7 40-44 4.4 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.2 45-49 4.1 3.5 3.8 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.3 3.4 50-54 3.0 3.5 3.3 3.2 3.8 3.5 3.1 3.7 3.4 55-59 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.2 60-64 2.1 1.7 1.9 2.5 2.0 2.3 2.4 1.9 2.1 65-69 1.5 1.1 1.3 1.6 1.1 1.4 1.6 1.1 1.4 70-74 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.5 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.1 75-79 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.5 80 + 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Number 6,017 5,870 11,887 11,441 11,844 23,286 17,459 17,714 35,173 12 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics 2.2 HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION Information about the composition of households by sex of the head of the household and size of the household is presented in Table 2.2. The data show that households in Nigeria are predominantly headed by men (83 percent) and less than one in five (17 percent) are headed by women. Female-headed households are more common in urban areas (19 percent) than in rural areas (15 percent). There is signifi- cant variation by region: the proportion of households headed by a female ranges from a low of 7 percent in the North East to a high of 28 percent in the South South. The average household size in Nigeria is 5.0 persons. The household size is slightly higher in ru- ral areas than in urban areas (5.1 versus 4.7 persons). It is also higher in the north than the south. Figure 2.1 Population Pyramid 80+ 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 0246810 0 2 4 6 8 10 NDHS 2003 Age Male Percent Female Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 13 2.3 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Educational attainment is perhaps the most important characteristic of household members. Many phenomena such as reproductive behaviour, use of contraception, children’s health, and proper hygienic habits are related to the education of household members. Table 2.3 shows the classification of the house- hold members by educational attainment, according to age group, residence, and geopolitical region for each sex. Although the majority of the household population age 6 and older has some education, 46 per- cent of females and 31 percent of males have never attended school. With the exception of the youngest age group, some of whom will begin to attend school in the future, the proportion with no education increases with age. For example, the proportion of women who have never attended any formal schooling increases from 27 percent among those age 10-14 to 89 percent among those age 65 and above. For men, the proportion increases from 18 percent of those age 10-14 to 70 percent of those age 65 and older. Approximately one-quarter of women and one-third of men have attended at least some secondary schooling, however, the median number of years of schooling is 0.2 for females and 3.6 for males. Educational attainment is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The proportion of the popula- tion that has achieved any education varies among Nigeria’s geopolitical regions. The North West and North East have the highest proportion of persons with no education—seven in ten women and half of men—while the South East has the lowest percentage who have never been to school among females (18 percent) and South South among males (9 percent). Table 2.2 Household composition Percent distribution of households by sex of head of household and household size, according to residence, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence Region ––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– North North North South South South Characteristic Urban Rural Central East West East South West Total –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sex of head of household Male 81.0 84.8 84.3 93.5 92.1 73.5 71.8 76.8 83.4 Female 19.0 15.2 15.7 6.5 7.9 26.5 28.2 23.2 16.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Number of usual members 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.2 1 14.9 9.8 10.7 9.1 7.1 16.8 15.1 15.9 11.7 2 12.7 11.5 10.2 9.2 11.1 15.4 13.0 14.8 12.0 3 14.0 14.2 12.3 10.8 15.8 13.8 12.4 18.9 14.1 4 12.8 13.4 13.9 12.8 14.0 11.5 12.9 13.1 13.2 5 12.2 12.0 10.9 11.0 13.3 11.6 10.7 14.0 12.1 6 10.4 11.0 11.1 11.8 9.9 12.2 10.5 10.2 10.8 7 8.4 8.4 9.8 8.8 8.6 9.2 8.6 5.2 8.4 8 4.5 5.5 5.9 6.7 5.6 3.4 5.6 2.5 5.1 9+ 10.0 14.0 14.9 19.9 14.4 5.7 11.0 5.3 12.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Number of households 2,598 4,627 1,040 1,185 1,911 690 1,315 1,083 7,225 Mean size 4.7 5.1 5.4 5.9 5.2 4.1 4.7 4.0 5.0 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Table is based on de jure members, i.e., usual residents. 14 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics Table 2.3 Educational attainment of household population Percent distribution of the de facto female and male household populations age six and over by highest level of education at- tended or completed, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Highest level of schooling attended or completed ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– More Median Some than Don’t number Background No Some Completed secon- Completed secon- know/ of characteristic education primary primary1 dary secondary2 dary missing Total Number years ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– FEMALE ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 6-9 45.9 51.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.4 100.0 2,041 0.0 10-14 26.8 53.2 4.6 14.0 0.1 0.0 1.3 100.0 2,176 2.3 15-19 30.2 11.2 10.1 39.6 7.3 0.9 0.8 100.0 1,832 5.6 20-24 33.9 5.6 11.9 17.3 23.3 7.1 0.9 100.0 1,609 5.8 25-29 39.7 5.5 14.6 13.0 18.6 8.0 0.6 100.0 1,481 5.3 30-34 47.5 7.4 15.5 13.4 9.1 6.3 0.8 100.0 1,031 2.1 35-39 49.8 7.3 14.9 15.0 3.9 8.7 0.4 100.0 867 0.0 40-44 60.4 8.9 12.4 10.0 2.4 5.5 0.5 100.0 736 0.0 45-49 68.0 11.5 8.7 3.6 1.1 4.4 2.7 100.0 584 0.0 50-54 76.3 6.2 8.1 4.6 0.8 2.9 1.1 100.0 653 0.0 55-59 80.9 6.2 5.1 2.4 0.3 2.1 3.0 100.0 404 0.0 60-64 85.5 6.8 1.5 3.7 0.1 1.0 1.5 100.0 341 0.0 65+ 88.7 3.5 2.5 1.0 0.3 1.0 3.1 100.0 594 0.0 Residence Urban 31.9 21.3 9.6 18.6 10.8 6.8 1.0 100.0 4,839 3.9 Rural 53.4 20.4 7.9 10.7 4.4 1.7 1.4 100.0 9,521 0.0 Region North Central 40.9 27.2 9.7 13.4 5.3 2.5 1.1 100.0 2,248 0.9 North East 68.0 17.1 4.3 5.7 2.7 1.5 0.7 100.0 2,593 0.0 North West 72.2 13.6 4.2 4.1 2.5 1.5 2.0 100.0 3,823 0.0 South East 17.8 25.1 12.1 20.6 16.2 5.6 2.6 100.0 1,314 5.4 South South 20.6 27.5 12.5 23.6 9.4 5.4 0.9 100.0 2,559 5.1 South West 23.2 19.9 13.6 24.3 11.4 7.1 0.5 100.0 1,823 5.4 Total 46.1 20.7 8.5 13.4 6.6 3.4 1.3 100.0 14,360 0.2 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MALE ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 6-9 41.1 56.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.8 100.0 2,175 0.0 10-14 18.2 62.1 3.1 15.4 0.1 0.0 1.2 100.0 2,144 2.7 15-19 15.4 15.6 8.9 51.2 7.4 0.8 0.9 100.0 1,736 6.7 20-24 16.2 6.4 13.2 27.9 24.7 10.0 1.5 100.0 1,473 8.7 25-29 20.6 4.3 16.7 15.5 27.4 14.2 1.3 100.0 1,195 8.6 30-34 23.7 5.9 14.4 19.3 18.1 17.5 1.0 100.0 1,029 8.3 35-39 27.2 7.0 15.8 18.3 12.9 17.7 1.0 100.0 796 6.4 40-44 35.7 8.9 15.7 15.5 6.1 17.6 0.5 100.0 724 5.5 45-49 38.7 12.1 15.9 12.6 4.2 15.9 0.6 100.0 613 5.3 50-54 47.0 14.1 16.0 10.0 2.8 8.1 2.1 100.0 550 1.5 55-59 52.8 14.3 12.2 6.8 2.9 9.3 1.8 100.0 372 0.0 60-64 66.0 9.3 11.1 6.6 1.1 4.0 1.8 100.0 411 0.0 65+ 70.4 9.9 6.9 5.7 1.2 3.8 2.1 100.0 760 0.0 Residence Urban 19.9 24.0 9.3 21.5 12.3 11.9 1.1 100.0 4,971 5.6 Rural 36.3 25.2 9.6 15.9 6.7 4.6 1.6 100.0 9,028 2.0 Region North Central 21.9 29.5 9.1 21.1 10.1 7.5 0.7 100.0 2,222 4.9 North East 50.2 22.9 4.6 11.8 4.9 4.9 0.8 100.0 2,626 0.0 North West 50.0 23.1 6.2 9.3 5.0 4.4 2.1 100.0 3,670 0.0 South East 14.0 23.6 16.0 20.2 11.5 10.8 4.0 100.0 1,124 5.6 South South 8.7 28.1 14.1 25.8 13.0 9.2 1.1 100.0 2,557 5.8 South West 13.9 21.0 13.4 27.7 12.5 10.7 0.8 100.0 1,800 5.9 Total 30.5 24.8 9.5 17.9 8.7 7.2 1.4 100.0 13,999 3.6 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Totals include 10 women and 20 men with missing information on age. 1 Completed 6 years at the primary level 2 Completed 6 years at the secondary level Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 15 School Attendance Rates Table 2.4 provides net attendance ratios (NAR) and gross attendance ratios (GAR) by sex, resi- dence, geopolitical region, and household economic status according to school level. The NAR for pri- mary school is the percentage of the primary school-age (6-11 years) population that is attending primary school. The NAR for secondary school is the percentage of the secondary school age (12-17 years) popu- lation that is attending secondary school. By definition, the NAR cannot exceed 100 percent. The GAR for primary school is the total number of primary school students of any age, expressed as the percentage of the official primary school age population. The GAR for secondary school is the total number of sec- ondary school students up to age 24, expressed as the percentage of the official secondary school age population. If there are significant numbers of over-age and under-age students at a given level of school- ing, the GAR can exceed 100 percent. Children are considered to be attending school currently if they attended at any point during the current school year. Table 2.4 shows that 60 percent of primary school age children in Nigeria are attending primary school. The NAR is higher in urban areas than in rural areas (70 and 56 percent, respectively), as is the GAR (100 and 82 percent, respectively). There is significant variation by region: the NARs in the North East and North West are just over half the ratios in the three southern regions. At the secondary school level, the NAR is 35 percent and the GAR is 61 percent. Regional disparities at the secondary school level are even more pronounced than at the primary school level: the NAR, for example, ranges from a low of 15 percent in the North West, to a high of 61 percent in the South West. