Recode 4 Dhs

Description
of the
Demographic and Health Surveys
Individual Recode
Data File
MEASURE DHS +
Version 1.0
(with differences from DHS III)
March 5, 2008
Foreword
DHS surveys collect primary data using several types of questionnaires. A household questionnaire is
used to collect information on characteristics of the household's dwelling unit, and data related to the height
and weight for women and children in the household. It is also used to identify members of the household
who are eligible for an individual interview. Eligible respondents are then interviewed using an individual
questionnaire.
In a majority of DHS surveys eligible individuals include women of reproductive age (15-49) and men age
15-59, or in some cases 15-54. In some countries only women are interviewed. Individual questionnaires
include information on fertility, family planning and maternal and child health. Data are available from DHS
for each of these surveys by request through the mail or from our web site at www.measuredhs.com. Data
from DHS surveys are produced in both raw and recode formats. A raw data file includes the data as they
were collected, without any structural changes. These files are generally not distributed, but they are also
available on request. A recode data file is in a standardized format, with the same structure across countries
participating in each DHS phase. This standardization is meant to facilitate comparisons across surveys. This
document describes the standard recode defined for the fourth round of DHS surveys (MEASURE DHS+).
Recode structures are defined for households, women and men.
DHS also collects data using other types of surveys and questionnaires. These include surveys of education,
health service providers, communities, household health expenditures, young adults, and others. These data
are also available, but there are no recode definitions for them.
Data Archive,
Demographic and Health Surveys - MEASURE DHS+
Table of Contents
General Description ........................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction........................................................................................................................... 1
Rationale for Recoding ......................................................................................................... 1
Data File Structure ................................................................................................................ 2
Coding Standards .................................................................................................................. 3
Respondent Identification ..................................................................................................... 4
Record Identification ............................................................................................................ 4
Survey Identification............................................................................................................. 4
Century Month Code............................................................................................................. 5
Imputed Dates ....................................................................................................................... 5
Model Questionnaires ........................................................................................................... 6
Sections and Occurrences ..................................................................................................... 6
Section and Variable Descriptions........................................................................................ 6
Section and Variable Description ...................................................................................................... 6
Section and Variable Description - Household.................................................................................. 6
Section and Variable Description - Men............................................................................................ 6
General Description
Introduction
This document contains two parts. The first part is a general discussion of the recode file, including
the rationale for recoding; description of the physical structure in which the recode file is available; coding
standards used in the data file; location of identification information; use of century month codes for dates and
imputation of partial dates; DHS model questionnaires; sections and occurrences. The second part provides a
description of each variable in the data file, giving additional information that is not available in the
dictionary.
Rationale for Recoding

The individual data are transformed into a standardized recode dataset for several reasons:
- First, dates for several key events are imputed as much analysis of the data is based on
these events and their dates are often incomplete or missing. The imputed dates are included
in the data file to allow analysts to produce results consistent with those published by DHS
and to save analysts the time and trouble of creating their own imputation schemes.
- Second, variables as collected in the original questionnaire are in a form convenient for
collection but not always for analysis. Often the same question is asked in several places in
the questionnaire, but to different respondents. In the recode file these variables are
combined and created in a form that is easy to use for analysis.
- Third, summary variables are often necessary in analysis and many of these, including the
summary variables that are used in the DHS reports, are included in the recode file.
- Fourth, certain indices, particularly the anthropometric indices from the height and weight
data, are calculated from the data and included in the recode file.
- Finally, and in many ways most importantly, the data in the recode file are in a
standardized format allowing easy comparison of data between countries.
The DHS approach to creating standardized individual recode data files for each country is part of the
DHS policy to make the data accessible, providing the analyst with the data in the most convenient form for
analysis. This approach, while providing easy access to the data, is not without its pitfalls. DHS strongly
suggests that analysts become familiar with the questionnaires used in the surveys they are analyzing.
The questionnaires used in one country, while containing essentially the same information, may be different
in many ways from those used in another country. In creating the standardized individual recode data files
these differences require special consideration and total standardization is obviously not possible. The recode
data file is structured in two parts, standard sections and country-specific sections. The standard sections
contain the same variables in the same positions for all countries. The country-specific sections contain all
variables specific to the country and so are not standardized across countries.
MEASURE DHS+ individual recode
March 5, 2008
Data File Structure

The recode data file is available in three different structures; the structure to use depends on the
hardware and software requirements of the analyst:
Flat
Each record of the data file represents one case (respondent), with all variables being placed
one after the other on the same record. The repeating sections of the recode file are placed
one after the other on the record, with the maximum number of occurrences of each section
being represented in the data file. Each variable in a repeating section is placed immediately
after the preceding variable of the same occurrence, such that all variables for occurrence 1
precede all variables for occurrence 2 of a section. For example, in the birth history BIDX,
BORD, B0, B1 etc. for the first occurrence appear followed by the second occurrence of
BIDX, BORD, B0, B1 etc. The length of the records in the data file are fixed, exceeding
4000 characters in total. The total size of the data file is on average approximately 40M
bytes, depending on the sample size, with the largest files being over 380 M bytes in size.
the flat file is designed for users using statistical packages that only support data structures
containing a fixed number of records per case. This format is similar to the format of the
World Fertility Survey standard recode files. An SPSS/PC+, SAS or STATA data file
description is distributed with this file format.
Rectangular
Each case (respondent) in the data file contains a fixed number of records, with each record
representing a section of the data file. For repeating sections there is a record for each
occurrence of the section, with the maximum number of occurrences of each repeating
section being included in the data file. The number of records in a data file will vary from
country to country as the number of country-specific sections of the data file varies, but for
the standard sections of the data file there are 70 records, excluding the calendar. For data
files distributed on magnetic tape the record length of each record will be fixed at the length
of the longest record in the data file, but for PC users the record length will vary, with each
record terminating with a CR/LF, as for standard DOS text files. The total size of the data
file is about 55 M bytes, with the largest files being over 550 M bytes in size. On magnetic
tape the file size is considerably larger. The rectangular file is designed for microcomputer
users using software that requires a fixed number of records per case. An SPSS/PC+ , SAS
or STATA data file description is distributed with this file format.
Hierarchical
The hierarchical data structure is identical to the rectangular data structure, with the
exception that records exist only for the occurrences of the sections that are necessary. As an
example of the difference, if a woman has 6 children there will be 6 records in the birth
history section in the hierarchical structure, but 20 records (the maximum number of
occurrences for this section) in the rectangular data structure, with the last 14 occurrences
filled with blanks. The record length will be the same as for the rectangular file. The total
size of the file is approximately 25 M bytes, depending on the sample size, with the largest
files being over 265 M bytes in size. The hierarchical data structure is designed for use with
ISSA, the Integrated System for Survey Analysis, available from DHS and CSPro. An ISSA
dictionary is distributed with this file format.
March 5, 2008
MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode
Coding Standards
Special codes are used throughout the data file for certain responses. The general coding scheme is
presented below. The codes given apply to 4 digit, 3 digit, 2 digit and 1 digit variables, respectively. If there
are other special responses to questions, these are coded in decreasing order from these special codes, i.e.,
9996, 996, 96, 6; 9995, 995, 95, 5; etc.
BLANK
Variable is not applicable for this respondent either because the question was not
asked in a particular country or because the question was not asked of this
respondent due to the flow or skip pattern of the questionnaire.
This question should have been answered by the respondent, but the questionnaire
contained no information for this variable (missing data).
The respondent replied "Don't know" to this question.
The answer to this question was inconsistent with other responses in the
questionnaire and it was thought that this response was probably in error. The
response was changed to this code to avoid further problems due to inconsistency of
information. This usually takes place during the secondary editing stage of data
processing.
9999, 999, 99, 9

9998, 998, 98, 8
9997, 997, 97, 7
In addition a code of 0 is generally used as a negative response in the data file. For example, "No
education" is coded 0 for V106, "No problem" is coded 0 for V467A, and a simple response of "No" is coded
0 in all standard sections of the data file. In the country-specific sections of the data file, variables are
generally coded in the same way as they were on the questionnaire and a "No" answer usually has code 0.
In certain questions a two-digit coding scheme is used in which the first digit, representing the major
coding category, is standard, but the second digit is country-specific. This applies to questions such as those
relating to water source, toilet facilities, and source of contraception. For example, for source of
contraception the major categories are:
1
2
3
4
Public Sector
Private Medical Sector
Other Private Sector
Other
The coding scheme for V326 (last source of contraception for current users of modern methods)
might use codes such as:
11
12
...
21
22
...
31
...
Government hospital
Government health center
Private hospital or clinic
Private doctor
Shop
In the above coding scheme, the first digit is the standard major category; the second digit is countryspecific.
March 5, 2008
Respondent Identification
Each record of the data file starts with the identification for each case in the data file, and has the
variable name CASEID (see description of CASEID). It occupies the first 15 character positions of each
record, irrespective of the type of data file structure.
Record Identification
For rectangular and hierarchical data files, each record has an identifying code in character positions
16-17 of the record. This record identification identifies the section of the data file that is contained on the
record (e.g., 21 for the birth history). Repeating sections will have the same record identification for each
occurrence of the section. In the hierarchical data files a variable following the record identification in each
section specifies which occurrence of the section the record represents; in the rectangular data files the
variable exists for all occurrences that are non-blank.
Survey Identification
For each survey there is a two-character alphabetic country identification code plus a one-digit data
structure code in variable V000. The variable V000 occupies positions 16-18 of the record for flat files, and
positions 18-20 of the first record of the rectangular or hierarchical data files. The one-digit data structure
code is always 3 4 for MEASURE DHS III+ surveys, except for those MEASURE DHS + surveys that used
DHS III Model questionnaires. The country codes are as follows:
DHS IV:
Armenia
AM
Bangladesh BD
Benin
BJ
Cambodia
KH
Colombia
CO
Dominican R. DR
Egypt
EG
Ethiopia
ET
March 5, 2008
Gabon
Ghana
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Jordan
India
Kazakhstan
GA
GH
GU
GN
HT
JO
IA
KK
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Peru
MW
ML
MR
NM
NP
NC
NG
PE
Rwanda
RW
Tanzania
TZ
Turkey
TR
Turkmenistan TM
Uganda
UG
Zambia
ZM
Zimbabwe
ZW
Century Month Code