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) represents the ratio of the GAR for females to the GAR for males. It is presented for both the primary and secondary school levels and offers a summary measure to the ex- tent to which there are gender differences in attendance rates. A GPI of less than 1 indicates that a smaller proportion of females than males attends school. The GPI for primary school is 0.86 and for secondary school is 0.77. Although there is little urban-rural differential at the primary school level, there is signifi- cant difference at the secondary school level. Once again, regional differentials are significant; the data indicate that girls residing in the North West and North East are particularly disadvantaged. Gender dis- parities by age in school attendance at any level are shown in Figure 2.2. Figure 2.2 Age-Specific Attendance Rates 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age 0 20 40 60 80 100 Percent Male Female NDHS 2003 16 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics Table 2.4 also shows school attendance ratios and GPIs by wealth quintile, an indicator of the economic status of households. The wealth index is a recently developed measure that has been tested in a number of countries in relation to inequities in household income, use of health services, and health out- comes (Rutstein, 2004; Rutstein et al., 2000). It is an indicator of the level of wealth that is consistent with expenditure and income measures (Rutstein, 1999). The wealth index was constructed using house- hold asset data and principal components analysis. Asset information was collected in the 2003 NDHS Household Questionnaire and covers information on household ownership of a number of consumer items ranging from a television to a bicycle or car, as well as dwelling characteristics such as source of drinking water, type of sanitation facilities, and type of material used in flooring. Each asset was assigned a weight (factor score) generated through principal component analysis, and the resulting asset scores were standardized in relation to a standard normal distribution with a mean of zero and standard deviation of one (Gwatkin et al., 2000). Each household was then assigned a score for each asset, and the scores were summed for each household; individuals were ranked according to the total score of the household in which they resided. The sample was then divided into quintiles from one (lowest) to five (highest) The data in Table 2.4 show that there is a high correlation between economic status of the house- hold and school attendance. For example, the NAR at the primary school level is 40 percent for the poor- est households and 83 percent for the most advantaged households. The data indicate that unless there is an effective policy on free education, many young Nigerians will continue to be denied educational op- portunities. Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 17 Table 2.4 School attendance ratios Net attendance ratios (NAR) and gross attendance ratios (GAR) for the de jure household population by level of schooling and sex, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Net attendance ratio1 Gross attendance ratio2 Gender Background –––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––– parity characteristic Male Female Total Male Female Total index3 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– PRIMARY SCHOOL ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence Urban 71.0 68.0 69.5 105.5 93.8 99.8 0.89 Rural 60.2 51.1 55.7 89.4 75.3 82.4 0.84 Region North Central 71.4 68.9 70.2 109.1 110.0 109.5 1.01 North East 49.5 39.1 44.4 71.1 51.8 61.6 0.73 North West 49.0 34.2 41.7 77.6 48.6 63.3 0.63 South East 82.4 78.3 80.2 124.5 117.0 120.4 0.94 South South 83.2 81.1 82.2 124.5 114.4 119.5 0.92 South West 81.2 84.6 82.8 104.6 114.9 109.4 1.10 Wealth quintile Lowest 45.0 35.7 40.4 71.5 57.1 64.4 0.80 Second 55.6 42.2 48.9 88.5 63.4 75.9 0.72 Middle 64.9 56.6 60.9 97.2 83.7 90.7 0.86 Fourth 75.4 72.7 74.1 111.8 106.0 109.0 0.95 Highest 82.9 82.8 82.9 108.4 103.8 106.0 0.96 Total 63.7 56.5 60.1 94.6 81.2 88.0 0.86 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– SECONDARY SCHOOL ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence Urban 47.2 45.3 46.3 75.6 67.2 71.6 0.89 Rural 31.7 25.9 28.7 65.0 45.9 55.3 0.71 Region North Central 42.7 32.6 37.7 90.7 55.6 73.3 0.61 North East 22.9 14.9 19.1 41.6 23.1 32.9 0.55 North West 19.8 9.5 14.7 41.0 14.6 27.8 0.36 South East 44.9 51.4 48.5 84.7 93.7 89.8 1.11 South South 51.6 51.5 51.5 90.9 90.8 90.9 1.00 South West 62.2 59.9 61.0 94.1 80.2 87.0 0.85 Wealth quintile Lowest 17.5 12.0 14.6 40.9 23.8 32.1 0.58 Second 24.8 16.2 20.9 50.1 31.3 41.5 0.63 Middle 37.3 26.7 32.0 71.2 49.8 60.4 0.70 Fourth 43.5 40.1 41.8 84.5 63.1 73.9 0.75 Highest 62.6 64.9 63.8 95.0 94.2 94.6 0.99 Total 37.5 32.6 35.1 69.0 53.3 61.2 0.77 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 The NAR for primary school is the percentage of the primary-school-age (6-11 years) population that is attending primary school. The NAR for secondary school is the percentage of the secondary-school age (12-17 years) popula- tion that is attending secondary school. By definition the NAR cannot exceed 100 percent. 2 The GAR for primary school is the total number of primary school students, expressed as a percentage of the offi- cial primary-school-age population. The GAR for secondary school is the total number of secondary school students, expressed as a percentage of the official secondary-school-age population. If there are significant numbers of over- age and underage students at a given level of schooling, the GAR can exceed 100 percent. 3 The Gender Parity Index for primary school is the ratio of the primary school GAR for females to the GAR for males. The Gender Parity Index for secondary school is the ratio of the secondary school GAR for females to the GAR for males. 18 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics Dropout and Repetition Rates By asking about the grade or class that children were attending during the previous school year, it is possible to calculate dropout rates and repetition rates. These rates describe the flow of students through the school system. Repetition and dropout rates approach zero where students nearly always pro- gress to the next grade at the end of the school year. Repetition and dropout rates often vary across grades, indicating points in the school system where students are not regularly promoted to the next grade or they decide to drop out of school. Although an automatic promotion policy does not operate officially in Nigeria, very few primary school students repeat grades. Table 2.5 indicates that apart from first grade, which 4 percent are repeat- ing, the rates for grades 2 to 6 are all below 3 percent. Dropout rates are also low (less than 2 percent) from grades 1 through 5. At the sixth grade, the dropout rate is 17 percent. The reason for the high drop- out rate at grade 6 is probably because many of the pupils who attend primary school are unable to move Table 2.5 Grade repetition and dropout rates Repetition and dropout rates for the de jure household population age 5-24 years by school grade, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– School grade Background ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– characteristic 1 2 3 4 5 6 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– REPETITION RATE1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sex Male 3.8 2.8 1.7 1.6 2.9 2.4 Female 4.0 1.8 3.5 1.9 1.8 1.9 Residence Urban 4.5 0.9 1.7 2.3 4.4 2.9 Rural 3.5 3.2 3.0 1.4 1.2 1.5 Region North Central 2.4 1.1 2.2 0.0 2.1 0.0 North East 1.1 0.7 1.1 0.0 0.0 4.0 North West 6.1 4.2 5.6 1.3 5.7 (5.9) South East 0.8 6.9 2.0 1.3 2.0 3.1 South South 6.6 0.0 1.6 2.2 1.1 1.1 South West 2.4 3.3 0.9 5.1 3.5 2.2 Total 3.9 2.4 2.5 1.7 2.4 2.1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– DROPOUT RATE2 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sex Male 0.0 0.4 0.8 0.0 2.0 15.8 Female 0.1 0.3 0.9 3.3 0.1 17.9 Residence Urban 0.0 0.2 0.6 0.3 0.3 7.0 Rural 0.1 0.4 1.1 2.1 1.6 23.7 Region North Central 0.0 0.3 1.0 1.1 0.0 24.9 North East 0.0 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 14.2 North West 0.0 0.6 0.4 0.0 2.3 (26.8) South East 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.7 0.6 4.0 South South 0.2 0.0 2.5 4.3 2.5 21.3 South West 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.4 Total 0.0 0.3 0.9 1.4 1.1 16.9 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Figures in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. 1 The repetition rate is the percentage of students in a given grade in the previous school year who are repeating that grade in the current school year. 2 The dropout rate is the percentage of students in a given grade in the previous school year who are not attending school. Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 19 to the next educational level (i.e., secondary school). There is great variation by residence and region. For example, rural children are more than three times as likely as urban children to drop out of school at grade 6. 2.4 HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS The 2003 NDHS gathered information on housing characteristics such as source of water, elec- tricity, cooking fuel, type of toilet facilities, number of sleeping rooms in the house, and housing material. Table 2.6 presents this information by urban–rural residence and region. These characteristics are corre- lated with health and are also an indication of socioeconomic status. About half of households in Nigeria have electricity. Electricity is much more common in urban areas than in rural areas (85 and 34 percent, respectively). Indeed, urban dwellers are more advantaged overall in terms of household characteristics than rural dwellers. Nonetheless, living conditions across the entire country are mixed, with a majority of Nigerians having no access to potable water and using tradi- tional pit toilets. The source of water and availability of sanitary facilities are important determinants of the health status of household members. Sources of water expected to be relatively free of disease are piped water and water drawn from protected wells and deep boreholes. Other sources, like unprotected wells and sur- face water (rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes), are more likely to carry disease-causing agents. The table shows that 42 percent of Nigerian households have access to clean water sources (17 percent from piped water, 24 percent from a protected well, and 1 percent from spring water). Sources of drinking water differ considerably by place of residence. Thirty-three percent of urban households obtain water from pipes into dwelling/yard/plot or from public taps, compared with just 9 per- cent of rural households. It is notable that in rural areas, approximately one-fifth obtain drinking water from open public wells and 27 percent from a river or stream. A majority of Nigerians (56 percent) have access to water within 15 minutes. About two-thirds of urban households obtain water within 15 minutes, compared with about half of rural households. The median time to the source of drinking water is 5 min- utes for the urban households and 10 minutes for the rural households. The lack of availability of sanitary facilities poses a serious public health problem. Only 15 per- cent of households have a flush toilet, while the majority (57 percent) use traditional pit toilets, and one- quarter have no facility. There are differences in the type of toilet facilities by both residence and region. Urban households are more than four times as likely to have a modern flush toilet as rural areas (29 and 7 percent, respectively). Households in the North West and North East are the least likely to have a flush toilet. The type of material used for flooring is an indicator of the economic situation of households and therefore the potential exposure of household members to disease-causing agents. Forty-two percent of households live in dwellings with cement floors and 31 percent in dwellings with earth or sand floors. There are substantial differences in the flooring materials by urban-rural residence. Almost half of rural households have a floor made of earth, sand, or dung, compared with 10 percent of urban households. Firewood and straw is the most common fuel used for cooking, reported by two-thirds of house- holds. An additional 27 percent use kerosene. Rural households are twice as likely as urban households to use firewood or straw (84 and 41 percent, respectively). 20 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics Table 2.6 Household characteristics Percent distribution of households by household characteristics, according to residence and region, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence Region ––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Household North North North South South South characteristic Urban Rural Central East West East South West Total –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Electricity Yes 84.9 33.8 47.2 30.9 42.0 70.2 57.9 79.9 52.2 No 15.0 66.0 52.6 68.9 57.8 29.4 42.1 20.0 47.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Source of drinking water Piped into dwelling/yard/plot 14.4 2.3 7.8 4.6 10.2 8.3 3.2 4.6 6.6 Public tap 18.5 6.2 8.1 9.7 11.8 11.8 4.6 18.8 10.6 Open well in dwelling/yard/plot 9.4 14.2 12.6 15.1 22.9 1.8 3.3 9.2 12.5 Open public well 6.7 21.2 9.4 30.8 25.0 1.5 5.2 12.7 16.0 Protected well in dwelling/ yard/plot 6.7 3.7 5.5 1.8 3.3 10.8 7.0 3.5 4.8 Protected public well 24.4 16.3 11.5 5.3 12.1 33.1 35.8 25.6 19.2 Spring 0.6 1.3 1.5 0.2 0.5 4.8 0.5 1.2 1.1 River/stream 6.7 26.9 34.9 17.3 10.4 10.6 33.0 13.5 19.6 Pond/lake/dam 0.8 1.7 2.0 1.9 0.4 1.3 1.3 2.1 1.4 Rainwater 0.5 2.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 6.7 4.2 0.5 1.5 Tanker truck 5.9 1.9 5.9 4.4 0.6 7.3 1.4 4.2 3.3 Other 5.2 2.0 0.6 8.9 2.9 1.8 0.5 4.1 3.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Time to water source Percentage <15 minutes 64.9 51.4 51.1 58.2 62.1 59.4 45.8 59.4 56.3 Median time to source 4.6 9.9 10.0 9.4 6.5 4.9 14.8 9.2 9.4 Sanitation facility Flush toilet 28.7 6.7 9.6 4.5 4.5 41.3 21.2 23.4 14.6 Traditional pit toilet 55.6 56.9 50.1 74.6 74.3 39.8 42.3 39.1 56.5 Ventilated improved pit (vip) latrine 5.5 1.9 1.9 0.5 1.6 0.9 8.5 5.5 3.2 Bush/field 9.7 31.6 38.0 20.1 19.2 17.6 19.7 30.7 23.7 River 0.3 2.7 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.1 8.2 1.2 1.9 Other 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Flooring material Earth/sand 9.9 43.6 28.3 57.3 41.8 12.8 21.7 11.8 31.4 Dung 0.4 3.6 1.4 4.5 4.2 0.2 1.1 1.2 2.4 Cement 47.4 39.6 48.5 31.5 45.4 53.1 35.9 44.4 42.4 Carpet 39.0 12.1 20.8 6.2 7.4 27.8 38.4 40.9 21.8 Other 2.0 0.8 0.8 0.1 1.1 1.3 2.7 1.3 1.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Cooking fuel Electricity 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.3 Kerosene 53.4 12.1 16.1 4.8 10.3 51.0 36.2 64.2 26.9 Firewood, straw 41.1 84.4 79.5 92.6 83.8 45.0 61.1 30.7 68.8 Dung 0.1 0.8 0.5 0.1 1.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.5 Other 4.7 2.5 3.4 2.0 3.6 3.7 2.5 4.7 3.3 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Persons per sleeping room 2.9 3.6 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 3.6 2.2 3.3 Number of households 2,598 4,627 1,040 1,185 1,911 690 1,315 1,083 7,225 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to missing cases. Household Population and Housing Characteristics | 21 Crowded conditions may affect health as well as the quality of life. The number of persons per sleeping room in the household is used as a measure of household room density. On average, there are 3.3 persons per sleeping room in Nigeria. Rural households have more people per sleeping room than urban households (3.6 and 2.9 percent, respectively). Household Durable Goods The availability of durable consumer goods is an indicator of a household’s socioeconomic status. Moreover, particular goods have specific advantages. For example, having access to a radio or a televi- sion exposes household members to innovative ideas, a refrigerator prolongs the wholesomeness of foods, and a means of transport allows greater access to services away from the local area. Table 2.7 shows the availability of selected consumer goods by residence. Nationally, almost three-fourths of households own a radio, and almost one-third own a television. Fewer households own a refrigerator—just 18 percent. In each case, urban households are much more likely than rural households to own these goods. Indeed, urban households are more likely than rural households to own each of the items except for bicycles, work animals, and boats, which are more commonly owned in rural areas. Rural households are also disadvantaged in terms of communications. Less than 2 percent of the rural house- holds have telephones or cell phones, compared with 12 percent of urban households. The data presented in this chapter vividly portray the level of poverty in Nigeria. Less than half of Nigerians have access to potable water and just one-third of rural households have electricity. There is a need for vigorous policies to improve access to the basic necessities of life. Furthermore, the data on edu- cation illustrate the need for better schooling of the population, especially females. Table 2.7 Household durable goods Percentage of households possessing various durable consumer goods, by residence and region, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Residence Region ––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– North North North South South South Durable consumer goods Urban Rural Central East West East South West Total –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Radio 85.3 65.8 75.0 60.8 72.5 87.7 69.4 79.1 72.8 Television 58.6 15.4 23.6 14.0 19.9 52.9 37.3 54.4 31.0 Telephone/cell phone 11.8 1.9 1.6 1.1 2.3 14.0 6.5 12.8 5.5 Refrigerator 36.1 7.9 13.6 9.2 8.9 35.4 24.8 28.8 18.0 Gas cooker 7.5 2.1 2.7 1.1 1.7 12.2 6.3 4.9 4.0 Iron 57.3 16.8 24.6 13.2 20.6 51.4 40.7 52.5 31.3 Fan 69.2 19.6 32.9 17.9 23.1 58.3 47.0 63.6 37.4 Bicycle 17.9 41.0 36.5 44.9 40.8 24.7 33.2 5.8 32.7 Motorcycle/scooter 17.5 13.8 23.3 13.9 14.9 14.2 14.4 10.4 15.1 Car/truck 17.8 4.9 8.4 6.3 4.9 21.3 9.7 15.0 9.6 Donkey/horse/camel 1.5 8.0 0.8 4.8 18.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 5.7 Canoe/boat/ship 1.2 7.1 3.9 1.2 7.5 0.1 12.2 0.2 5.0 None of the above 7.0 19.9 14.7 22.6 14.3 7.8 15.4 14.0 15.2 Number of households 2,598 4,627 1,040 1,185 1,911 690 1,315 1,083 7,225 CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS AND WOMEN’S STATUS 3 The purpose of this chapter is to provide a demographic and socioeconomic profile of individual female and male respondents. This information is essential for the interpretation of the findings presented later in the report and can provide an approximate indication of the representativeness of the survey. The chapter begins by describing basic background characteristics, including age, marital status, residence, education, religion, ethnicity, and economic status of respondents’ households. The chapter also includes more detailed information on education, employment, and indictors of women’s status. 3.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS Table 3.1 shows the distribution of women age 15-49 and men age 15-59 by background charac- teristics. The proportions of women and men decline with increasing age, which reflects the young age structure of the Nigerian population. A little more than two-thirds (68 percent) of all women are currently married, and an additional 2 percent are in informal unions (“living together”). One-quarter of women age 15-49 have never been mar- ried, while negligible proportions of women are divorced or separated (3 percent) or widowed (2 percent). Slightly more than half of men are currently married or living together, 45 percent have never been mar- ried, 2 percent are divorced or separated, and 1 percent widowed. With regard to residence, the majority of women and men live in rural areas (approximately two- thirds). Sixty percent of women and 58 percent of men are from the north, while 40 percent of women and 42 percent of men are from the south. The majority of respondents have had some education, however, 42 percent of women and 22 percent of men have never attended school. One-fifth of women and one-quarter of men have attained primary education only, while 37 percent of women and 53 percent of men have attended secondary school or higher. The table also shows that half of all respondents are Muslims, approximately one in seven re- spondents are Catholics, an additional one in seven are Protestants, and one in five say that they follow another Christian church. A negligible proportion belongs to other religions. The ethnic composition of the sample indicates that the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. However, other ethnic groups constitute almost half of the total sample, under- scoring the multiplicity of ethnic groups in Nigeria. 3.2 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS Table 3.2 provides an overview of the relationship between respondents’ level of education and other background characteristics. The data show that younger respondents are more likely than older re- spondents to have some education. For example, more than twice as many of the oldest women than the youngest women report that they have no education (68 and 29 percent, respectively). Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 23 24 | Characte Table 3.1 Background characteristics of respondents Percent distribution of women and men by background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Number of women Number of men ––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––– Background Weighted Un- Weighted Un- characteristic percent Weighted weighted percent Weighted weighted –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 22.5 1,716 1,749 19.3 453 453 20-24 19.6 1,494 1,464 18.2 426 441 25-29 18.1 1,382 1,356 14.0 328 336 30-34 12.4 941 940 12.8 299 280 35-39 10.7 816 798 9.4 220 203 40-44 9.0 688 695 8.8 208 206 45-49 7.7 583 618 6.8 159 167 50-54 na na na 5.7 133 134 55-59 na na na 5.1 120 126 Marital status Never married 25.3 1,926 2,087 44.7 1,048 1,090 Married 68.0 5,182 4,991 50.8 1,191 1,141 Living together 2.0 154 166 2.3 54 55 Divorced/separated 2.9 219 209 1.8 42 47 Widowed 1.8 139 167 0.5 11 13 Residence Urban 34.5 2,629 3,057 37.2 872 986 Rural 65.5 4,991 4,563 62.8 1,474 1,360 Region North Central 14.7 1,121 1,256 14.9 348 416 North East 17.9 1,368 1,413 17.9 421 423 North West 27.5 2,095 1,791 25.7 602 547 South East 9.7 737 1,081 8.8 207 265 South South 17.6 1,342 938 19.0 445 313 South West 12.6 958 1,141 13.7 322 382 Education No education 41.6 3,171 3,005 21.6 507 493 Primary 21.4 1,628 1,666 25.7 603 604 Secondary 31.1 2,370 2,462 40.9 960 966 Higher 5.9 451 487 11.8 276 283 Religion Catholic 13.1 998 1,161 14.3 335 373 Protestant 15.2 1,162 1,300 14.7 345 373 Other Christian 19.6 1,494 1,423 19.5 457 436 Muslim 50.7 3,862 3,601 50.2 1,177 1,125 Other 1.4 104 135 1.3 32 39 Ethnic group Fulani 6.1 463 484 5.9 139 132 Hausa 27.0 2,055 1,735 25.0 586 542 Igbo 13.6 1,037 1,390 13.4 315 382 Kanuri 3.0 232 187 2.5 59 47 Tiv 2.2 170 201 2.2 52 66 Yoruba 11.4 865 1,042 12.0 281 340 Other 36.7 2,797 2,581 38.9 914 837 Wealth quintile Lowest 18.6 1,414 1,479 18.0 423 423 Second 18.9 1,439 1,399 17.8 418 393 Middle 19.9 1,513 1,510 18.6 436 445 Fourth 20.0 1,526 1,544 21.6 507 527 Highest 22.7 1,728 1,688 24.0 563 558 Total 100.0 7,620 7,620 100.0 2,346 2,346 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Education categories refer to the highest level of