All dates in the data file are expressed in terms of months and years and also as century month codes.
A century month code (CMC) is the number of the month since the start of the century. For example,
January 1900 is CMC 1, January 1901 is CMC 13, January 1980 is CMC 961, September 1994 is CMC 1137.
The CMC for a date is calculated from the month and year as follows:
CMC = (YY * 12) + MM
for month MM in year 19YY.
To calculate the month and year from the CMC use the following formulae:
YY = int((CMC - 1) / 12)
MM = CMC - (YY * 12)
For Dates in 2000 and after the CMC is calculated as follows:
CMC = ((YYYY-1900) * 12) + MM
for month MM in year YYYY.
To calculate the month and year from the CMC use the following formulae:
YYYY = int((CMC - 1) / 12)+1900
MM = CMC - ((YYYY-1900) * 12)
Imputed Dates
For key events in the respondent's life, dates have been imputed when the full date of the event was
not provided by the respondent or in some cases if dates are inconsistent (e.g. less than 7 months between
births). These events are the date of birth of the respondent, the date of first union or marriage, the date of
birth of each child of the respondent, the date of conception of the current pregnancy (based on the duration of
pregnancy), the date of start of use of current method, and. For each of these dates only the imputed data are
available in the recode data file, but a date flag has been included in the file to show what format the
information was in prior to imputation, and what basis was used for the imputation. The codes for this date
flag are as follows:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Both month and year of the event were specified and so no imputation was necessary.
The year of the event was not given, but the month of the event and the age of the respondent
or child or, in the case of the date of first union, the respondent's age at first union were
specified. In most cases this information uniquely identifies the exact date of the event. In a
few cases the year of the event was imputed from a choice of two possible years.
The year of the event, but not the month, and the age of the respondent or child or, in the
case of the date of first union, the respondent's age at first union were specified and only the
month of the event was imputed.
The year of birth, but not the month, and the age of the respondent or child were specified.
However, in surveys where it is believed the year of birth is calculated from the age, the year
of birth is ignored when the year of birth plus the age add up to the year of interview.
The year of the event was given but the month of the event was not specified, and neither
was the age. The month of the event was imputed.
Neither the month nor the year of the event were specified, but age was given and the year
and month of the event were imputed from the age.
Only the month of the event was given, without the year or age. The year of the event was
imputed from other information. (For current pregnancy, duration of pregnancy was given.)
March 5, 2008
No information was given concerning the date of the event. But month and year of the event
were imputed from other information. (For current pregnancy, duration of pregnancy was
not given.)
For the date of conception of the current pregnancy only codes 7 and 8 are used. The date of
interview is required to be fully specified in all cases and so no imputation is necessary for this variable and
no format flag exists for the date of interview.
A full description of the imputation process is given in the DHS Data Processing Manual.
March 5, 2008
Model Questionnaires
Two core questionnaires were used during the DHS surveys, Model "A" questionnaire for High
Contraceptive Prevalence Countries and Model "B" questionnaire for Low Contraceptive Prevalence
Countries. The two questionnaires contain basically the same information, although the Model "A"
questionnaire contains a detailed calendar of events in the five years preceding the interview, whereas the
Model "B" questionnaire contains a simpler series of questions.
In the variable description section that follows, the column labeled "Model" indicates in which
questionnaire the question is asked. An "A" indicates that the variable refers to a question asked only in
countries that used a Model "A" questionnaire, and a "B" indicates that the variable relates to a question asked
only in countries that used the Model "B" questionnaire. If the column is blank, then the question is asked in
both Model "A" and Model "B" questionnaires. If the column contains an "X", then the question is not
included in either of the Model questionnaires, but was used in a sufficient number of surveys to justify its
inclusion as a standard variable. If the column contains "MM", then the questions come from the maternal
mortality module. If the column contains "FG", then the questions come from the female genital cutting
module.
Sections and Occurrences

The data file is broken down into a number of logical sections. These sections translate directly into
records for the rectangular and hierarchical data structures. The logical sections are designed to map the
sections of the model questionnaires, although some sections of the model questionnaire are split into more
than one section in the recode data file. Some of these sections are repeating or multiple occurrence sections
while others are single occurrence sections. Single sections contain simple, single-answer variables.
Multiple sections are used to represent sets of questions that are repeated for a number of events. The
birth history is an example of a multiple section, where questions relating to children are asked for each child,
and each child has an entry in the birth history. Each entry in the multiple section is known as an occurrence
of the section. In rectangular and hierarchical data files each occurrence of the section occupies a separate
record. Multiple sections are used for sets of questions where the number of occurrences may vary.
In contrast, sets of questions for which there are a fixed number of occurrences are held in a group. A
group is similar to a multiple section, but is stored on a single record for rectangular and hierarchical files. In
addition single variables may also be included in a section containing a group. In the recode file the
contraceptive table (REC31) is stored as a group containing 20 entries, one for each contraceptive method.
For the flat files there is no difference between groups and multiple sections.
Section and Variable Descriptions

The section description following gives an outline of the sections of the recode file and the types of
information they contain. The description is based on the rectangular and hierarchical files. The section
description gives the name of the section, the section code used to identify the section in the data file, the
length of the record for that section, the section class (S for single and M for multiple), the minimum and
maximum number of occurrences of the section in each case, and the section label.
The section description is followed by variable descriptions. . The variable descriptions provide
additional background information relating to each variable.
March 5, 2008
Section and Variable Description

Occurrences
Max
Section
Code Length
Class
Min
REC01
01
129
without group Respondent's basic data
REC11
11
106
without group Respondent's basic data
REC21
21
54
20
Reproduction (Birth history)
REC22
22
98
Reproduction
REC31
31
99
Contraception Table
REC32
32
127
Contraception knowledge & use
REC41
41
196
Maternity
REC42
42
187
Health and Breastfeeding
REC43
43
201
Health
REC44
44
91
Height and Weight
REC51
51
59
Marriage/Exposure
REC61
61
70
Fertility preferences
REC71
71
54
Partner's Characteristics
REC75
75
224
AIDS and Condom Use
REC81
81
37
Characteristics of Interview
REC82
82
98
Calendar (optional)
REC83
83
52
20
Maternal mortality (optional)
REC84
84
37
Maternal mortality (optional)
REC91
91
Country specific - Single variables
REC92
92
20
Country specific - births
REC94
94
Country specific - Maternity
REC95
95
Country specific - Health
REC96
96
Country specific - Height/Weight
REC97
97
Country-specific
REC98
98
Country-specific
REC99
99
Country-specific
Section label
? implies that the entry is country-specific
March 5, 2008
Respondent's Basic Data
Section 01 (REC01)
Var
Model Description
CASEID
Case identification, used to uniquely identify each respondent. In most surveys this is
constructed by concatenating the cluster or sample point number, the household number and
the respondent's line number, but in some surveys this may be the questionnaire number
taken from the front page of the questionnaire.
V000
Alphabetic country code to identify the survey from which the data were collected. The
code is based on an international standard code. This variable is 3 characters in length,
with the third character indicating the format of the recode file used for this survey. For
all surveys in MEASURE DHS III + this code will be 4. For example: , BJ4 is Benin,
KH4 is Cambodia, CO4 is Colombia.
V001
Cluster number is the number identifying the sample point as used during the fieldwork.
This variable may be a composite of several variables in the questionnaire. If so, the original
variables are included in REC91 as country-specific variables.
V002
Household number is the number identifying the household in which the respondent was
interviewed, within the sample point. In some cases, this variable may be the combination of
dwelling number and household number within dwelling. In these cases, the original
variables are included as country-specific variables.
V003
Respondent's line number in the household schedule.
V004
Ultimate area unit is a number assigned to each sample point to identify the ultimate area
units used in the collection of data. This variable is usually the same as the cluster number,
but may be a sequentially numbered variable for samples with a more complicated structure.
V005
Sample weight is an 8 digit variable with 6 implied decimal places. To use the sample
weight divide it by 1000000 before applying the weighting factor. All sample weights are
normalized such that the weighted number of cases is identical to the unweighted number of
cases when using the full dataset with no selection. This variable should be used to weight
all tabulations produced using the data file. For self-weighting samples this variable is equal
to 1000000.
V006
V007
Month of interview.
Year of interview. The number of digits used during this phase is changed from 2 digits to 4
digits
V008
Century month code of date of interview (see note on century month codes).
V009
V010
Month of birth of respondent (see note on imputed dates).

Year of birth of respondent (see note on imputed dates). The number of digits used during
this phase is changed from 2 digits to 4 digits
Century month code of date of birth of the respondent (see note on century month codes).
V011
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V012
Current age in completed years is calculated from the century month code of the date of birth
of the respondent (V011) and the century month code of the date of interview (V008). In a
few cases the age in the data file will be different from that reported by the respondent when
the respondent's birthday was in the month of interview, but she had not yet had her birthday.
If the respondent correctly reported her age at her last birthday (and not her age at her next
birthday) then the calculated age was rounded up from the reported age, to avoid
inconsistencies between the age and the century month code for the birth.
V013
Current age in 5-year groups is produced by grouping V012.
V014
Completeness of information for the date of birth of the respondent (see note on imputed
dates). Codes for DHSIII MEASURE DHS+ are different from the codes used in DHS I.
V015
Result of individual interview. Code 1 represents a completed interview. For all other cases,
only REC01 will exist in the data file. For flat and rectangular format data files, cases with a
result code different than 1 are dropped from the file.
V016
Day of the month in which the interview took place.
V017
Century month code for the first month of the calendar. This is constant for all cases and is
the century month code of January of the first year of the calendar.
V018
Row of calendar representing the month of interview. The calendar is numbered from 1 to
80, with month 80 being January of the first year of the calendar. This variable is coded 0
for incomplete interviews or for questionnaires using the Model "B" questionnaire.
V019
Records the length of the calendar to use for this case. V019 is equal to 80-V018+1. This
variables is coded 0 for incomplete interviews or for questionnaires using the Model "B"
questionnaire.
V019A
Number of calendar columns. In the model B questionnaire only 1 column is used and 4
columns in the model A questionnaire.
V020
The ever-married sample indicator is a constant for all cases in the data file. For all woman
samples it is code 0, and for ever married samples it is code 1.
V021
Primary sampling unit is a number assigned to sample points to identify the primary
sampling units for use in the calculation of sampling errors. This variable is usually the
same as the cluster number and/or the ultimate area unit, but may differ if the sample design
required a multistage selection process.
V022
Sample strata defines the pairings or groupings of primary sampling units used in the
calculation of sampling errors when using the Taylor series expansion method (for example,
with the package Clusters).
V023
Sample domain defines the basic geographic units within which the sample was designed.
For example, if the sample was designed to be self-weighting within region, this variable
would define those regions; if the sample was designed to be self-weighting within major
urban areas, other urban areas and rural areas, this variable would define the major urban,
March 5, 2008
10
Var
Model Description
other urban and rural areas. If the sample is self-weighted at the national level, this variable
is code 0.
V024
De facto region of residence. This is a copy of V101, added to this section to allow for
analysis of completion rates by region.
V025
De facto type of place of residence. This is a copy of V102, added to this section to allow
for analysis of completion rates by urban/rural residence.
V026
De facto place of residence is the type of place in which the respondent was interviewed.
This is a copy of V134, added to this section to allow for analysis of completion rates by
type of place of residence ( Capital city, small town, town and countryside).
V027
Number of visits for the interview. This is a copy of V804.
V028
Interviewer identification code. Codes are country-specific. This variable occupies 3 digits.
This is a copy of V805.
V029
Data entry keyer code. Codes are country-specific. This is a copy of V806.
V030
Field supervisor's code. Codes are country-specific. This variable uses 3 digits in
MEASURE DHS+.
Field editor's code. Codes are country-specific. This variable uses 3 digits in MEASURE
DHS+.
Office editor's code. Codes are country-specific.
V031
V032
V033
V034
Ultimate area unit selection probability is the probability of selection of the ultimate area
unit, ignoring the household selection. This variable can be used in conjunction with data for
the sample point, such as service availability data.
X
V040
Line number of husband as recorded in the household schedule. This variable can be used,
in conjunction with the cluster or sample point number and the household number to match
the women's data with the husbands' data, to allow for the analysis of couples.
Cluster altitude in meters. Used to adjust the anemia level.
V042
Household selection for hemoglobin.
V043
Selection for women's status module. This variable is set to not applicable in case there is no
womens status module.
V044
Selection for domestic violence module. This variable is set to not applicable in case the is
no domestic violence module.
11
March 5, 2008
Section 11 (REC11)
Var
Model Description
V101
De facto region of residence. Region in which the respondent was interviewed. Codes are
country-specific. This variable is now two digits. For de jure region of residence, see V139.
V102
De facto type of place of residence. Type of place of residence where the respondent was
interviewed as either urban or rural. Note that this is not the respondent's own
categorization, but was created based on whether the cluster or sample point number is
defined as urban or rural. See also V134. For de jure type of place of residence, see V140.
V103
Childhood place of residence is classified into city, town and countryside as reported by the
respondent. In some countries, additional codes are used for capital/major cities (code 0) and
for abroad (code 4).
V104
Number of years the respondent has lived in the village, town, or city where she was
interviewed. Visitors to the community are coded 96.
V105
Type of place of previous residence is coded as for V103. In some countries, additional
codes are used for capital/major cities (code 0) and for abroad (code 4).
BASE: All respondents except those answering "Always" or "Visitor" to V104 (V104 <> 95
& V104 <> 96).
V106
Highest education level attended. This is a standardized variable providing level of