education attended, whether or not that level was com- pleted. The ethnic groups are the six largest in the sample and are listed in alphabetical order. na = Not applicable ristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.2 Educational attainment by background characteristics Percent distribution of women and men by highest level of schooling attended or completed, and median number of years of schooling, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Highest level of schooling attended or completed ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Median Com- Some Com- More than Number years Background No Some pleted secon- pleted secon- of of characteristic education primary primary1 dary secondary2 dary Total respondents schooling ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– WOMEN ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 29.2 11.1 9.9 39.6 8.9 1.4 100.0 1,716 5.8 20-24 33.9 6.6 11.2 17.9 23.0 7.4 100.0 1,494 5.8 25-29 37.8 6.2 14.7 13.4 19.6 8.3 100.0 1,382 5.4 30-34 45.9 8.5 15.3 14.2 9.0 7.2 100.0 941 3.0 35-39 49.9 9.4 15.0 14.2 3.7 7.8 100.0 816 0.0 40-44 58.7 9.9 13.9 9.3 2.5 5.7 100.0 688 0.0 45-49 68.0 13.5 8.4 3.5 1.3 5.2 100.0 583 0.0 Residence Urban 24.9 7.6 12.0 24.3 19.1 12.1 100.0 2,629 7.7 Rural 50.4 9.6 12.7 16.5 8.1 2.7 100.0 4,991 0.0 Region North Central 35.9 12.9 17.1 20.5 9.4 4.2 100.0 1,121 5.1 North East 67.8 8.9 7.6 8.3 5.0 2.4 100.0 1,368 0.0 North West 75.0 5.7 6.1 6.1 4.8 2.2 100.0 2,095 0.0 South East 7.7 10.5 14.3 27.9 27.6 12.1 100.0 737 9.2 South South 8.1 12.5 17.8 34.5 17.5 9.7 100.0 1,342 7.6 South West 10.8 5.0 19.0 33.9 20.3 11.0 100.0 958 8.9 Wealth quintile Lowest 68.7 10.8 10.1 8.7 1.7 0.1 100.0 1,414 0.0 Second 63.3 10.2 11.3 11.5 2.7 1.0 100.0 1,439 0.0 Middle 49.2 10.7 13.4 18.7 6.4 1.6 100.0 1,513 0.9 Fourth 29.2 10.3 15.9 24.2 16.3 4.1 100.0 1,526 5.7 Highest 5.8 3.4 11.5 30.4 28.8 20.1 100.0 1,728 10.9 Total 41.6 8.9 12.5 19.2 11.9 5.9 100.0 7,620 5.0 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MEN ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 10.4 18.2 6.9 56.3 7.8 0.5 100.0 453 7.0 20-24 12.4 7.6 12.1 30.0 27.6 10.3 100.0 426 8.9 25-29 15.6 7.1 18.0 18.0 22.8 18.5 100.0 328 8.4 30-34 15.3 8.0 18.5 24.4 16.9 17.0 100.0 299 8.3 35-39 23.9 12.2 18.2 17.7 11.7 16.4 100.0 220 6.2 40-44 34.9 9.5 13.3 19.0 4.9 18.4 100.0 208 5.7 45-49 39.7 19.3 9.9 12.4 3.2 15.5 100.0 159 4.8 50-54 44.3 17.0 16.1 8.6 6.6 7.4 100.0 133 2.3 55-59 52.8 12.9 19.9 4.9 1.2 8.2 100.0 120 0.0 Residence Urban 11.2 9.7 13.3 29.7 17.6 18.5 100.0 872 9.1 Rural 27.8 13.1 14.2 25.2 12.0 7.8 100.0 1,474 5.7 Region North Central 13.4 10.0 13.4 36.4 13.8 12.9 100.0 348 6.9 North East 41.9 12.2 10.2 17.6 7.8 10.2 100.0 421 4.7 North West 41.5 16.7 9.7 16.7 6.7 8.9 100.0 602 3.3 South East 2.5 8.4 17.7 33.4 20.7 17.3 100.0 207 9.2 South South 3.0 12.7 18.7 31.7 22.4 11.4 100.0 445 8.6 South West 4.8 5.2 17.9 36.8 20.5 14.9 100.0 322 10.1 Wealth quintile Lowest 42.6 17.8 14.6 16.5 7.9 0.6 100.0 423 2.8 Second 36.2 14.2 13.9 24.1 7.3 4.2 100.0 418 5.1 Middle 24.7 14.4 12.9 28.2 11.7 8.0 100.0 436 5.8 Fourth 11.0 12.6 16.3 29.4 17.0 13.7 100.0 507 8.0 Highest 2.2 2.8 11.8 33.4 22.8 27.0 100.0 563 11.0 Total 21.6 11.8 13.9 26.9 14.1 11.8 100.0 2,346 6.6 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 Completed 6th grade at the primary level 2 Completed 6th grade at the secondary level Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 25 Table 3.2 also shows that the level of education varies by residence. Women in rural areas are disadvantaged and far less likely to be educated than their urban counterparts. One-half of rural women have not attended school, which is twice the proportion of urban women (50 and 25 percent, respec- tively). The urban-rural difference is more pronounced at the level of secondary school or higher. For ex- ample, only 11 percent of women in rural areas have completed secondary school or gone on to post- secondary study, compared with 31 percent of women in urban areas. Among male respondents, those in urban areas also have higher levels of educational attainment. Only 11 percent of urban males compared with 28 percent of their rural counterparts have no formal education. While 36 percent of urban males have completed secondary or higher levels of education, only 20 percent of their rural counterparts have done so. Among both male and female respondents, the level of educational attainment is higher in the south relative to the north. For example, women in the North West are 10 times as likely as women in the South East and South West to say that they have no education. Educational attainment increases as the economic status of the household increases. For example, 69 percent of the women in the poorest households have no formal education compared with just 6 per- cent of women in the most advantaged households. Half of women in the highest wealth quintile have completed secondary or higher levels of education, compared with just 2 percent of women in the lowest quintile. The pattern of men’s educational attainment by economic status is similar. Literacy The ability to read is an important personal asset allowing women and men increased opportuni- ties in life. Knowing the distribution of the literate population can help programme planners know how best to reach women and men with their messages. In the 2003 NDHS, literacy was established by a re- spondent’s ability to read all or part of a simple sentence in any of the major language groups of Nigeria. The test on literacy was only applied to respondents who had less than secondary education, and those with secondary or higher are assumed to be literate. Table 3.3 shows that almost half (48 percent) of women are literate. The level of literacy is much higher for younger women than older women, ranging from a high of 61 percent for women age 15-19 to a low of 22 percent for women age 45-49. Urban women have a higher level of literacy than rural women (68 and 38 percent, respectively). Literacy levels also vary widely among the regions. Patterns of men’s literacy are similar to women’s, although a greater proportion of men are literate (73 percent compared with 48 percent). 26 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.3 Literacy Percent distribution of women and men by level of schooling attended and by level of literacy, and percent literate, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– No schooling or primary school –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Secondary Can read Can read Cannot No card Number Background school or whole part of read with required of Percent characteristic higher sentence sentence at all language Missing Total respondents literate1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– WOMEN ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 49.8 5.4 6.1 37.7 0.8 0.2 100.0 1,716 61.3 20-24 48.3 3.6 4.5 42.4 0.7 0.5 100.0 1,494 56.4 25-29 41.3 5.4 5.2 46.9 1.0 0.2 100.0 1,382 51.9 30-34 30.4 5.2 5.7 58.3 0.3 0.1 100.0 941 41.3 35-39 25.7 7.8 6.4 58.9 1.2 0.1 100.0 816 39.8 40-44 17.5 6.2 7.4 67.8 0.5 0.5 100.0 688 31.1 45-49 10.0 7.9 4.5 75.8 1.2 0.6 100.0 583 22.4 Residence Urban 55.6 6.1 5.9 31.6 0.7 0.2 100.0 2,629 67.5 Rural 27.3 5.2 5.5 60.8 0.9 0.4 100.0 4,991 38.0 Region North Central 34.1 4.9 4.4 55.2 1.1 0.3 100.0 1,121 43.4 North East 15.7 4.2 5.7 72.9 1.3 0.2 100.0 1,368 25.6 North West 13.1 3.1 4.7 78.6 0.1 0.5 100.0 2,095 20.9 South East 67.5 10.6 7.5 14.1 0.1 0.2 100.0 737 85.6 South South 61.7 7.3 6.0 22.6 1.9 0.6 100.0 1,342 75.0 South West 65.2 7.1 6.8 20.5 0.4 0.0 100.0 958 79.1 Total 37.0 5.5 5.6 50.7 0.8 0.3 100.0 7,620 48.2 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MEN ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 64.6 4.4 10.2 18.6 2.3 0.0 100.0 453 79.2 20-24 67.9 6.0 6.4 15.0 4.7 0.0 100.0 426 80.3 25-29 59.4 11.0 8.6 16.8 4.3 0.0 100.0 328 78.9 30-34 58.3 8.7 8.7 20.7 3.7 0.0 100.0 299 75.6 35-39 45.7 12.8 11.8 23.7 5.9 0.0 100.0 220 70.4 40-44 42.3 12.0 10.3 27.3 8.1 0.0 100.0 208 64.6 45-49 31.1 14.7 14.2 30.1 9.7 0.2 100.0 159 60.0 50-54 22.6 15.4 17.2 37.9 6.9 0.0 100.0 133 55.2 55-59 14.3 20.5 12.4 42.1 10.7 0.0 100.0 120 47.2 Residence Urban 65.8 11.3 9.7 9.3 3.9 0.0 100.0 872 86.8 Rural 45.0 8.8 10.2 30.0 6.0 0.0 100.0 1,474 64.0 Region North Central 63.1 6.9 5.2 24.6 0.2 0.0 100.0 348 75.2 North East 35.7 13.9 10.4 37.8 2.2 0.0 100.0 421 59.9 North West 32.2 8.0 15.5 27.2 17.1 0.0 100.0 602 55.7 South East 71.4 5.7 15.8 7.0 0.0 0.2 100.0 207 92.9 South South 65.6 6.7 8.2 18.1 1.4 0.0 100.0 445 80.5 South West 72.1 17.4 3.5 5.9 1.1 0.0 100.0 322 93.0 Total 52.7 9.7 10.0 22.3 5.2 0.0 100.0 2,346 72.5 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 Refers to respondents who attended secondary school or higher and respondents who can read a whole sentence or part of a sentence Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 27 3.3 ACCESS TO MASS MEDIA The 2003 NDHS collected information on the exposure of respondents to common print and elec- tronic media. Respondents were asked how often they read a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch tele- vision. These data are important because they provide an indication of the extent to which Nigerians are regularly exposed to the mass media, which are often used to disseminate messages on family planning and other health topics. Tables 3.4.1 and 3.4.2 show that slightly more than one-third of both women and men are not ex- posed to any media. However, a majority of all respondents listen to the radio at least once a week, and more than one-third watch television at least once a week. About one in ten respondents reads a newspa- per weekly. As expected, women and men living in urban areas are much more likely to be exposed to mass media. The proportion of women who are exposed to any media at least once a week declines with age. Urban respondents are more likely than rural respondents to be exposed to all three types of media. Among the regions, exposure to all three types of media is highest among those who live in the south compared with their northern counterparts. There is a positive relationship between the level of education and exposure to mass media. Similarly, wealth quintile is positively related to exposure to mass media. For instance, whereas 65 percent of women in the lowest quintile have no weekly exposure to any media source, just 6 percent of those in the highest quintile have no exposure. The corresponding figures for the male respondents are 59 and 13 percent, respectively. 