education in the following categories: No education, Primary, Secondary, Higher. In some
countries the educational system does not fit naturally within this scheme and a different
categorization was used for the Final Report. In this case, this variable is constructed as
accurately as possible from the country's own scheme and the variable used for the Final
Report is included as a country-specific variable.
V107
Highest year of education gives the years of education completed at the level given in V106.
BASE: All respondents except those answering "No education" or with missing data for
V106 (V106 <> 0 & V106 <> 9).
V108
Literacy of the respondent. In many countries, respondents with secondary or higher levels
of education are coded 1, "Reads easily." The exact criteria for this assumption is countryspecific.
V109
Whether the respondent usually reads a newspaper or magazine at least once a week.
V110
V111
V112
Whether the respondent usually watches television every week.

Whether the respondent usually listens to a radio every day.
Whether the respondent usually listens to a radio every week.
A
B
V113
V114
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Major source of drinking water for members of the household. Individual codes are countryspecific, but the major categories are standard.
Major source of water for household use other than for drinking. Individual codes are
country-specific, but the major categories are standard.
12
Var
Model Description
V115
Time taken to get to the water source for drinking water.

BASE: All respondents except those with drinking water either piped to, or available from a
well in, the residence, yard or plot, or who use rainwater or bottled water (V113 <> 11 &
V113 <> 21 & V113 <> 41 & V113 <> 61). The actual selection criteria is country-specific.
V116
Type of toilet facility in the household. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major
categories are standard.
V119
V120
V121
V122
Whether the household has:

Electricity.
A radio.
A television.
A refrigerator.
V123
V124
V125
Whether a member of the household has:

A bicycle.
A motorcycle.
A car.
V127
V128
V129
Main material of the floor. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories
are standard.
Main material of the walls. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories
are standard.
Main material of the roof. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories are
standard.
V130
V131
Religion. Both the question and the codes are country-specific.

Ethnicity. Both the question and the codes are country-specific.
V133
Education in single years. This variable is constructed from the educational level (V106)
and the grade at that level (V107) as follows:
V106 = >
V133
0
=>
0
1
=>
V107
2
=>
V107+x
3
=>
V107+y
9
=>
99
x = years to complete primary education
y = years to complete primary and secondary education
where both x and y are country-specific.
V134
Urban areas are classified into large cities (capital cities and cities with over 1 million
population), small cities (population over 50,000), and towns (other urban areas), and all
rural areas are assumed to be countryside. Note that this classification differs from that used
in DHS I.
V135
Whether the respondent is a usual resident of the household or is just visiting the household.
Responses of "Visitor" to V104 are visitors to the city, town or village where the interview
took place, but V135 shows respondents who were visitors to the household.
13
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V136
Total number of household members is the number of usual residents plus the number of
visitors who slept in the house the previous night that were listed in the household schedule.
V137
Number of children resident in the household and aged 5 and under. Visiting children are
not included.
V138
Number of eligible women in the household. Eligible women are usually defined to be
women aged 15-49 who slept in the household the previous night, irrespective of whether
they usually reside in the household or are visiting the household. In some countries an evermarried sample is used for the individual interview, and so the eligibility criteria is further
restricted to ever-married women.
V139
V140
V141
De jure region of usual residence. For de facto region of residence, see V101.
De jure type of place of usual residence. For de facto type of place of residence, see V102.
De jure place of residence. In most countries, no differentiation is made between large cities
and small cities in this variable.
V142
Whether the same source of water is used for drinking water as for household water.
V144
Whether the respondent lived in one or more than one community since January 198?.
V148
Whether the respondent is still in school. In DHS III, these data are now taken directly from
a question in the women's questionnaire. Women who are older than 24 years of age are
coded 0, assuming that they are no longer in school.
V149
Educational achievement recodes the education of the respondent into the following
categories: None, incomplete primary, complete primary, incomplete secondary, complete
secondary, higher education. See related variables V106, V107, V133.
V150
V151
V152
Relationship to the head of the household. These data are taken from the household
schedule.
Sex of the head of the household.
Age of the head of the household.
V153
Whether the household has a telephone.
V154
Main reason that the respondent stopped attending school.

BASE: Women who are under the age of 25 and who are not attending school (V012 < 25 &
V148 <> 1).
March 5, 2008
14
Inflation factors for ever-married samples

Variables AWFACTT to AWFACTE are standard inflation factors to be applied to the denominators
when using ever-married samples to produce estimates for all women. To produce theses estimates
for all women it is necessary to apply the inflation factors to account for the proportion of women
who were never married. Each factor is stored in 5-digit variables, with two implied decimal places.
A value of 00128 means an inflation factor of 1.28 should be applied to the individual case to allow
for never- married women. This means that for every 100 ever-married women found in the
household schedule of a particular age and with the same background characteristic, there are 128
women in total, i.e. 100 ever-married women plus 28 never-married women. These inflation factors
are used in the calculation of fertility rates, median ages at first union and first birth, mean number of
children ever born, and other all-woman-based estimates. Note that these inflation factors do not
need to be used when the denominator for an estimate only includes women who have ever been
married. Four standard factors are produced for ever-married samples. Additional factors may
appear as country-specific inflation factors if they were calculated to produce tabulations for the final
report of a particular country. Country-specific variables are located in REC91.
AWFACTT
AWFACTU
AWFACTR
AWFACTE
All-woman factor for the total population.

All-woman factor for the urban/rural breakdowns.
All-woman factor for the regional breakdowns.
All-woman factor for the educational breakdowns.
V155
Literacy. Whether a respondent who attended primary schooling can read a whole or part of
a sentence showed. A respondent who attended secondary education or higher are coded 2
as well as respondent who could read a whole sentence.
Ever participated in a literacy program or any other program that involves learning to read
and write (not including primary school)
V156
V157
V158
V159
Frequency of reading newspaper or magazine

Frequency of listening to radio
Frequency of watching television
V160
V161
Toilet facilities shared with other households

Type of cooking fuel
V162
Place for hand washing

Items present in the household as observed by the interviewer
V163
V164
V165
Presence of water/tap in household

Presence of soap/ash/other cleansing agent in household
Presence of basin in household
V166
Results of salt iodine test
15
March 5, 2008
Reproduction
Section 21 (REC21)
The birth history contains up to 20 entries for births, and is ordered in reverse order such that the last
birth is given first in the birth history and the first birth is given last. For respondents with more than 20
births, the birth history contains the last 19 births plus the first birth. However, all variables relating to
intervals between births are calculated based on the actual births, and not just the births given in the birth
history. The variable V224 contains the count of entries in the birth history, and is thus the index to the last
entry in the birth history which contains the information relating to the first birth.
Var
Model Description
BIDX
Birth history index numbers the entries in the birth history from 1 to n, where the nth birth is
the first birth.
BORD
Birth order number gives the order in which the children were born and so is the reverse
order from BIDX.
B0
Twin code gives an order number for each child of a multiple birth. Code 0 indicates a
single birth, code 1-upwards give the number of the child. Twins are ordered in the birth
history with the higher twin codes appearing before the lower twin codes. See the example
of the birth history structure below.
B1
B2
Month of birth of child (see note on imputed dates).

Year of birth of child (see note on imputed dates). This variable now occupies 4 digits.
B3
Century month code for the date of birth of the child (see note on century month codes).
B4
Sex of child.
B5
Whether child was alive or dead at the time of interview.
B6
Age at death of the child as reported in the questionnaire. The first digit of the age at death
gives the units in which it was reported: 1 - Days, 2 - Months, 3 - Years, 9 - Special
responses. The last two digits give the age at death in those units. Age at death is usually
reported in days if it was less than one month, in months if it was less than two years and
otherwise in years. If the last two digits contain a value greater than 90 then this is a special
response. For example, 298 means the age at death was a number of months, and the exact
number was unknown, but lies between 1 and 23 months.
BASE: Dead children (B5 = 0).
B7
Age at death of the child in completed months gives a calculated age at death from the
reported information. If it was reported in days these are truncated to completed months, if
reported in months these are used directly, but if reported in years then truncated years are
used, i.e., 3 years becomes 36 months. For ages at death that were not specified, an age at
death is imputed using a hot deck approach by taking the same age at death as the last child
encountered of the same birth order in the data file. This variable is no longer truncated at 90
months and now occupies three digits.
B8
Current age of the child in single years for all living children.
BASE: Living children (B5 = 1).
March 5, 2008
16
Var
Model Description
B9
The person the child usually lives with. The Respondent is coded 0, father coded 1, other
relatives coded 2, other people coded 3, and children aged 15 and over who were not asked
who they live with are coded 4. Note that this coding is different from DHS I.
BASE: Living children (B5 = 1).
B10
Completeness of information for the date of birth of the child (see note on imputed dates).
Codes are different from the codes used in DHS I.
B11
Preceding birth interval is calculated as the difference in months between the current birth
and the previous birth, counting twins as one birth.
BASE: All births except the first birth and its twins.
B12
Succeeding birth interval is calculated as the difference in months between the current birth
and the following birth, counting twins as one birth.
BASE: All births except the last birth and its twins.
B13
Flag for age at death is coded as follows:

0
No flag
1
Age at death plus the date of birth would place the death after the interview
2
Age at death is less than the reported duration of breastfeeding
3
Age at death is less than the age the child was first given supplemental foods
4
Age at death is less than age the child was first breastfed
5
Age at death plus the date of birth would place the death before the last vaccination
6
Reported age at death is outside the range expected for the units given
7
Age at death was imputed, however the units were given
8
Age at death was imputed, no units were given
B14
Whether the interval between the birth and the previously reported birth was four or more
years. This calculation is performed by the interviewer, purely in terms of years, ignoring
the month of birth of each of the children. For example, a birth in April 1988 would be
categorized as being four or more years after a birth in October 1984, even though there is
actually less than four years between the births.
BASE: Second and higher births (BORD > 1).
B15
Whether there were any other live births in the interval between the birth and the previously
reported birth.
Note: Variables B14 and B15 are questions used in the interview to try and ascertain if the
respondent had omitted any live births while reporting her birth history. The birth history
may have been modified during the interviewing process, and the responses may not now
correspond to the interval between the birth and the preceding birth recorded in this section.
the data have been included to help indicate cases where the respondent may have omitted
live births while originally reporting the birth history. The omitted births should be included
in this final version of the birth history.
B16
Child's line number in household.
17
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Example Birth History:
BIDX BORD B0
1
6 2
2
5 1
3
4 0
4
3 0
5
2 0
6
1 0
B1
2
2
10
3
1
8
B2
2000
2000
1997
1994
1993
1991
B3
B4
1202 1
1202 2
1174 2
1131 1
1117 2
1100 1
B5
1
0
1
1
0
0
B6
B7
301
15
302
212
B8
1
B9
0
3
7
0
0
24
12
B10
1
1
4
4
5
5
B11
28
28
43
14
17
B12
B13
6
28
43
14
17
0
0
B15
0
0
0
0
0
B16
6
5
7
In this example there are six children, including a pair of twins. There are three boys and three girls.
Two of the girls have died, one after one year and the other after two years and one boy who died after 12
months, the other living children live with their mother. Exact dates of birth were available only for the last
birth and its twin. For the other births either the year only (code 5 in B10) , or year and age (code4 in B10)
were available. The birth intervals are calculated between births excluding children of multiple births. For
example the preceding interval for the first entry is the difference between the CMC for the first entry and the
third entry because the second entry is a twin of the first entry.
March 5, 2008
18
Reproduction
Section 22 (REC22)
Var
Model Description
V201
Total number of children ever born. If there are fewer than twenty births then this is the
same as V224 (Number of entries in the birth history), but if there are more than twenty
births then this gives the full number, while V224 will be 20.
V202
V203
V204
V205
V206
V207
Total number of sons living at home.

Total number of daughters living at home.
Total number of sons living away from home.
Total number of daughters living away from home.
Total number of sons who have died.
Total number of daughters who have died.
V201 is the sum of variables V202 to V207.
V208
Total number of births in the last five years is defined as all births in the months 0 to 59 prior
to the month of interview, where month 0 is the month of interview.
Total number of births in the past year is defined as all births in the months 0 to 12 (not
0 to 11) prior to the month of interview.
Total number of births in the month of interview.
V209
V210
V211
Century month code of the date of first birth is the same as B3 (V224).
BASE: All respondents with one or more births (V201 > 0).
V212
Age of the respondent at first birth is calculated from the CMC of the date of first birth and
the CMC of the date of birth of the respondent.
BASE: All respondents with one or more births (V201 > 0).
V213
Whether the respondent is currently pregnant.
V214
Imputed duration of the current pregnancy. In the imputation process a date of conception of
the current pregnancy is calculated from the reported duration of the current pregnancy, if
known, or imputed from other available information (see note on imputed dates). The
imputed duration of pregnancy is then calculated from that date of conception.
BASE: Currently pregnant women (V213 = 1).
V215
Time since last menstrual period as reported by the respondent. The first digit gives the units
in which the response was given by the respondent: 1 - Days ago, 2 - Weeks ago, 3 - Months
ago, 4 - Years ago, 9 - Special answers. The last two digits give the time since the last
period in those units. If the last two digits contain a number greater than 90 then this is a
special response. For example, 199 means the response was in days but the number of days
was missing on the questionnaire.
V216
Whether the respondent menstruated in the last six weeks is calculated from V215.
V217
Knowledge of the ovulatory cycle indicates when during her monthly cycle the respondent
thinks a woman has the greatest chance of becoming pregnant.
V218
Total number of living children is the sum of variables V202 to V205.
19
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V219
Total number of living children including current pregnancy is calculated from V218 by
adding 1 if the respondent is pregnant.
V220
Total number of living children including current pregnancy is a grouping of the previous
variable, truncating the number to 6 if it was greater than 6.
V221
Interval between the first marriage and first birth in months. If the first birth was prior to the
first marriage then this variable is coded 996 "Negative interval."
BASE: Ever-married women who have had one or more births (V501 > 0 & V201 > 0).
V222
Interval between the last birth and the date of the interview in months.
BASE: Respondents who have had one or more births (V201 > 0).
V223
Completeness of information relating to the date of conception of the current pregnancy.

This variable indicates whether the date of conception was exactly specified by the duration
of the current pregnancy or the duration was imputed from other information (see note on
imputed dates). Codes are different from those used in DHS I.
V224
Number of entries in the birth history (REC21). This variable is also the index to the first
birth in the birth history. If there are fewer than twenty births then this is the same as V201
(number of children ever born), but if there are more than twenty births then this will be 20,
while V201 gives the full number.
V225
At the time the respondent became pregnant with the current pregnancy, whether the current
pregnancy was wanted then, later or not at all.
BASE: Currently pregnant women (V213 = 1).
V226
Computed time since the last menstrual period. This is computed from the response for
V215, with durations exceeding the interval since the last birth (V227 = 7, 9) recoded to the
response "Before last birth" (code 995) and inconsistent responses flagged on variable V227
(codes 1-6) recoded to 997.
V227
Flag variable indicating inconsistencies found in editing the response for variable V215.
0
No flag
1
Duration given is greater than the interval since the last birth and the respondent did
not say, in the maternity section, that she was still amenorrheic since her last birth
2
Duration given plus the duration of amenorrhea after the last birth is greater than the
interval since the last birth
3
Duration was reported, but the respondent's period had not returned since the last
birth
4
Respondent reported her last period was before her last birth, but she had never
given birth
5
Respondent reported never having menstruated, but reported in the maternity section
that her period had returned after her last birth
6
Respondent reported her last period was before her last birth, but reported in the
maternity section that her period had returned after her last birth
7
Respondent reported a duration since her last period, but this would place her last
period during her last pregnancy
8
Respondent reported never having menstruated, but she had children
9
Duration was reported, but the duration would place her period before her last birth
March 5, 2008
20
Var
Model Description
V228
Whether the respondent ever had a pregnancy that terminated in a miscarriage, abortion, or
still birth, i.e., did not result in a live birth.
Pregnancy terminations
Variables V229 to V234 relate to pregnancy terminations (pregnancies that did not result in a live
birth).
BASE: Respondents who have had one or more terminated pregnancies (V228 = 1).
V229
V230
A
A
V231
V232
V233
A
A
V234
V235
Month of the last pregnancy termination.

Year of the last pregnancy termination. The date of last termination is taken from a single
question in the body of the questionnaire. This variable now occupies 4 digits.
Century month code of the last pregnancy termination. The CMC date of termination is
calculated from the preceding questions, or from the calendar, if possible, in cases where an
exact date was not given for the date of last pregnancy termination.
Date flag for the last terminated pregnancy.
Months pregnant when the pregnancy terminated.
BASE: Respondents who have had one or more terminated pregnancies since the cutoff date
for the calendar/health section (V228 = 1 & V231 >= V017).
Whether the respondent had other pregnancy terminations before the last one.
BASE: Respondents who have had one or more terminated pregnancies since the cutoff date
for the calendar/health section (V228 = 1 & V231 >= V017).
Birth history index for last child born prior to the start of the calendar. Index is zero if no
child was born before the start of the calendar.
V236
Whether the interval between the last birth and the date of interview was four calendar years
or more. See B14 for more explanation.
BASE: Women with at least one birth (V201 > 0).
V237
Whether there were any other live births in the interval between the last birth and the date of
interview. See B15 for more explanation.
V238
Total number of births in the last three years is defined as all births in the months 0 to 35
prior to the month of interview, where month 0 is the month of interview.
Pregnancies terminated prior to beginning of calendar
V239
Whether or not, the respondent had pregnancies that miscarried, aborted or ended in still
birth before calendar beginning
V240
V241
Month of last termination prior to calendar

Year of last termination prior to calendar
V242
CMC termination ended prior to calendar
V243
Completeness of information for the last termination date prior to calendar
21
March 5, 2008
Contraceptive Table
Section 31 (REC31)
Var
Model Description
V301
Knowledge of any method is classified into modern, traditional and folkloric methods as
follows: Modern methods are Pill, IUD, Injections, Diaphragm, Condom, Female
Sterilization, Male Sterilization, Implants, female condom, Foam/Jelly and lactational
amenorrhea. Traditional methods are Periodic Abstinence (Rhythm), Withdrawal, and
Abstinence. Folkloric methods are the category "other". If a respondent knows both a
traditional method and a modern method then the modern method takes priority and she is
coded as knowing a modern method. Similarly, if a woman knows a traditional method and
a folkloric method, the traditional method takes priority.
V302
Ever use of a modern, traditional or folkloric method is created in the same way as V301.
Contraceptive Table
The contraceptive table contains entries for 20 contraceptive methods, and for each entry gives
information relating to knowledge of the method, ever use of the method, and knowledge of a source for the
method. Entries 1 to 15 are standard but entries 15 to 20 are used for country-specific methods. The methods
relating to each entry are as follows:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Pill
IUD
Injections
Diaphragm
Condom
Female Sterilization
Male Sterilization
Periodic Abstinence (Rhythm)
Withdrawal
Other methods
NorplantTM or implants
Abstinence
Lactational amenorrhea
Female condom
Foam and jelly
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Country specific method 1

For Foam/Jelly, if questions about the methods are asked separately (for example, foaming tablets in
one set of questions and jelly combined in another set of questions), the original responses are
recorded as country-specific variables and the standard variables presented in this section are a
composite of the two sets of questions.
In general, the list of the methods used in the contraceptive table does not exist. The variable that is
used to recognize these methods is V312. In some cases additional codes are used in the
contraceptive table and these should exist in the documentation of the distributed data file.
The contraceptive table contains variables V304A to V3076 as follows:
V304A
Whether the method is modern, traditional or folkloric.
V304
Knowledge of the method. If questions relating to the method were not asked in a particular
country then code 8 "Not asked" is used.
March 5, 2008
22
Var
Model Description
V305
Whether the respondent has ever used the contraceptive method.