28 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.4.1 Exposure to mass media: women Percentage of women who usually read a newspaper at least once a week, watch television at least once a week, and listen to the radio at least once a week, by background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Type of mass media exposure ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Reads a Watches Listens to No newspaper television the radio exposure at least at least at least All three to Number Background once once once specified specified of characteristic a week a week a week media media women –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 12.2 41.3 58.4 10.3 34.4 1,716 20-24 17.7 40.9 65.0 14.7 28.9 1,494 25-29 12.8 39.4 61.5 10.3 30.8 1,382 30-34 10.6 31.2 57.7 9.5 38.3 941 35-39 9.8 33.2 59.7 7.7 37.5 816 40-44 7.6 24.8 51.7 6.1 45.0 688 45-49 6.2 23.8 51.1 5.3 45.4 583 Residence Urban 21.1 63.1 73.0 18.6 18.4 2,629 Rural 7.3 21.6 51.8 5.5 44.2 4,991 Region North Central 7.7 28.0 44.7 6.4 48.6 1,121 North East 4.8 15.9 34.1 3.0 61.0 1,368 North West 6.7 23.8 70.9 5.6 27.1 2,095 South East 25.9 50.9 69.4 21.4 24.2 737 South South 19.2 53.9 59.2 16.1 30.9 1,342 South West 18.5 63.5 78.3 16.5 15.6 958 Education No education 0.1 12.0 47.2 0.1 50.2 3,171 Primary 3.7 32.0 54.5 2.7 39.2 1,628 Secondary 24.8 62.0 72.9 20.5 18.3 2,370 Higher 59.0 81.2 88.0 51.3 5.6 451 Wealth quintile Lowest 1.0 3.6 33.5 0.4 64.8 1,414 Second 3.2 8.0 45.0 2.1 53.0 1,439 Middle 5.2 17.8 57.7 2.9 39.7 1,513 Fourth 13.4 52.6 70.6 10.4 19.8 1,526 Highest 33.2 86.8 83.1 30.3 6.2 1,728 Total 12.1 35.9 59.2 10.0 35.3 7,620 Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 29 Table 3.4.2 Exposure to mass media: men Percentage of men who usually read a newspaper at least once a week, watch television at least once a week, and listen to the radio at least once a week, by background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Type of mass media exposure ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Reads a Watches Listens to No newspaper television the radio exposure at least at least at least All three to Number Background once once once specified specified of characteristic a week a week a week media media men –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 10.6 39.6 61.4 6.9 32.0 453 20-24 12.8 37.7 60.9 8.9 33.8 426 25-29 14.6 35.8 57.7 12.2 37.9 328 30-34 11.7 42.3 63.1 10.5 33.0 299 3.4 EM Li cially if it puts them ficult. The difficulty a arms, fam- ily busines yment, and hence not rvey asked women se ge of em- ployment e currently working an itional in- formation ntinuously throughou ings. Men were also a 30 | Characteristics of R 35-39 6.1 29.6 51.7 5.7 45.7 220 40-44 13.3 32.9 53.4 12.2 39.8 208 45-49 13.3 37.1 56.8 9.2 37.4 159 50-54 6.0 41.4 58.3 5.2 33.1 133 55-59 10.4 30.0 51.9 8.7 42.6 120 Residence Urban 19.8 59.0 72.1 15.4 20.3 872 Rural 6.5 24.0 50.3 5.2 45.6 1,474 Region North Central 8.4 34.8 50.0 6.6 44.2 348 North East 3.1 13.5 31.8 1.8 65.6 421 North West 7.7 27.5 70.4 5.9 26.8 602 South East 22.3 46.6 72.5 19.3 25.0 207 South South 14.3 51.4 53.6 11.4 35.1 445 South West 21.5 61.7 77.5 16.7 15.8 322 Education No education 4.9 16.3 48.9 4.0 48.5 507 Primary 9.1 32.1 54.1 6.9 39.6 603 Secondary 14.0 45.1 63.7 10.4 30.7 960 Higher 19.7 57.6 67.0 17.4 25.3 276 Wealth quintile Lowest 2.1 11.0 38.6 1.5 59.4 423 Second 3.8 13.0 43.2 1.7 53.1 418 Middle 6.1 23.2 56.7 4.3 39.5 436 Fourth 14.8 50.6 64.2 11.4 26.5 507 Highest 25.2 72.7 80.7 21.3 12.5 563 Total 11.4 37.0 58.4 9.0 36.2 2,346 PLOYMENT ke education, employment can also be a source of empowerment for women, espe in control of income. The measurement of women’s employment, however, is dif rises largely because some of the work that women do, especially work on family f ses, or in the informal sector, is often not perceived by women themselves as emplo reported as such. To avoid underestimating women’s employment, the NDHS su veral questions to probe for their employment status and to ensure complete covera in any sector, formal or informal. Employed women are those who say that they ar d those who worked at any time during the 12 months preceding to the survey. Add was also obtained on the type of work women were doing, whether they worked co t the year, whom they worked for, and the form in which they received their earn sked about employment. espondents and Women’s Status Tables 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 show the percent distribution of women and men by employment status, according to background characteristics. Fifty-six percent of women reported being currently employed and additio omen (42 percent) di currently employed, y. Figure 3.1 shows nal 2 percent worked during the 12 months prior to the survey. About two in five w d not work at all in the 12 months preceding the survey. Seventy percent of men are while an additional 3 percent were employed in the 12 months preceding the surve the distribution of women and men by current employment status. Table 3.5.1 Employment status: women Percent distribution of women by employment status, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Employed in the 12 months Not preceding the survey employed –––––––––––––––––– in the 12 Not months Number Background Currently currently preceding of characteristic employed employed the survey Missing Total women ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 24.8 2.0 73.1 0.1 100.0 1,716 20-24 47.0 2.8 50.1 0.1 100.0 1,494 25-29 63.4 2.0 34.7 0.0 100.0 1,382 30-34 70.7 2.4 26.9 0.1 100.0 941 35-39 78.2 1.8 20.0 0.0 100.0 816 40-44 75.4 1.5 23.0 0.0 100.0 688 45-49 77.4 2.5 20.1 0.0 100.0 583 Marital status Never married 30.6 2.4 67.0 0.0 100.0 1,926 Married or living together 64.4 2.1 33.4 0.1 100.0 5,336 Divorced/separated/widowed 70.7 1.7 27.6 0.0 100.0 358 Number of living children 0 34.4 2.8 62.8 0.0 100.0 2,499 1-2 57.3 1.7 40.8 0.1 100.0 2,009 3-4 69.0 1.9 29.0 0.1 100.0 1,526 5+ 76.5 2.0 21.5 0.0 100.0 1,586 Residence Urban 57.8 2.2 40.0 0.0 100.0 2,629 Rural 55.3 2.2 42.5 0.1 100.0 4,991 Region North Central 63.2 1.8 35.0 0.0 100.0 1,121 North East 50.0 4.7 45.1 0.2 100.0 1,368 North West 51.5 1.4 47.1 0.0 100.0 2,095 South East 57.0 1.9 41.0 0.0 100.0 737 South South 55.0 1.8 43.2 0.0 100.0 1,342 South West 67.8 1.5 30.8 0.0 100.0 958 Education No education 56.4 2.2 41.2 0.1 100.0 3,171 Primary 65.9 2.1 32.0 0.0 100.0 1,628 Secondary 48.0 2.1 49.9 0.0 100.0 2,370 Higher 61.7 2.0 36.3 0.0 100.0 451 Total 56.1 2.2 41.6 0.1 100.0 7,620 Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 31 Ta s for both men and w p. Women who are di by those who are m to be em- ployed (31 yed, com- pared with children a woman ha en are the least likely g children are employ 32 | Characteristics of R bles 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 show that current employment increases with age of respondent omen, although the percentage of men employed declines among the oldest age grou vorced, separated, or widowed are most likely to be employed (71 percent), followed arried or living together (64 percent), while never-married women are the least likely percent). Also, 94 percent of men who are currently or formerly married are emplo 40 percent of never-married men. Table 3.5.1 shows that as the number of living s increases, the proportion who work also increases. Women with no living childr to be employed (34 percent). Similarly, twice as many men with one or more livin ed than men with no children. Table 3.5.2 Employment status: men Percent distribution of men by employment status, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Employed in the 12 months Not preceding the survey employed –––––––––––––––––– in the 12 Not months Number Background Currently currently preceding of characteristic employed employed the survey Missing Total men ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 25.4 2.6 68.3 3.7 100.0 453 20-24 49.6 6.6 43.4 0.5 100.0 426 25-29 73.4 4.3 21.8 0.5 100.0 328 30-34 90.6 2.5 6.9 0.0 100.0 299 35-39 95.1 2.4 1.6 0.9 100.0 220 40-44 96.9 1.9 1.2 0.0 100.0 208 45-49 97.0 0.9 2.1 0.0 100.0 159 50-54 96.6 0.0 3.4 0.0 100.0 133 55-59 88.4 0.0 11.4 0.2 100.0 120 Marital status Never married 39.9 4.6 53.6 1.9 100.0 1,048 Married or living together 94.0 1.9 4.0 0.2 100.0 1,245 Divorced/separated/widowed 93.8 1.8 4.4 0.0 100.0 53 Number of living children 0 46.0 4.2 48.1 1.7 100.0 1,168 1-2 90.7 3.0 6.3 0.0 100.0 379 3-4 93.4 2.4 3.5 0.6 100.0 316 5+ 95.5 1.0 3.4 0.1 100.0 482 Residence Urban 64.8 2.8 31.6 0.8 100.0 872 Rural 72.7 3.2 22.9 1.1 100.0 1,474 Region North Central 61.8 2.0 36.0 0.2 100.0 348 North East 84.9 3.6 11.1 0.5 100.0 421 North West 80.6 4.5 13.6 1.3 100.0 602 South East 67.9 3.2 28.0 0.9 100.0 207 South South 51.8 2.9 42.8 2.4 100.0 445 South West 64.4 1.2 34.5 0.0 100.0 322 Education No education 96.3 1.2 2.1 0.4 100.0 507 Primary 80.2 2.1 16.8 0.9 100.0 603 Secondary 51.1 4.1 43.3 1.5 100.0 960 Higher 63.3 5.1 31.2 0.4 100.0 276 Total 69.8 3.1 26.2 1.0 100.0 2,346 espondents and Women’s Status Figure 3.1 Employment Status of Women and Men Women Men Currently employed 56% Not currently employed 2% Not employed in the 12 months preceding the survey 42% Not employed in the 12 months preceding the survey 26% Currently employed 70% Not currently employed 3% NDHS 2003Note: Totals May not add to 100 because of missing cases. The percentage of men currently employed is significantly higher in rural areas than in urban ar- eas (73 and 65 percent, respectively). Women’s employment does not vary greatly by urban-rural resi- dence. There is significant difference, however, in levels of employment by region of residence. For ex- ample, employment among women ranges from a low of 50 percent in the North East to a high of 68 per- cent in the South West. Among men, employment ranges from a low of 52 percent in the South South to a high of 85 percent in the North East. There is no uniform pattern of employment status by level of educa- tion. Occupation Respondents who are currently employed or worked within the year before the survey were asked to state their occupation. Table 3.6.1 shows that the sales and services sector employs more than half (56 percent) of work- ing women. In addition, 21 percent of working women are in agriculture, 10 percent work at skilled man- ual jobs, and 8 percent are engaged in professional, technical, and managerial work. Negligible propor- tions of working women are engaged in unskilled manual labour (3 percent), clerical jobs (2 percent), or domestic service (1 percent). Table 3.6.2 shows that the highest proportion of men work in agriculture (38 percent), followed by skilled manual occupations (21 percent) and sales and services (19 percent). Twice as many men as women are employed in the professional, technical, or managerial sector (16 and 8 per- cent, respectively). The majority of women are employed in sales and services regardless of urban-rural residence. Urban women, however, are more likely than rural women to be employed in either the skilled manual or professional sectors, while rural women are more likely to be in agriculture. More than half of rural men work in agriculture; eight in ten urban men are working in the professional, sales and services, or skilled manual sectors. There is considerable variation by geopolitical region. For example, men in the north are more likely to be in agriculture compared with those in the south. In general, southern women and men are more likely to be in professional/technical/managerial occupations than their northern counterparts, perhaps reflecting differential levels of education. Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 33 Table 3.6.1 Occupation: women Percent distribution of women employed in the 12 months preceding the survey by occupation, according to back- round characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Professional/ Sales Un- Number Background technical/ and Skilled skilled Domestic Agri- of characteristic managerial Clerical services manual manual service culture Total women ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 2.5 1.7 53.3 9.6 5.5 4.6 22.8 100.0 459 20-24 7.3 2.1 53.8 13.9 3.8 1.5 17.5 100.0 744 25-29 7.7 1.8 57.3 14.6 2.0 0.5 16.1 100.0 903 30-34 7.8 1.7 56.6 11.2 2.1 1.1 19.6 100.0 688 35-39 9.9 2.0 60.7 6.5 2.0 1.1 17.8 100.0 653 40-44 11.2 1.3 54.4 3.0 1.7 1.3 26.7 100.0 530 45-49 9.0 0.5 55.4 2.0 1.8 0.3 30.9 100.0 466 Marital status Never married 11.8 4.8 44.2 13.0 5.6 3.3 17.2 100.0 635 Married or living together 7.2 1.0 58.7 9.2 2.2 1.0 20.7 100.0 3,548 Divorced/separated/ widowed 10.0 2.7 49.5 6.4 1.4 2.0 28.0 100.0 259 Number of living children 0 9.8 3.7 49.7 12.2 4.9 3.1 16.6 100.0 930 1-2 8.0 1.3 54.8 13.8 2.4 1.0 18.7 100.0 1,186 3-4 6.5 1.0 61.4 8.0 1.9 0.9 20.4 100.0 1,082 5+ 8.0 1.1 57.6 4.9 1.8 0.8 25.6 100.0 1,245 Residence Urban 13.2 3.4 58.0 13.3 3.5 1.6 7.0 100.0 1,576 Rural 5.1 0.7 55.1 7.5 2.1 1.2 28.1 100.0 2,867 Region North Central 7.0 0.6 45.2 6.5 2.2 1.8 36.7 100.0 728 North East 4.6 1.2 63.5 11.4 1.1 2.0 16.2 100.0 749 North West 3.3 0.4 68.3 12.9 4.3 1.4 9.4 100.0 1,107 South East 15.2 3.7 45.1 8.1 2.1 0.3 25.5 100.0 434 South South 12.0 2.9 42.8 8.1 3.3 0.7 30.0 100.0 761 South West 11.5 2.7 61.9 7.8 1.7 1.6 12.7 100.0 663 Education No education 0.7 0.1 64.3 8.6 2.4 1.6 22.4 100.0 1,860 Primary 3.3 0.8 53.7 8.3 2.4 1.2 30.1 100.0 1,108 Secondary 11.3 3.5 54.2 12.6 3.6 1.2 13.6 100.0 1,188 Higher 59.9 8.0 20.1 8.0 1.4 1.1 1.6 100.0 287 Total 8.0 1.7 56.1 9.5 2.6 1.4 20.6 100.0 4,443 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Percentages may not add to 100 due to missing cases (no more than 0.3 percent of cases in any category). 34 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.6.2 Occupation: men Percent distribution of men employed in the 12 months preceding the survey by occupation, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Professional/ Sales Un- Number Background technical/ and Skilled skilled Domestic Agri- of characteristic managerial Clerical services manual manual service culture Total men ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 0.0 0.0 12.1 29.9 7.7 0.3 50.0 100.0 127 20-24 5.0 0.5 22.9 26.7 11.4 0.0 33.4 100.0 239 Earn d the cont al or nona nflu- ence 25-29 13.3 1.5 26.7 22.3 3.2 0.9 32.0 100.0 255 30-34 18.6 0.7 20.9 22.3 5.0 0.2 32.4 100.0 279 35-39 25.2 0.0 20.5 12.9 5.1 0.0 36.3 100.0 215 40-44 23.3 3.4 15.0 18.0 2.8 0.0 37.4 100.0 205 45-49 23.5 2.4 8.8 23.1 3.0 0.0 39.2 100.0 156 50-54 15.4 2.7 13.9 16.5 4.0 0.0 47.4 100.0 128 55-59 14.5 0.4 12.7 12.0 3.5 0.0 56.9 100.0 106 Marital status Never married 9.5 0.9 21.2 29.1 7.7 0.6 31.0 100.0 466 Married or living together 18.4 1.4 17.4 17.4 4.2 0.0 41.1 100.0 1,193 Divorced/separated/ widowed 14.5 0.0 19.9 23.3 7.1 0.0 35.2 100.0 50 Number of living children 0 12.6 0.7 22.5 24.8 7.8 0.5 31.1 100.0 586 1-2 14.5 1.0 21.4 20.0 6.4 0.1 36.6 100.0 355 3-4 19.0 2.2 15.0 21.1 3.3 0.0 39.3 100.0 303 5+ 19.1 1.4 13.5 16.2 2.4 0.0 47.5 100.0 465 Residence Urban 23.3 2.0 26.5 32.0 6.3 0.5 9.4 100.0 590 Rural 12.0 0.9 14.3 14.9 4.7 0.0 53.3 100.0 1,120 Region North Central 17.3 1.2 14.1 21.2 3.8 0.2 42.1 100.0 222 North East 15.9 1.0 19.0 18.4 2.8 0.0 43.0 100.0 372 North West 8.3 0.5 17.5 13.1 7.9 0.0 52.7 100.0 513 South East 22.4 0.3 30.4 25.2 10.2 0.0 11.5 100.0 147 South South 21.1 4.3 18.6 23.7 1.6 1.1 29.5 100.0 244 South West 22.4 0.7 16.0 36.9 5.3 0.0 18.7 100.0 211 Education No education 3.8 0.0 11.8 13.8 3.0 0.0 67.6 100.0 494 Primary 6.7 1.3 16.5 31.8 4.1 0.0 39.7 100.0 496 Secondary 13.3 2.5 29.7 23.4 8.9 0.6 21.7 100.0 530 Higher 79.0 1.0 9.9 3.1 3.8 0.0 3.3 100.0 189 Total 15.9 1.3 18.5 20.8 5.2 0.2 38.1 100.0 1,709 ings, Employers, and Continuity of Employment Table 3.7.1 presents information on women’s employment status, the form of earnings, an inuity of employment. The table takes into account whether women are involved in agricultur gricultural occupations, since all of the employment variables shown in the table are strongly i d by the sector in which a woman is employed. Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 35 Table 3.7.1 Type of employment: women Percent distribution of women employed in the 12 months pre- ceding the survey by type of earnings, type of employer, and continuity of employment, according to type of employment (agricultural or nonagricultural), Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Agri- Nonagri- Employment cultural cultural characteristic work work Total –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Type of earnings Cash only 24.5 88.5 75.3 Cash and in-kind 21.6 5.7 9.0 In-kind only 8.8 0.7 2.4 Not paid 45.0 4.4 12.8 Missing 0.2 0.7 0.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Type of employer Employed by family member 25.6 8.5 12.0 Employed by nonfamily member 2.0 15.1 12.4 Self-employed 72.4 75.7 75.0 Missing 0.0 0.8 0.6 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Continuity of employment All year 38.3 77.0 69.0 Seasonal 59.3 14.3 23.6 Occasional 2.1 7.9 6.7 Missing 0.3 0.8 0.7 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Number of women 916 3,525 4,443 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Total includes 2 women with missing information on type of employment who are not shown separately Table 3.7.2 Type of employment: men Percent distribution of men employed in the 12 months preced- ing the survey by type of earnings, according to type of employ- ment (agricultural or nonagricultural), Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Agri- Nonagri- Employment cultural cultural characteristic work work Total –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Type of earnings Cash only 18.6 84.9 59.6 Cash and in-kind 19.5 6.2 11.3 In-kind only 8.6 1.7 4.3 Not paid 53.3 4.7 23.3 Missing 0.0 2.5 1.5 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Number of men 652 1,057 1,709 The data show that almost half of women employed in agricultural work are not paid (45 percent). A majority of women in this sector report that they are self-employed (72 percent) and that they work seasonally (59 percent). Among women employed in nonagricultural work, most earn cash only (89 percent), say that they are self-employed (76 percent) and work all year (77 percent). Information was also collected on men’s earnings (Table 3.7.2 and Figure 3.2). Similar to women, the majority of men in agriculture (53 percent) state that they are not paid for their work, while 85 percent of those in nonagricul- tural jobs state they earn cash only. 36 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Figure 3.2 Type of Earnings of Employed Women and Men Women Men Cash only 75% Not paid 13% Cash and in-kind 9% Not paid 23% Cash only 60% In-kind only 2% Cash and in-kind 11% In-kind only 4% NDHS 2003Note: Total may not add to 100 because of missing cases. 3.5 MEASURES OF WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT Decision on Use of Earnings As means of assessing women’s autonomy, respondents in the 2003 NDHS who had received cash earnings for work in the 12 months before the survey were asked who mainly decides how these earnings will be used. This information allows the assessment of women’s control over their own earn- ings. In addition, they were asked about the proportion of household expenditures supported by their earn- ings. This information not only allows an evaluation of the relative importance of women’s earnings in the household economy, but has implications for the empowerment of women. It is expected that em- ployment and earnings are more likely to empower women if their earnings are important for meeting the needs of their households. Table 3.8 shows women’s degree of control over the use of their earnings and the extent to which the earnings of women meet household expenditures by background characteristics. Almost three-quarters of women who receive cash earnings report that they alone decide how their earnings are used, and an additional 16 percent say that they decide jointly with their husband or someone else. Only 10 percent of women report that someone else decides how their earnings will be used. Women age 15-19 are more likely than older women to report that someone else decides how their earnings are to be used. Almost all women who are divorced, separated, or widowed say that they alone are responsible for deciding how to use their earnings. Among currently married women, seven out of ten report that they alone decide how their earnings are used, while one-fifth say that such decisions are made jointly with their husbands or someone else. More than three-quarters of never-married women make independent decisions on how to use their earnings. The data suggest that the proportion of women who make joint decisions with their husbands or someone else increases with parity. More urban women than rural women report that they alone decide how to spend their earnings, although the difference is not great (78 and 71 percent, respectively). Among the geopolitical regions, women in North West and South West are most likely to decide on how to use their earnings relative to women i other regions. Surprisingly, there is no difference by level of education. n Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 37 Table 3.8 Decision on use of earnings and contribution of earnings to household expenditures Percent distribution of women employed in the 12 months preceding the survey receiving cash earnings by person who decides how earnings are to be used and by proportion of household expenditures met by earnings, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Person who decides Proportion of household how earnings are used expenditures met by earnings ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Someone Almost Less Half Number Background Self else none/ than or of characteristic only Jointly1 only2 Missing Total none half more All Missing Total women 38 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 62.8 14.7 22.1 0.4 100.0 41.2 31.2 23.3 2.7 1.6 100.0 330 20-24 77.7 10.4 11.9 0.0 100.0 32.9 31.9 28.6 6.4 0.2 100.0 591 25-29 74.1 17.1 8.5 0.3 100.0 27.5 36.1 28.8 7.6 0.0 100.0 801 30-34 75.1 16.2 8.6 0.1 100.0 19.4 33.7 38.2 8.6 0.1 100.0 605 35-39 72.5 18.2 9.3 0.0 100.0 17.8 38.1 36.8 7.3 0.0 100.0 589 40-44 69.8 21.5 8.7 0.0 100.0 13.9 26.5 42.9 16.3 0.4 100.0 441 45-49 77.0 17.8 5.1 0.1 100.0 15.9 32.2 37.7 13.8 0.4 100.0 388 Marital status Never married 78.0 7.2 14.8 0.0 100.0 33.8 22.5 31.9 11.5 0.3 100.0 462 Married or living together 71.0 19.0 9.9 0.1 100.0 23.1 36.7 34.2 5.8 0.3 100.0 3,062 Divorced/separated/ widowed 97.4 0.4 2.1 0.2 100.0 14.3 11.1 30.0 44.2 0.4 100.0 220 Number of living children 0 73.8 11.2 14.8 0.2 100.0 37.9 26.0 28.1 7.8 0.2 100.0 704 1-2 75.0 15.4 9.6 0.0 100.0 23.6 34.8 32.7 8.2 0.6 100.0 1,015 3-4 75.2 16.4 8.0 0.3 100.0 22.0 36.0 32.9 9.0 0.1 100.0 966 5+ 69.9 20.9 9.2 0.0 100.0 16.7 34.7 38.9 9.6 0.1 100.0 1,059 Residence Urban 77.8 14.2 8.0 0.0 100.0 22.2 31.9 35.5 10.4 0.0 100.0 1,414 Rural 70.7 17.8 11.3 0.2 100.0 24.9 34.4 32.6 7.8 0.4 100.0 2,331 Region North Central 64.9 14.9 19.8 0.5 100.0 23.6 31.2 39.1 6.1 0.0 100.0 515 North East 71.0 18.8 10.1 0.1 100.0 43.7 31.2 22.0 2.9 0.3 100.0 656 North West 80.6 14.0 5.3 0.1 100.0 25.6 44.4 26.7 2.7 0.7 100.0 1,053 South East 74.5 18.4 7.1 0.1 100.0 17.9 38.3 33.8 9.8 0.3 100.0 296 South South 63.5 23.3 13.2 0.0 100.0 8.3 23.0 