BASE: Respondents who knew of the method according to V304, either spontaneously (1)
or after probing (being read a description of the method) (2).
V307
Method currently used. This is a multiple occurrence variable that gives all the methods
used by the respondent.
BASE: Respondents who ever used the method according to V305.
Example Contraceptive Table:

1
Pill
V304A 1
V304
1
V305
0
V307
2
IUD
3
Inj
4
Dia
1
0
1
0
1
0
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Cond F. St.M. St.P.Ab. With Other Norpl Abst
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
1
1
1
2
0
0
3
0
1
8
2
8
13
CS1
20
CS8
3
8
3
8
In this example the entries in the table are shown across the page while the variables in each entry are
shown down the page. The numbers shown above the method names are the occurrence or entry number
associated with that method. The respondent knew three methods, Pill, Condom and Periodic Abstinence.
The respondent has used Condoms and Periodic Abstinence. The respondent is using periodic abstinence.
23
March 5, 2008
Contraceptive Use
Section 32 (REC32)
Var
Model Description
V310
Number of living children at the time the respondent first used a contraceptive method.
BASE: All respondents who have ever used a contraceptive method (V302 > 0).
V311
Number of living children at the time of first use is a grouped form of V310, with 4 or more
truncated to 4 and respondents who have never used a contraceptive method coded 5.
V312
Current contraceptive method. Pregnant women are coded 0 "Not currently using."
V313
Type of contraceptive method categorizes the current contraceptive method as either a

modern method, a traditional method, or a folkloric method.
V314
Method of periodic abstinence indicates how the respondent determined on which days to
abstain from sexual intercourse the last time the respondent used periodic abstinence.
BASE: Current users of periodic abstinence (V312 = 8) - Note that this is different from the
base used in DHS I.
V315
Month started using a contraceptive method by the respondent or her current partner (see
note on imputed dates).
Year started using a contraceptive method by the respondent or her current partner (see note
on imputed dates). This variable now occupies 4 digits.
Century month code for the date started using a contraceptive method by (see note on
century month codes).
Completeness of information for the date of sterilization of the respondent or her partner (see
note on imputed dates). Codes for DHS III are different from the codes used in DHS I.
V316
V317
V318
Sterilization.
Variables V319 to V322 relate to dates of sterilization.
BASE: Women who are sterilized or whose partner is sterilized (V312 = 6 or V312 = 7).
V319
V320
V321
Years since sterilization in 2-year groups, truncated at 10 years.

Age at sterilization in 5-year groups <25, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49.
Marital duration at sterilization in 5-year groups with single women and those sterilized
before marriage coded 0.
Parity at sterilization, truncated at 5+ children.
V322
Pill Use.
Variables V323 and V325 relate to the use of the pill. See variable V372 to V374 for additional
information relating to pill use.
BASE: Respondents currently using the pill (V312 = 1).
V323
V325
March 5, 2008
Brand of pill currently being used by the respondent. Codes are country-specific.
Cost of pills in the local currency. The width of this field has been increased to six
characters to accommodate a variety of currencies. Code 999996 indicates that the pills were
24
provided free and code 999998 indicates that the respondent did not know the price of the
pills.
Source of modern contraceptive methods.
Variables V326 to V328 and V327 relate to sources of contraception for current users of modern
methods. See variables V379 to V380 for additional information relating to the source of modern
contraceptive methods.
BASE: Respondents currently using a modern method (V312 >= 1 & V312 <= 7 or V312 = 11 or
V312 >= 13 & V312 <= 16).
V326
The last source visited to obtain the current modern contraceptive method. Codes are
V327
The last source visited for users of modern methods in standard coding groups constructed
from V326. The standard coding categories for this variable have been changed to separate
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from other private sector sources.
V328
Main reason the respondent selected the source for the method, rather than using a different
source for the method.
Current use of contraception.
Variables V337 relates to the current use of contraception.
BASE: Current users of contraception (V312 <> 0).
V337
Months of use of the current contraceptive method. For Model "B" questionnaires, if the
number of months of use exceeds 8 years, it is coded as 96 For Model "A" questionnaires, if
the woman is using the method throughout the calendar, the duration is coded as 95.
Last method discontinued in the last five years.
Variables V359 and V360 relate to the last method discontinued in the last five years. The
information for these variables is taken from the calendar.
BASE: Respondents who discontinued use of a method in the last five years.
V359
Last method discontinued in the last five years.
V360
Reason for the discontinuation of the last method discontinued in the last five years.
Pattern and intentions for future use.

Variables V361 to V364 relate to the respondent's past contraceptive practice and future intentions
for using contraception.
V361
Pattern of past contraceptive use. For model "B" questionnaires the questions relating to
contraceptive use since the last birth are not asked and thus the respondent cannot be
categorized as having used a method since the last birth or having only used a method before
the last birth. In countries using the model "B" questionnaire, all past users are given code 3.
In countries using model "A" questionnaires, all women who have not used in the calendar
are treated as past users and given code 3.
25
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V362
Intention to use a contraceptive method in the future is based on two questions in the model
questionnaires, and classifies those intending to use a method in the future by whether they
intend to use that method in the next twelve months or not. The two "Unsure" categories
correspond to replies of unsure about using a method in the future (unsure about use) or, for
those intending to use a method in the future, unsure about whether they intend to use that
method in the next twelve months (unsure about timing). In some countries, women who
had never had sexual intercourse were not asked these questions, and are coded 6 on V362.
BASE: All respondents not currently using contraception (V312 = 0).
V363
Preferred future method for respondents intending to use a method in the future.
BASE: Respondents not currently using a method, but intending to use a method in the
future (V312 = 0 & (V362 = 1 or V362 = 2 or V362 = 3)).
V364
Contraceptive use and intention shows current users of modern methods, current users of
traditional methods, non-users who intend to use in the future and non-users not intending to
use a method. In some countries, women who had never had sexual intercourse were not
asked the questions relating to their intention to use contraception in the future, and are
coded 5 on V364.
V366A
Acceptability of family planning messages being provided on radio.
V366B
Acceptability of family planning messages being provided on television.

Variables V366A and V366B replace the single variable V366 used in DHS II.
V367
Whether the last child born in the last three/five years was wanted at that time, later or not at
all.
BASE: Women who gave birth to a child in the last three/five years (V417 > 0).
First contraceptive method used.
Variable V369 to V369B relates to the first contraceptive method ever used.
V369
V369B B
The first contraceptive method ever used by the respondent. Never users are coded 0.
Whether the first use of contraception was for spacing or limiting reasons, or for other
reasons.
BASE: Ever users of contraception (V302 <> 0).
Pill Use.
Variable V372 relates to the use of the pill.
BASE: Current users of the pill (V312 = 1).
V372
Whether the package of pills currently being used by the respondent was seen by the
interviewer.
Reasons for Non-Use of Contraceptive Methods.
V375A
March 5, 2008
Reason the respondent is not using a method of contraception to avoid pregnancy.
26
Var
Model Description
BASE: Women who are not currently using a contraceptive method and who are not
pregnant (V312 = 0 & V213 <> 1).
V376
Reason the respondent does not intend to use a method of contraception in the future. The
coding categories have changed in DHS III from those used in DHS II.
BASE: All women not currently using a contraceptive method and not intending to use a
method in the future (V362 = 5).
V376A
Whether the respondent would use a method in the future if she was married.
BASE: Women who says they do not intend to use a method because they are not married
(V376 = 11).
Sources of Contraception.
V379
Source of any method of contraception is formed from a combination of responses. For

current users of modern methods, it is the source of that method. For women who are not
currently using any method, it is a source from which they know they can obtain family
planning methods, if they know any source. This is not, in general, part of the standard
questionnaire since it is replaced with a multiple-choice question. However it is left as a
standard variable in case the question asked has only one answer.
V380
Source of any method of contraception coded in standard coding categories is created from
V379.
Whether the respondent has heard about family planning in the last few months from any of
the following sources:
V384A
V384B
V384C
V384D
V384E
On the radio.
On the television.
In a newspaper or magazine.
From a poster.
From leaflets or brochures
Family Planning Related Visits
V393
Whether the respondent was visited by a family planning worker in the twelve months
preceding the interview.
V394
Whether the respondent visited a health facility for any reason in the twelve months
preceding the interview.
V395
Whether any of the staff at the health facility talked to the respondent about family planning.
BASE: Women who visited a health facility in the preceding 12 months (V394 = 1).
Lactational Amenorrhea Method

V396
Whether the respondent thinks that breastfeeding can affect a woman's chance of becoming
pregnant.
V397
Whether the respondent thinks that a woman's chance of becoming pregnant will be
increased, decreased, unchanged by breastfeeding or may depend on other factors.
27
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Women responding "No" on variable V396 are coded 0 (Unchanged) on V397.
V398
Whether the respondent has ever relied on breastfeeding as a method of avoiding pregnancy.
BASE: All women who have had at least one birth except those that believe the chance of
pregnancy is unchanged or increased by breastfeeding (V201 > 0 & V397 <> 0 &
V397 <> 1).
V399
Whether the respondent is currently relying on breastfeeding to avoid getting pregnant.