43.6 25.0 0.0 100.0 617 South West 80.2 11.6 8.2 0.0 100.0 18.8 26.9 43.4 11.0 0.0 100.0 607 Education No education 74.9 16.2 8.6 0.3 100.0 29.9 37.1 27.4 5.1 0.5 100.0 1,612 Primary 71.1 17.3 11.6 0.0 100.0 18.0 31.5 38.1 12.3 0.1 100.0 886 Secondary 72.6 15.8 11.6 0.0 100.0 21.2 31.6 37.1 9.9 0.1 100.0 972 Higher 74.6 17.0 8.4 0.0 100.0 17.5 24.1 44.0 14.4 0.0 100.0 274 Total 73.4 16.4 10.1 0.1 100.0 23.9 33.4 33.7 8.7 0.3 100.0 3,744 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 With husband or someone else 2 Includes husband Table 3.8 also shows the proportion of household expenditures met by earnings. More than half of women who receive cash earnings say that less than half or none of their household expenditures are met by their earnings. One-third of the women say their earnings contribute to half or more of their household expenditures. Only 9 percent of the women say that their earnings meet all household expendi- tures. Younger women are more likely to contribute nothing or almost nothing, while older women are more likely to meet all household expenditures. Divorced, separated, and widowed women are more | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status likely to meet all household expenditures with their earnings, compared with never married or currently married women. Table 3.9 shows the relationship between women’s control over earnings and their contribution to household expenditures based on marital status. Seventy-one percent of women who are currently married or living together with their partner, decide by themselves how their earnings are used, while almost one- fifth decide jointly with their husband or partner. One in ten women says that her husband alone decides. Eighty-four percent of unmarried women report that they alone decide how their earnings are used, while 11 percent report that someone else only makes the decision. The greater a woman’s contribution to household expenditures, the more likely she is to decide jointly with her husband how earnings are used. It is notable that one in ten women who contribute at least half of the money used for household expendi- tures say that their husband alone decides how their money is used. In addition to information on women’s education, employment status, and earnings control, the 2003 NDHS also obtained information from both women and men on other measures of women’s em- powerment and status. Specifically, questions were asked on women’s participation in household deci- sionmaking, on acceptance of wife-beating, and on opinions about when a wife should be able to refuse to have sex with her husband. These data provide insights into women’s control over their environment and their attitudes toward gender roles; both factors are relevant to understanding women’s health behaviours and outcomes. Table 3.9 Women’s control over earnings Percent distribution of women who received cash earnings for work in the past 12 months by person who decides how earnings are used, according to marital status, and the proportion of household expenditures met by earnings, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Currently married or living together Not married1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Jointly Jointly Jointly Some- Contribution with with Hus- Someone Number with one Number to household Self hus- someone band else of Self someone else of expenditures only band else only only Total women only else only Total women –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Almost none/none 84.3 8.5 0.5 5.7 0.6 100.0 708 83.2 4.2 12.6 100.0 188 Less than half 73.2 16.0 1.2 9.1 0.4 100.0 1,122 77.8 6.0 16.3 100.0 129 Half or more 63.2 23.5 0.6 11.5 1.1 100.0 1,047 83.7 6.5 9.7 100.0 213 All 49.4 39.7 0.3 10.4 0.3 100.0 177 92.6 2.2 5.2 100.0 150 Total 71.0 18.2 0.8 9.2 0.7 100.0 3,062 84.2 5.0 10.7 100.0 682 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Totals include 8 currently married women and 2 unmarried women with missing information on contribution to household expen- ditures. Percentages for currently married women may not add to 100 due to missing cases (no more than 0.3 percent of cases in any category). 1 Never-married, divorced, separated, or widowed women Household Decisionmaking To assess women’s decisionmaking autonomy, information was collected on women’s participa- tion in seven different types of decisions: the respondent’s own health care, making large household pur- chases, making household purchases for daily needs, visits to family or friends, what food should be cooked each day, and children’s health care and education. The ability of women to make decisions that affect the circumstances of their own lives is an essential aspect of empowerment. Table 3.10 shows the percent distribution of women according to who in the household usually has the final say on each one of the different types of decisions. Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 39 Among married women, decisionmaking is highly dominated by husbands. For each specified de- cision, the majority of women state that their husband has the final say. At least two-thirds of women state that their husband alone makes decisions regarding the children’s health care and education, large household purchases, and even the respondent’s own health care. Women are most likely to have a final say in what food to cook each day—46 percent state that they alone or jointly decide what to cook— followed by visits to friends and relatives (38 percent), and daily household purchases (33 percent). Among unmarried women, the majority also report that, when applicable, someone else has the final say in each of the specified decisions. Table 3.10 Women’s participation in decisionmaking Percent distribution of women by person who has the final say in making specific decisions, according to current marital status and type of deci- sion, Nigeria 2003 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Currently married or living together Not married 1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Decision Decision Jointly Jointly Some- not Jointly Some- not with with Hus- one made/not Number with one made/not Number Self hus- someone band else appli- of Self someone else appli- of Decision only band else only only cable Total women only else only cable Total women ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Own health care 12.8 10.3 0.1 73.4 3.1 0.1 100.0 5,336 22.5 4.7 67.0 5.7 100.0 2,284 Large household purchases 7.1 12.4 0.1 77.5 2.6 0.2 100.0 5,336 16.4 5.4 65.2 13.0 100.0 2,284 Daily household purchases 19.0 13.9 0.2 64.5 2.4 0.0 100.0 5,336 18.4 5.3 64.0 12.1 100.0 2,284 Visits to family or relatives 17.7 20.4 0.2 59.7 1.7 0.2 100.0 5,336 23.1 6.1 62.1 8.6 100.0 2,284 What food to cook each day 33.5 11.7 0.8 51.0 2.9 0.0 100.0 5,336 19.8 6.0 62.8 11.3 100.0 2,284 Children's health care 9.3 17.3 0.3 66.8 2.1 4.1 100.0 5,336 13.8 4.3 36.2 45.6 100.0 2,284 Children's education 4.8 16.5 0.3 67.7 2.0 8.6 100.0 5,336 13.3 4.6 35.3 46.7 100.0 2,284 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1 Never-married, divorced, separated, or widowed women Table 3.11.1 and Figure 3.3 show how participation in decisionmaking varies by background characteristics. Women are considered to participate in a decision if they alone or jointly with a husband or someone else have the final say in that decision. The results indicate that just 14 percent of women par- ticipate in all of the five specified decisions, while 46 percent of women report that they do not participate in any of the decisions. The table shows that women’s involvement in all the specified decisions increases with age, from a low of 5 percent among women age 15-19 to a high of 31 percent among women age 45- 49. Divorced, separated, or widowed women are much more likely to be involved in all types of decisions than currently married women and never-married women (56, 13, and 11 percent, respectively). Women who have no living children, no education, those living in rural areas and in the north, and those who are not employed are the least likely to participate in all the specified decisions. 40 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.11.1 Women’s participation in decisionmaking by background characteristics: women Percentage of women who say that they alone or jointly have the final say in specific decisions, by background charac- teristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Alone or jointly has final say in: ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Making What None Own Making daily Visits to food All of the Number Background health large pur- family or to cook specified specified of characteristic care purchases chases relatives each day decisions decisions women –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 9.7 6.3 8.3 16.1 15.5 4.6 73.8 1,716 20-24 19.7 13.3 21.0 27.1 31.2 8.8 53.4 1,494 25-29 25.2 20.6 35.8 39.6 45.5 13.7 37.7 1,382 30-34 29.9 25.9 38.6 45.4 50.6 19.0 34.3 941 35-39 33.1 31.2 44.1 47.4 55.2 22.6 32.3 816 40-44 34.6 32.9 46.9 46.3 54.3 22.8 33.2 688 45-49 45.8 39.3 52.5 59.4 65.0 30.8 22.9 583 Marital status Never married 20.1 14.2 16.4 21.2 18.2 10.8 68.8 1,926 Married or living together 23.3 19.6 33.0 38.3 46.0 13.0 40.0 5,336 Divorced/separated/ widowed 65.7 62.8 63.6 72.1 66.3 56.0 20.6 358 Number of living children 0 17.2 12.7 16.3 22.8 21.2 9.0 65.6 2,499 1-2 25.0 19.9 31.2 36.4 43.5 14.7 41.8 2,009 3-4 27.5 23.1 37.2 42.8 49.0 16.1 36.8 1,526 5+ 32.4 30.1 44.2 47.7 56.1 21.1 31.1 1,586 Residence Urban 30.3 24.4 36.3 40.3 44.6 17.9 41.1 2,629 Rural 21.4 18.1 27.0 33.0 37.4 12.6 49.1 4,991 Region North Central 21.3 12.7 26.1 23.2 39.5 8.8 50.6 1,121 North East 12.4 11.4 15.3 39.8 38.8 6.8 46.9 1,368 North West 13.1 11.7 16.8 28.0 26.4 8.4 57.5 2,095 South East 48.9 42.9 59.0 57.1 57.6 34.9 30.9 737 South South 32.7 31.2 44.4 36.7 47.6 21.4 41.2 1,342 South West 39.8 28.0 43.8 42.3 47.2 19.7 35.4 958 Education No education 17.5 14.6 20.7 32.7 34.8 10.2 50.5 3,171 Primary 30.1 28.4 41.8 40.7 49.7 19.7 39.1 1,628 Secondary 26.1 19.9 31.2 32.4 37.1 14.2 49.4 2,370 Higher 44.7 33.3 50.1 53.5 55.4 26.8 28.0 451 Employment Not employed 12.4 8.6 12.3 21.3 22.2 6.2 66.5 3,326 Employed for cash 35.4 30.6 44.8 48.1 53.7 22.0 30.0 3,630 Employed, not for cash 25.5 22.9 41.9 37.3 54.3 15.4 34.8 622 Total 24.5 20.3 30.2 35.5 39.9 14.4 46.4 7,620 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Total includes 42 cases with missing information on employment. Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 41 46 16 13 6 5 14 None 1 2 3 4 5 Number of decisions 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Percent of women Figure 3.3 Number of Decisions in Which Women Participate in the Final Say NDHS 2003 The 2003 NDHS also sought men’s opinions concerning women’s participation in decisionmak- ing in five specified areas. Table 3.11.2 shows that only 5 percent of men said a wife should participate in all decisions either alone or jointly, while 42 percent said that she should not participate in any decision. Among the five specified decisions, men were most likely to think that women should participate in the decision on how many children to have (44 percent), followed by visits to family or relatives and how to spend her money (31 and 26 percent, respectively). More rural men (46 percent) disapprove of wives’ participation in any of the specified decisions than urban men (36 percent). There is significant variation by region with the South West, South East, and North Central having lower proportions of men who believe wives should not participate in any decisions. The data indicate that men with higher education are more likely to support their wives participation in all specified decisions than men with no education (11 and 2 percent, respectively). 42 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.11.2 Women’s participation in decisionmaking by background characteristics: men Percentage of men who say that the wife alone or jointly should have the final say in specific decisions, by background character- istics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Wife alone or jointly should have final say in: –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– What to None Making Making Visits to do with How many All of the Number Background large daily family or the money children specified specified of characteristic purchases purchases relatives she earns to have decisions decisions men –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 13.8 51.5 32.8 52.5 42.7 8.1 23.8 453 20-24 16.7 48.0 34.8 59.8 53.3 8.9 19.4 426 25-29 14.5 52.9 32.0 43.3 43.7 5.4 25.0 328 30-34 21.1 49.8 36.6 58.3 54.9 11.4 23.7 299 35-39 13.5 40.9 30.7 59.6 45.3 8.7 21.7 220 40-44 21.0 42.6 31.7 58.9 47.5 7.5 21.9 208 45-49 13.2 44.4 33.9 53.7 45.0 5.7 25.5 159 50-54 11.4 50.9 33.8 60.1 45.2 5.4 18.9 133 55-59 10.8 38.9 34.1 54.4 38.8 3.8 25.1 120 Marital status Never married 16.1 57.2 37.8 57.2 50.0 9.2 17.5 1,048 Married or living together 15.6 40.7 30.0 52.8 44.4 6.6 27.2 1,245 Divorced/separated/ widowed 7.1 33.7 26.9 70.5 51.1 6.6 19.9 53 Number of living children 0 17.5 53.6 37.1 56.5 49.0 9.7 19.3 1,168 1-2 13.1 40.0 31.6 56.0 49.8 5.5 25.1 379 3-4 15.1 43.3 30.5 52.7 43.1 6.2 27.5 316 5+ 13.5 43.5 28.1 52.8 43.0 5.8 25.9 482 Residence Urban 18.0 50.5 38.9 65.0 51.8 9.0 14.9 872 Rural 14.2 46.4 30.2 49.3 44.3 7.0 27.4 1,474 Region North Central 20.3 75.1 46.4 63.2 52.3 10.6 11.8 348 North East 1.9 15.2 12.2 32.2 36.0 0.5 51.1 421 North West 5.2 12.3 16.8 58.2 42.8 0.5 32.5 602 South East 39.0 62.3 56.7 55.3 57.4 13.2 10.1 207 South South 17.3 83.9 37.5 49.3 45.4 10.6 10.9 445 South West 30.6 68.8 57.8 78.7 59.6 20.3 3.6 322 Education No education 4.8 17.4 15.8 44.7 33.6 1.5 43.1 507 Primary 14.6 46.1 31.5 51.4 41.7 7.2 27.1 603 Secondary 18.8 61.9 40.3 58.9 53.7 9.1 12.8 960 Higher 26.7 58.9 46.3 69.5 60.7 16.0 10.2 276 Employment Not employed 18.8 61.5 37.0 57.1 48.5 11.0 15.0 703 Employed for cash 17.4 52.0 39.5 61.0 52.7 8.3 16.6 1,179 Employed, not for cash 5.1 16.9 11.3 36.3 29.6 1.5 50.8 450 Missing 48.1 15.3 51.2 71.9 60.2 0.0 24.5 14 Total 15.6 47.9 33.4 55.1 47.1 7.8 22.7 2,346 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Total includes 14 cases with missing information on employment. Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 43 Women’s Agreement with Reasons for Wife Beating The 2003 NDHS gathered information on women’s attitudes toward wife beating, a proxy for women’s perception of their status. Women who believe that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife for any reason at all may also believe themselves to be of low status both absolutely and relative to men. Such perceptions by women could act as a barrier to accessing health care for themselves and their children, could affect their attitude toward contraceptive use, and could impact their general well- being. Women were asked whether a husband is justified in beating his wife under a series of circum- stances. Possible reasons that justified a man beating his wife included her burning the food, her not hav- ing the food prepared on time, her arguing with him, her going out without telling him, her neglecting the children, and her refusing sexual relations. The results are summarized in Table 3.12.1. Approximately two-thirds (65 percent) of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife for at least one of the specified reasons. More than half of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she goes out without telling him, and about half agree that she should be beaten if she neglects the children. Slightly smaller percentages agree if a woman argues with her husband (44 per- cent) or refuses to have sex with her husband (38 percent). Approximately one-third feel that a husband is justified in beating his wife if the food is not cooked on time or if she burns the food. There is little variation in these beliefs by age. Women who are married, have at least one child, or who reside in rural areas are the most likely to agree with at least one of these reasons. There are large variations by geopolitical region. Almost all women in the North East agree with at least one reason for wife-beating (90 percent), compared with less than one-third of women in the South East (31 percent). Differences are also notable by level of education. Agreement with at least one reason ranges from a high of 78 percent among women with no education to a low of 31 percent among women with higher educa- tion. Women who participate in more household decisions are less likely to feel that wife beating is justi- fied for any reason. Table 3.12.2 presents the percentage of men who agree that a husband is justified in beating his wife for specific reasons by background characteristics. Sixty-one percent of men agree with at least one specified reason for wife beating, a proportion similar to women (65 percent). The most prevalent reasons given for wife beating include, going out without telling the husband (50 percent), neglecting the children (47 percent), arguing with the husband (40 percent), and refusing to have sex with him (34 percent). Men who are divorced, separated, or widowed are more likely than currently married or never married men to agree with at least one specified reason for wife beating (75 percent compared with 63 percent and 59 percent). Men in rural areas are more likely to agree with at least one specified reason for wife beating than those in urban areas (66 and 54 percent, respectively). Similar to women, men’s beliefs vary greatly by region. Men who have no education and who are employed but do not earn cash are also more likely to agree with at least one specified reason. The table shows that men who support women’s participation in decisionmaking are less likely to agree with any of the reasons justifying wife beating. 44 | Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status Table 3.12.1 Women’s attitude toward wife beating Percentage of women who agree that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife for specific reasons, according to background characteristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife if she: Percentage –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– who agree Goes out Refuses with at Burns Doesn’t without Neglects to have least one Number Background the cook food Argues telling the sex specified of characteristic food on time with him him children with him reason women –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 29.6 33.8 42.5 51.1 49.3 33.3 63.4 1,716 20-24 29.6 32.1 43.4 51.6 48.0 36.1 63.0 1,494 25-29 27.6 31.0 40.1 51.5 47.8 36.6 63.3 1,382 30-34 30.7 32.2 42.6 53.9 51.4 37.3 67.5 941 35-39 33.0 36.6 45.6 54.1 48.2 40.5 65.7 816 40-44 33.1 33.3 45.5 56.1 51.0 43.8 66.2 688 45-49 38.4 38.1 51.0 56.4 53.8 44.9 66.6 583 Marital status Never married 21.0 25.9 32.4 35.3 40.5 20.8 51.4 1,926 Married or living together 34.3 36.0 47.3 59.2 52.7 43.4 69.4 5,336 Divorced/separated/widowed 30.4 34.2 46.3 51.3 48.6 39.6 62.2 358 Number of living children 0 24.2 27.9 36.8 42.1 43.2 27.6 56.4 2,499 1-2 34.0 36.1 47.2 58.6 52.7 41.2 68.7 2,009 3-4 32.3 35.3 45.3 57.9 51.6 42.1 68.0 1,526 5+ 35.3 36.5 47.5 57.5 53.0 44.2 68.7 1,586 Residence Urban 22.7 24.9 35.4 42.2 41.1 28.1 56.6 2,629 Rural 35.0 37.8 47.8 58.4 53.8 42.5 68.7 4,991 Region North Central 27.4 31.8 34.0 39.7 44.2 28.8 52.9 1,121 North East 65.7 67.5 80.3 83.2 81.4 73.5 90.2 1,368 North West 29.8 28.9 41.4 71.8 49.4 47.7 75.3 2,095 South East 8.8 13.2 16.4 17.4 20.9 9.3 31.3 737 South South 25.9 30.5 39.8 43.5 46.8 26.1 62.0 1,342 South West 10.5 15.6 32.7 23.4 35.6 12.0 46.9 958 Education No education 42.7 43.1 55.8 71.1 60.6 54.2 77.9 3,171 Primary 30.3 33.9 43.6 51.0 49.9 35.5 64.3 1,628 Secondary 19.6 24.5 32.6 36.5 39.8 21.9 53.1 2,370 Higher 7.0 8.9 14.1 15.7 19.5 10.0 30.6 451 Employment Not employed 31.4 33.6 43.4 54.7 49.8 39.1 65.0 3,326 Employed for cash 29.4 31.9 43.2 51.3 48.4 36.6 63.3 3,630 Employed, not for cash 33.4 39.1 44.3 50.7 52.5 33.1 68.3 622 Number of decisions in which woman has final say1 0 32.7 35.3 44.9 57.2 49.9 39.3 67.5 3,534 1-2 35.2 37.3 48.7 58.6 57.4 42.8 70.2 2,160 3-4 23.1 27.4 38.3 40.7 43.7 31.4 58.8 825 5 21.5 23.6 32.4 36.3 36.5 26.3 48.1 1,100 Total 30.7 33.3 43.5 52.8 49.4 37.5 64.5 7,620 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Note: Total includes 42 cases with missing information on employment. 1 Either by herself or jointly with others Characteristics of Respondents and Women’s Status 45 46 | Chara - Table 3.12.2 Men’s attitude toward wife beating Percentage of men who agree that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife for specific reasons, according to back ground characteristics, Nigeria 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife if she: Percentage ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– who agree Goes out Refuses with at Burns Doesn’t Argues without Neglects to have least one Number Background the cook food with telling the sex specified of characteristic food on time him him children with him reason men –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Age 15-19 21.9 23.3 35.4 50.0 43.6 31.9 60.1 453 20-24 17.7 21.7 40.9 49.2 47.9 33.8 59.4 426 25-29 14.9 15.9 42.1 45.5 46.9 31.4 60.2 328 30-34 10.2 12.0 39.6 51.3 47.4 31.1 62.5 299 35-39 13.8 12.5 45.1 54.5 48.9 36.1 68.8 220 40-44 13.3 14.3 37.4 49.0 44.6 31.5 58.0 208 45-49 12.9 16.2 43.0 50.8 47.4 38.9 61.5 159 50-54 13.3 14.8 49.8 53.4 50.5 44.4 69.2 133 55-59 10.3 11.7 30.6 48.3 41.6 29.7 55.1 120 Marital status Never married 17.4 19.9 37.2 46.3 44.1 29.3 58.7 1,048 Married or living together 13.6 14.4 41.9 52.8 47.8 36.7 62.8 1,245 Divorced/separated/widowed 19.5 27.8 52.0 51.9 62.4 41.7 75.2 53 Number of living children 0 17.3 19.4 38.0 47.3 44.3 29.7 59.0 1,168 1-2 13.3 14.3 39.3 52.5 46.0 35.8 61.7 379 3-4 13.2 14.3 43.0 50.0 47.5 35.4 64.8 316 5+ 14.3 15.9 43.6 53.9 51.5 39.6 64.2 482 Residence Urban 8.9 10.7 29.8 38.9 36.9 24.4 53.7 872 Rural 19.3 21.0 46.1 56.3 52.1 38.9 65.8 1,474 Region North Central 13.8 21.5 33.2 37.1 42.4 22.4 50.7 348 North East 30.2 28.9 74.9 74.5 74.7 69.3 82.0 421 North West 14.0 14.6 35.2 66.3 45.1 43.9 70.8 602 South East 9.0 9.0 15.0 28.3 25.3 4.2 36.6 207 South South 12.9 13.7 40.8 45.6 45.0 25.6 60.5 445 South West 8.4 11.9 26.0 20.4 32.2 9.1 44.8 322 Education No education 21.1 20.8 49.9 65.4 55.5 51.8 73.5 507 Primary 15.2 18.6 41.2 51.6 46.7 31.7 61.0 603 Secondary 14.8 17.3 35.9 42.4 41.8 26.7 56.0 960 Higher 8.0 6.9 34.0 43.6 45.6 27.6 57.8 276 Employment Not e

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