BASE: Respondents who reported ever relying on breastfeeding to avoid pregnancy and
who are not currently pregnant and not sterilized (V398 = 1 & V213 <> 1 & V312 <> 6 &
V312 <> 7).
Source of family planning for non users. This question has multiple coding categories and
each category is recorded separately in these variables. Most of the categories are standard
(VA00A, B, C, D, E, J, K, L, M, N, S, T, U, X). However, room has been left for countryspecific categories (VA00F, G, H, I, O, P, Q, R, V, W). Any category not used in a
particular country is left blank.
V3A00A-Z
V3A00A
V3A00B
V3A00C
V3A00D
V3A00E
V3A00F
V3A00G
V3A00H
V3A00I
V3A00J
V3A00K
V3A00L
V3A00M
V3A00N
V3A00O
V3A00P
V3A00Q
V3A00R
V3A00S
V3A00T
V3A00U
V3A00V
V3A00W
V3A00X
V3A00Y
V3A00Z
V3A01
March 5, 2008
Public Sector
Government hospital
Government health center
FP clinic
Mobile clinic
Fieldworker
Country-Specific public sector
Other public sector
Medical Private Sector
Private hosp/clin
Private pharmacy
Private doctor
Private mobile clinic
Fieldworker
Country-Specific medical private sector
Other medical private sector
Other Private Sector
Shop
Traditional practitioner
Friend, relative
Country-Specific other private sector
Country-Specific other private sector
Other
No source
Any source
Before the sterilization operation, whether the respondent was told that sterilization would
mean no more children.
28
Var
Model Description
V3A02
V3A03
V3A04
Told about side effects or problems the respondent might have when first obtained the
method she is currently using.
Told about side effects by health or FP worker
Told how to deal with side effects
V3A05
V3A06
Told about the availability of other FP methods than the one she is using.
Told about other FP methods by health or FP worker
V3A07
First source for current method. This variable is grouped into 4 major categories:
10
20
30
96
Public sector
Private medical
Other private
Other
V3A08A-Z
Reason for not using. This question has multiple coding categories and each category is
recorded separately in these variables. Most of the categories are standard (VA00A-T).
However, room has been left for country-specific categories (VA00U-W). Any category not
used in a particular country is left blank.
V3A08A
V3A08B
V3A08C
V3A08D
V3A08E
V3A08F
V3A08G
V3A08H
V3A08I
V3A08J
V3A08K
V3A08L
V3A08M
V3A08N
V3A08O
V3A08P
V3A08Q
V3A08R
V3A08S
V3A08T
V3A08U
V3A08V
V3A08W
V3A08X
V3A08Z
Not married
Not having sex
Infrequent sex
Menopausal/hysterectomy
Subfecund/infecund
Postpartum amenorrheic
Breastfeeding
Fatalistic
Respondent opposed
Husband/partner opposed
Others opposed
Religious prohibition
Knows no method
Knows no source
Health concerns
Fear of side effects
Lack of access/too far
Costs too much
Inconvenient to use
Interferes with the bodys processes
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Don't know
29
March 5, 2008
Maternity
Section 41 (REC41)
The maternity history contains up to six entries, relating to births in the three/five years preceding
interview. The use of three/five years is country specific. The entries are in reverse order, such that the first
entry relates to the last birth in the last three/five years. There is an entry for all children born in the last
three/five years including all twins. The period of three/five years includes months 0 to 35/59 prior to the
interview, with month 0 being the month of interview. If there are more than six births in the last three/five
years then only the last six are included in the maternity history. Each of the following variables, duration of
breastfeeding (M5), duration of postpartum amenorrhea (M7) and duration of postpartum abstinence (M9)
may have several cases coded 97 "Inconsistent" since the duration of breastfeeding, amenorrhea or abstinence
was impossible in the interval between the birth and the following birth or date of interview if the most recent
birth (only the date of interview in the case of breastfeeding).
Var
Model Description
MIDX
Index to the birth history. All births in the last three/five years have entries in this section,
and thus the index increases by one each entry. See the example maternity history below.
For twins the information in their entries will be identical for all variables relating to prenatal
care.
M1
The number of tetanus toxoid injections given during the pregnancy to avoid convulsions
after birth. This variable indicated whether the respondent received a tetanus toxoid
injection during the pregnancy for DHS-I countries.
M2A-N
The type of person who gave prenatal care to the respondent prior to the birth. This question
has multiple coding categories and each category is recorded separately in these variables.
Most of the categories are standard (M2A, B, C, F, G, J, N), however room has been left for
country-specific categories (M2D, E, H, I, K, L). Any category not used in a particular
country is left blank.
Doctor.
Nurse/Midwife.
Auxiliary Midwife.
Country-specific health professional.
Country-specific health professional.
Trained (traditional) birth attendant.
Traditional birth attendant.
Relative. (non-standard and rarely used).
Country-specific other person.
Country-specific other person.
Other responses - uncoded.
Country-specific other.
Country-specific other.
No one.
M2A
M2B
M2C
M2D
M2E
M2F X
M2G
M2H X
M2I
M2J
M2K
M2L
M2M
M2N
M3A-N
The type of person who assisted with the delivery of the child. The coding of these variables
is the same as for M2A-N, except that the category "Relative" is a standard category (M3H)
for this variable.
M4
The duration of breastfeeding of the child in months. The maximum period allowed during
the data editing was the interval between the date of birth of the child and the date of
interview. Cases which exceeded this duration were left with the original response, but are
March 5, 2008
30
Var
Model Description
coded with one of the flag codes on variable M27 and were set to code 97 "Inconsistent" on
variable M5. The code 96 (breastfed until died) is no longer used.
M5
The calculated months of breastfeeding gives the duration of breastfeeding as in M4, but
with the duration calculated if the respondent is still breastfeeding the child or the child was
breastfed until it died. Inconsistent durations based on the original reporting of the duration
of breastfeeding are recoded to 97. In cases where the duration was one month longer than
the interval the duration was shortened by one month, consistent with the "Rule of one"
applied in DHS I. If the duration of breastfeeding exceeded the age of death of the child, the
duration of breastfeeding was changed to the age at death of the child.
M6
The duration of postpartum amenorrhea after the birth of the child in months. The maximum
period allowed during the data editing was the interval between the date of birth of the child
and the date of conception of the following child (date birth less nine months was used for
the date of conception) or the date of interview if there was no following birth. Cases which
exceeded this duration were left with the original response, but are coded with one of the flag
codes on variable M28 and were set to code 97 "Inconsistent" on variable M7.
M7
The calculated months of postpartum amenorrhea give the duration of amenorrhea as in M6,
but with the duration calculated if the period did not return after the birth and before the
following birth or the date of interview. Inconsistent durations based on the original
reporting of the duration of amenorrhea are recoded to 97. In cases where the duration was
one month longer than the interval the duration was shortened by one month, consistent with
the "Rule of one" applied in DHS I.
M8
The duration of postpartum abstinence after the birth of the child in months. The maximum
period allowed is calculated in the same way as for M6 and cases exceeding this duration
were left with the original response, but are coded with one of the flag codes on variable
M29 and are coded 97 "Inconsistent" on M9.
M9
The calculated months of postpartum abstinence give the duration of abstinence as in M8,
but with the duration calculated if the respondent was still abstaining after the birth.
Inconsistent durations based on the original reporting of the duration of abstinence are
recoded to 97. In cases where the duration was one month longer than the interval the
duration was shortened by one month, consistent with the "Rule of one" applied in DHS I.
M10
Whether the child was wanted at the time of pregnancy, whether the child was wanted, but
later, or whether the child was not wanted at all.
M11
For women who wanted the child later, how much longer the respondent would have
preferred to wait. The first digit gives the units in which the respondent gave her answer,
code 1 indicates a response in months, code 2 in years, with 9 meaning a special answer was
given. The last two digits give the time in the units given. Any value for time greater than
90 is a special answer.
M13
Timing of first antenatal visit for the pregnancy is given in months from the start of the
pregnancy.
BASE: Women who had seen someone for antenatal care (M2N <> 1).
M14
Number of antenatal visits during the pregnancy. Women who did not see anyone for
antenatal care during the pregnancy are coded 0.
31
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
M15
Place of delivery of child. Coding categories are standard and are constructed with a major
category for the first digit and a minor category for the second digit. Country-specific codes
are added under the respective major coding categories as needed. For example "Home of
traditional birth attendant" would be coded 13 since the category relates to a home (major
category 1) and categories 11 and 12 are already used as standard categories.
M17
Whether child was born by caesarian section.
M18
Size of child as reported subjectively by the respondent.
M19
Weight of child at birth given in kilograms with three implied decimal places (or grams with
no decimal places). Children who were not weighed are coded 9996. In some countries, the
birth weight was collected in grams, i.e. a total of four digits, whereas other countries
collected the weight in kilograms to one decimal place, i.e. a total of two digits. In the latter
case, the third and fourth digit are set to zeros. In a few countries, the weight was collected
in pounds and/or ounces. For these countries, the original weight variables are stored as a
country-specific variable and this variable contains the weight converted to kilograms.
M19A
Whether the weight at birth (variable M19) was recorded from a health card (code 1) or from
the mother=s recall (code 2). Children who were not weighed at birth are coded 0.
M21
Reason the respondent stopped breastfeeding the child. Children who breastfed until they
died are coded 3 (child died) as the reason stopped breastfeeding. Code 97 indicates cases
where data was missing on whether the child was ever breastfed.
BASE: Children who are no longer being breastfed, but were ever breastfed (M4 <> 94 &
M4 <> 95).
M27
Flag variable for breastfeeding, indicating types of problems found in editing the duration of
breastfeeding.
Flag variable for postpartum amenorrhea, indicating types of problems found in editing the
duration of postpartum amenorrhea.
Flag variable for postpartum abstinence, indicating types of problems found in editing the
duration of postpartum abstinence.
Codes for these flag variables are as follows:
0
No problem.
1
Duration exceeds interval between birth and succeeding birth (for amenorrhea and
abstinence) or date of interview (for breastfeeding).
2
Duration exceeds interval but only by one month. In DHS I the duration would have
been modified to fit the interval in this case. This modification is made to the
calculated months of postpartum amenorrhea (M7), postpartum abstinence (M9) or
breastfeeding (M5) starting from DHS III.
3
Duration of breastfeeding exceeds the age at death of the child.
4
Duration of postpartum amenorrhea, postpartum abstinence or breastfeeding extends
into the following pregnancy in the calendar. This code only applies to Model A
countries.
M28
M29
M30
March 5, 2008
Whether the respondent had any of the following problems at the time of the birth of the
child:
Long labor, defined as regular contractions lasting more than 12 hours.
32
Var
Model Description
M31
M32
M33
Excessive bleeding that was so much that the respondent feared it was life threatening.
A high fever with a bad smelling vaginal discharge.
Convulsions not caused by fever.
M34
Time after the birth at which the respondent first breastfed the child. The first digit gives the
units in which the respondent gave her answer. Code 0 means the child was breastfed
immediately after birth, code 1 indicates the response was in hours, code 2 in days, with code
9 meaning a special answer was given. The last two digits give the time in the units given.
Any value for time greater than 90 is a special answer. The response "Immediately" is
recorded as 000.
BASE: Child who were ever breastfed (M4 <> 94).
M35
Number of times the child was breastfed during the previous night.
BASE: Children still being breastfed (M4 = 95).
M36
Number of times the child was breastfed during the daylight hours the previous day.
BASE: Children still being breastfed (M4 = 95).
M37A
M37B
M37C
M37D
M37E
M37F
M37G
M37H-K
M37L
M37M-O
M37P
M37Q
M37R
M37S
M37T
M37U
M37V
M37W
M37X
M37Y
M37Z
M37XX
M37XY
M37XZ
M38
Other foods given to the child in the last 24 hours.

Plain water.
Sugar water.
Juice.
Herbal tea.
Powdered or tinned milk.
Baby formula.
Fresh (cow's or goat's) milk.
Country-specific other liquids.
Any other liquid.
Country-specific other solid or mushy food.
Any other solid or semi-solid foods.
Food made from wheat, maize, rice, sorghum or other local grains, Examples of such food
are porridge, bread or noodles.
Food made from cassava, plantain, yams or other local tubers.
Eggs, fish, or poultry.
Meat.
Other fruits/vegetables
Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs
Legumes (lentils, beans, peanuts)
Cheese/yogurt
Foods made with oil, fat, butter
Country-specific food
BASE: Youngest child living with his/her mother.
Whether the child drank anything from a bottle with a nipple during the previous day and
night.
BASE: Living children (B5(MIDX) = 1).
33
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
M39
The number of times the children received anything to eat, aside from breastmilk, including
both meals and snacks. Children who are being exclusively breastfed are coded 0.
BASE: Living children (B5(MIDX) = 1).
M40A-XZ
The number of days during the last 7 days on which the child received each of the following
liquids and foods:
Plain water
Sugar water
Fruit juiceM40D
Herbal tea
Powdered or tinned milk
Commercially produced infant formula
Fresh milk
Tinned, powdered or fresh animal milk
Country specific other liquid
Other liquid
Pumpkin, carrots, red/yellow yams, red sweet potatoe
Any green leafy vegetables
Mango, papaya or other Vitamin A rich fruitsM40P
Other solid, semi-solid
M40A
M40B
M40C
M40E
M40F
M40G
M40H
M40I
M40J
M40K
M40L
M40M
M40N
M40O
foods
M40Q
M40R
M40S
M40T
M40U
M40V
M40W
M40X
M40Y
M40Z
M40XX
M40XY
M40XZ
M41
Food made from local grain

Food made from local roots or tuber
Eggs, fish, poultry
Meat
Cheese/yogurt
Country specific food
Number of months pregnant at the time of last antenatal visit of last pregnancy
Care given during the last antenatal visit for the pregnancy
BASE: Last births under 36 (60) months
M42A
M42B
M42C
M42D
M42E
During pregnancy - weighed

During pregnancy - height measured
During pregnancy - blood pressure taken
During pregnancy - urine sample taken
During pregnancy - blood sample taken
Pregnancy complications
M43
March 5, 2008
Told about pregnancy complications at the time of last antenatal visit

34
Var
M44
Model Description
Told where to go for pregnancy complications
Iron supplementation
M45
M46
During pregnancy, given or bought iron tablets/syrup

Days tablets or syrup taken
Vision during pregnancy
M47
M48
During pregnancy, had difficulty with daylight vision

During pregnancy, had difficulty with night blindness
Medication taken to prevent from Malaria
M49A
M49B
M49C
M49D
M49E
M49F
M49G
M49X
M49Z
During pregnancy - took Fansidar for Malaria

During pregnancy - took Chloroquine for Malaria
During pregnancy - took Unknown Drug for Malaria
During pregnancy - took country specific drug for Malaria
During pregnancy - took other drug for Malaria
During pregnancy - took no drug for Malaria
Check up after delivery
BASE: Last birth under 36(60) months.
M50
M51
M52
M53
After birth, received a check by a health professional

Checkup after delivery timing
After birth, health professional checked health
Place for checkup
M54
Received Vitamin A dose in first 2 months after delivery

Liquids given before milk began to flow
M55A
M55B
M55C
M55D
M55E
M55F
M55G
M55H
M55I
M55J
M55K
M55L
First 3 days, given milk other than breast milk

First 3 days, given plain water
First 3 days, given sugar/glucose water
First 3 days, given gripe water
First 3 days, given sugar/salt/water solution
First 3 days, given fruit juice
First 3 days, given infant formula
First 3 days, given tea/infusions
First 3 days, given honey
First 3 days, given country specific
35
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
M55M
M55N
M55X
M55Z

First 3 days, given other
First 3 days, given nothing
M56
Sugar added to any of foods or liquids consumed yesterday.
Example Maternity History:

MIDX
M1
M2A-N
M3A-N
M4
M5
M6
M7
M8
M9
M10
M11
M13
M14
M15
M17
M18
M19
M19A
M27
M28
M29
M34
M35
M36
M37A-XZ
M38
M39
M40A-XZ
M41
M42A-E
M43
M44
M45
M46
M47
M48
M49A-Z
M50
M51
M52
M53
M54
M55A
M56
1
1
010___0_0_0__0
010___00000__0
95
19
12
12
96
19
1
___
09
01
23
0
4
2020
1
0
0
0
000
02
03
0_0__0_1___0010_10__00010____
0
5
5_0__0_7___0050_40__03045____
09
11110
0
_
1
010
0
0
0100___00
_
___
__
__
1
000000000_____01
0
2
_
______________
010___00000__0
15
15
12
12
96
19
1
___
__
__
23
0
3
1720
1
0
0
0
000
__
__
_____________________________
_
_
_____________________________
__
_____
_
_
_
___
_
_
_________
_
___
__
__
_
000000000_____01
_
3
_
______________
010___00000__0
22
22
20
20
12
12
1
___
__
__
24
0
2
9998
9
0
0
0
000
__
__
_____________________________
0
5
_____________________________
__
_____
_
_
_
___
_
_
_________
_
___
__
__
_
000000000_____01
1
In this example, based on the birth history example, there are three entries representing the three
children born in the last three/five years. The first two entries relate to twins and so most of their prenatal
care information are identical. The respondent received a tetanus injection, prenatal care from a trained nurse,
and delivery assistance from nurse/midwife at a government health post, with the assistance of a relative. One
of the twins was still being breastfed, 19 months after the birth, while the other had stopped breastfeeding
after 15 months. The respondent's periods had returned after the last birth and the respondent is still
March 5, 2008
36
abstaining from sexual relations for 19 months after the birth. Both the twins were wanted at that point in
time. The respondent received antenatal care during her pregnancy. The first visit was made after nine
months, and she made one visit in total. The twins were both measured at birth and weighed 2.020 kilos and
1.720 kilos, respectively. For child 3 no tetanus injection was given, no prenatal care and the child was
delivered with the assistance of a nurse/midwife. The child was breastfed for 22 months, the reported
duration of postpartum amenorrhea was of 20 months, and the respondent abstained from sexual relations for
12 months after the birth of this child. The child was larger than average at birth, but had not been weighed at
birth. The child was breastfed for 22 months. None of the children of the children were born by caesarian
section. The last child living with his mother had been given supplemental foods. This child received fresh
milk last night, he received plain water on five days during the last week.
37
March 5, 2008
Maternity and Feeding
Section 42 (REC42)
Var
Model Description
V401
Whether the last child born in the last three/five years was born by caesarean section.
BASE: Respondents who have had one or more births in the three/five years preceding the
survey (V417 > 0).
V404
Whether the respondent is currently breastfeeding a child. This is based on the entries in the
maternity history for children born in the last three/five years. If no child was born in the
last three/five years, the respondent is assumed not to be breastfeeding. This variable is
created by looking for any child which is still being breastfed, and not just whether the last
child is being breastfed.
V405
Whether the respondent is currently postpartum amenorrheic. This variable is created from
the maternity history by checking if the period returned after the last birth. If the woman is
currently pregnant then she is coded as not currently amenorrheic, irrespective of whether
her period returned after the last birth. If there are no births in the last three/five years then
this variable is coded 0 "Not currently amenorrheic."
V406
Whether the respondent is currently postpartum abstaining. This variable is created from the
maternity history by checking if the respondent has resumed sexual relations since the last
birth. If there are no births in the last three/five years then this variable is coded 0 "Not
currently abstaining."
V407
Number of times the last child was breastfed during the previous night.
BASE: Respondents still breastfeeding the last child (V404 = 1).
Number of times the last child was breastfed during the daylight hours the previous day.
BASE: Respondents still breastfeeding the last child (V404 = 1).
V408
V409
V409A
V410
V410A
V411
V411A
V412
V413A-D
V413
V414A-C
V414D
V414E
V414F
V414G
V414H
V415
March 5, 2008
Other foods given to the child in the last 24 hours.

Plain water.
Sugar water.
Juice.
Herbal tea.
Powdered or tinned milk.
Baby formula.
Fresh (cow's or goat's) milk.
Country-specific other liquids.
Any other liquid.
Country-specific other solid or mushy food.
Any other solid or semi-solid food.
Food made from wheat, maize, rice, sorghum or other local grains, Examples of such food
are porridge, bread or noodles.
Food made from cassava, plantain, yams or other local tubers.
Eggs, fish, or poultry.
Meat.
BASE: Last born child is still alive (B5(1) = 1).
Whether the child drank anything from a bottle with a nipple the previous day and night.
BASE: Respondents whose last child born in the last three/five years was still alive
(V417 > 0 & B5(1) = 1).
38
Var
Model Description
V416
Whether the respondent has heard of the special-named oral rehydration
product for treating children with diarrhea. This variable is coded 1 if the respondent had
used the ORS product to treat a child in the previous two weeks, 2 if the respondent had
heard of the ORS product.
BASE: All respondents.
V417
V418
V419
Number of entries in the maternity history.

Number of entries in the health history.
Number of entries in the height and weight table.
V420
Code assigned to the person measuring the children for the height and weight section. Codes
are country-specific. This variable now occupies 3 characters.
BASE: Respondents who had given birth to a child in the last three/five years (V417 > 0).
V421
Code assigned to the assistant measurer. Codes are country-specific. . This variable now
occupies 3 characters.
BASE: Respondents who had given birth to a child in the last three/five years (V417 > 0).
V426
Time after the birth at which the respondent first breastfed the last child. The first digit gives
the units in which the respondent gave her answer. Code 0 means the child was breastfed
immediately after birth, code 1 indicates the response was in hours, code 2 in days, with code
9 meaning a special answer was given. The last two digits give the time in the units given.
Any value for time greater than 90 is a special answer. The response "Immediately" is
recorded as 000.
BASE: Respondents whose last child born in the last three/five years was ever breastfed.
(V208V417 > 0 & M4(1) <> 94).
Maternal Anthropometry
Data on maternal anthropometry is only collected for mothers of children born in the three/five years
preceding the survey (months 0 to 59 before the survey).
BASE: Mothers of children born in the preceding three/five years (V417 > 0).
V436
Upper arm circumference of the respondent in centimeters. There is one implied decimal
place in the arm circumference (decimal points are not included in the data file). To produce
the arm circumference in centimeters divide by 10.
V437
Weight of the respondent in kilograms. There is one implied decimal place in the weight
(decimal points are not included in the data file). To produce the weight in kilograms divide
by 10.
V438
Height of the respondent in centimeters. There is one implied decimal place in the height
(decimal points are not included in the data file). To produce the height in centimeters divide
by 10.
V439
V440
V441
V442
Height for Age percentile.

Height for Age standard deviations from the reference median.
Height for Age percent of reference median.
Weight for Height percent of reference median based on DHS reference standard.
39
March 5, 2008
Var
V443
V444
Model Description
Weight for Height percent of reference median based on Metropolitan Life or Foggarty
reference standard.
Weight for Height percent of reference median based on WHO reference standard.
The NCHS/FELS/CDC reference standard only contains data for children up to the age of 18
years. For all women aged 18 and over, the value of 215 months (17 years, 11 months) is
used for their age, on the assumption that women are fully grown by the age of 18. Weightfor-age indices are not included as the weight of an adult woman is very dependent on her
height. For the weight-for-height indicators, the CDC standard only applies up to a height of
137 centimeters, and almost all adult women are taller than this height. For this reason the
weight-for-height Z-scores and percentiles are not available. However, three measures of
percent of reference median are included, one based on the Metropolitan Life or Foggarty
standard, the second based on the WHO standard and a third based on a DHS standard.
These indices have been adjusted for pregnant women according to duration of pregnancy.
V444A
The anthropometric indices above are based on the CDC Standard Deviation-derived Growth
Reference Curves derived from the NCHS/FELS/CDC Reference Population. The measures
are presented with two implied decimal places (no decimal points are included in the data
file). To produce the actual measure, divide the variable by 100. If either the weight or the
height of the respondent is missing, then the corresponding measures above are set to the
missing code 9999 or 99999. If either the height or the weight is outside of the acceptable
range for the calculation of these measures, then the corresponding measures are set to code
9998 or 99998.
Weight for Height standard deviations from the reference median based on the DHS
reference standard.
V445
Body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet's index, for the respondent is defined as her weight in
kilograms divided by the square of her height in meters (W/H2). There are two implied
decimal place in the BMI (decimal points are not included in the data file). To produce the
BMI divide by 100. The BMI has not been adjusted for pregnant women.
V446
Rohrer's index for the respondent is defined as her weight in kilograms divided by her height
in meters cubed (W/H3). There are two implied decimal place in the Rohrer's index (decimal
points are not included in the data file). To produce the Rohrer's index divide by 100. The
Rohrer's index has not been adjusted for pregnant women.
V447
Result of measurement of the respondent. Fully measured women are coded 0, and reasons
for not measuring the respondent are coded 2 and above (see HW13).
V447A
Women's age in years from household report
V448
Drinking pattern with diarrhea indicates what the respondent believes a child should be given
to drink when the child has diarrhea.
V449
Eating pattern with diarrhea indicates what the respondent believes a child should be given to
eat when the child has diarrhea.
V450A-M,X,Z The signs of illness with diarrhea that would indicate to the respondent that the child should
be taken to a health facility or health worker for treatment.
V450A
Repeated watery stools.
March 5, 2008
40
Var
V450B
V450C
V450D
V450E
V450F
V450G
V450H
V450I
V450J
V450K
V450L
V450M
V450X
V450Z
Model Description
Any watery stools.
Repeated vomiting.
Any vomiting.
Blood in the stools.
Fever.
Marked thirst.
Not eating well or not drinking well.
Getting sicker or very sick.
Not getting better.
Country specific.
Country specific.
Country specific.
Other responses.
Does not know any signs of illness with diarrhea.
V451A-K,X,Z The signs of illness with a cough that would indicate to the respondent that a child should be
taken to a health facility or a health worker for treatment.
V451A
Fast breathing.
V451B
Difficult breathing.
V451C
Noisy breathing.
V451D
Fever.
V451E
Unable to drink.
V451F
Not eating well or not drinking well.
V451G
Getting sicker or very sick.
V451H
Not getting better.
V451I
Country specific.
V451J
Country specific.
V451K
Country specific.
V451X
Other responses.
Respondents 15-17
V452A
V452B
Under age 18 (HH report). Respondents aged 15-17 have their caretaker line number
collected and used for getting the consent to draw blood for anemia testing.
Line number of parent/responsible adult
Anemia testing
V452C
V453
V454
V455
V456
V457
V458
Read consent statement. A consent statement is read to the respondent for agreement before
taking a sample of blood.
Hemoglobin level (g/dl - 1 decimal)
Currently pregnant (household report)
Result of measuring (Hemoglobin)
Hemoglobin level adjusted by altitude (g/dl - 1 decimal)
Anemia level
Agrees to referral. In case where the anemia level is severe, respondents are asked whether
this information can be given to a doctor at a specified health facility for follow up.
41
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Bednets in the household
V459
V460
V461
Have bednet for sleeping (household report)

Children under 5 slept under bednet last night (HH report)
Respondent slept under bednet
V462
Washed hands before preparing last meal

Tobacco use
Type of tobacco the respondent currently smokes
V463A
V463B
V463C
V463D
V463E
V463F
V463G
V463Z
Cigarettes
Pipe
Other tobacco
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Does not smoke
V464
Number of cigarettes in last 24 hours

BASE: Respondents smoking cigarettes.
V465
Disposal of youngest child's stools when not using toilet.

BASE: Respondents with children under 5 living with them.
V466
When child is seriously ill, the respondent can decide by herself whether or not the child
should be taken for medical treatment.
BASE: Respondents with children living with them.
Getting medical care for herself
In case where the respondent is sick, this set of questions give an answer to the major
problems preventing her from getting a medical advice or treatment.
V467A
V467B
V467C
V467D
V467E
V467F
V467G
Knowing where to go
Getting permission to go
Getting money needed for treatment
Distance to the health facility
Having to take transport
Not wanting to go alone
Concern that there may not be a female health provider
V468
Column used for variables related only to last births. In the standard, some questions are
asked about the last child but in some countries these questions are asked about all children
born in the last three/five years. This variable gives an indication on whether the
questionnaire followed the standard or was changed to include more children.
Times last under three/five child living with his mother was given supplements during last
24 hours
March 5, 2008
42
Var
Model Description
V469A
V469B
V469C
V469D
V469E
V469F
V469G
V469H
V469I
V469J
V469K
V469L
V469M
V469N
V469O
V469P
V469Q
V469R
V469S
V469T
V469U
V469V
V469W
V469X
V469Y
V469Z
V469XX
V469XY
V469XZ
Plain water
Sugar water
Fruit juice
Herbal tea
Powdered/tinned milk
Commercially produced baby formula
Fresh milk
Other liquid
Pumpkin, carrots, red/yellow yams, red sweet potato
Mango, papaya or other Vitamin A rich fruits
Other solid, semi-solid foods
Food made from local roots/tuber
Eggs, fish, poultry
Meat
Cheese/yogurt
Times last under three/five child living with his mother was given supplements during last 7
days
V470A
V470B
V470C
V470D
V470E
V470F
V470G
V470H
V470I
V470J
V470K
V470L
V470M
V470N
V470O
V470P
V470Q
Plain water
Sugar water
Fruit juice
Herbal tea
Powdered/tinned milk
Commercially produced baby formula
Fresh milk
Other liquid
Pumpkin, carrots, red/yellow yams, red sweet potato
Mango, papaya or other Vitamin A rich fruits
Other solid, semi-solid foods
43
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V470R
V470S
V470T
V470U
V470V
V470W
V470X
V470Y
V470Z
V470XX
V470XY
V470XZ
March 5, 2008
Food made from local roots/tuber

Eggs, fish, poultry
Meat
Cheese/yogurt
44
Health History
Section 43 (REC43)
The health history contains up to six entries, relating to children born in the last three/five years. All
children born in the last three/five years, covering months 0 to 35/59 prior to the interview, as for the
maternity history, are included. The children who have died are included in this section, whereas in the DHS
I individual recode only living children were included. For children who have died, none of the variables are
applicable, but the entry is included to facilitate linking with children=s data in other sections. If there are
more than six children born in the last three/five years then only the last six are included in the health history.
See the example health history below.
Var
Model Description
HIDX
Index to the birth history. All children born in the last three/five years have entries in this
section. Children of multiple births each have their own entry as in the maternity history.
H1
Whether the respondent has a health card for the child and whether she could produce it for
the interviewer. Code 1 means the interviewer saw the health card for the child, whereas
code 2 means the respondent reported she had a health card for the child but the interviewer
did not see it. Code 3 indicates that the respondent had a health card for the child at some
point in time, but no longer has the health card. The health card is used to verify whether
specific vaccinations were given and to record the dates of vaccination of the children rather
than asking the respondent to report vaccinations.
H2
Whether a date of vaccination was recorded on the health card for BCG. Code 1 means the
child has a date recorded for the vaccination. Code 2 is used to indicate that the respondent
reported that the child had received the vaccination although the health card was not seen or
did not exist, or the vaccination was not recorded on the health card, but was reported by the
mother. Code 3 is used to indicate situations where the health card is clearly marked to
indicate that the vaccination was given, but no date was recorded on the health card for the
vaccination.
H2D
H2M
H2Y
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H9
H0
BCG vaccination date - day.

BCG vaccination date - month.
BCG vaccination date - year. This variable now occupies 4 digits.
DPT 1 vaccination.
As for H2, H2D, H2M, H2Y.
Polio 1 vaccination.
DPT 2 vaccination.
DPT 3 vaccination.
Measles vaccination. As for H2, H2D, H2M, H2Y.
Polio 0 (at birth)
If the vaccination date reported is inconsistent with the date of birth or the date of interview
or with the dates of other vaccinations part or all of the date of vaccination may be set to 97
"Inconsistent."
BASE: Children who have the vaccination recorded on the health card (H2 = 1).
45
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
H10
Whether the child ever received any vaccination to prevent him/her from getting diseases.
This variable comes from a single question in the model questionnaires, which is used if the
respondent does not have a health card for the child, and is not a summary of the preceding
variables.
BASE: Children whose mother could not produce a health card (H1 = 0 or H1 = 2 or
H1 = 3).
Diarrhea
Variables H11 to H21 relate to the prevalence and treatment of diarrhea.
BASE: All living children born in the last three/five years for H11, and children having an episode of
diarrhea in the last two weeks (H11 = 1 or H11 = 2) for H11A to H21.
H11
Whether the child had diarrhea in the last 24 hours or within the last two weeks. Code 1
indicates that the child had been ill in the last 24 hours, code 2 indicates that the child had
been ill with diarrhea in the last two weeksCode 1 is a country specific code for DHS III. In
case the question about diarrhea in the last 24 hours is used, the code 1 can be used, in this
case the code 2 is used to indicate that the child had diarrhea the last two weeks but not in the
last 24 hours otherwise the code 2 is for the last 2 weeks including the last 24 hours.
H11B
Whether the was any blood in the stools during the last episode of diarrhea.
BASE: Children having an episode of diarrhea in the last two weeks (H11 = 1 or H11 = 2).
H11C
The number of bowel movements on the worst day of diarrhea.

BASE: Children having an episode of diarrhea in the last two weeks (H11 = 1 or H11 = 2).
H12A-X
The place at which medical treatment or advice was sought for the last episode of diarrhea.
This question has multiple coding categories and each category is recorded separately in
these variables. Most of the categories are standard (H12A, B, C, D, E, J, K, L, M, N, S, T,
X). However, room has been left for country-specific categories (H12F, G, H, I, O, P, Q, R,
U, V, W). Any category not used in a particular country is left blank.
Public Sector.
Government Hospital.
Government Health Center.
Government Health Post.
Mobile Clinic.
Community Health Worker.
Country-specific public sector.
Other public sector.
Medical Private Sector.
Private Hospital or Clinic.
Pharmacy.
Private Doctor.
Mobile Clinic.
Country-specific medical private sector.
H12A
H12B
H12C
H12D
H12E
H12F
H12G
H12H
H12I
H12J
H12K
H12L
H12M
H12N
H12O
H12P
H12Q
March 5, 2008
46
Var
Model Description
H12R
H12S
H12T
H12U
H12V
H12W
H12X
Other medical private sector.

Other Private Sector.
Shop.
Traditional Practitioner.
Country-specific other private sector.
Other.
H12Y
Whether no treatment or advice was sought for the diarrhea as reported by the respondent.
H12Z
Whether the child was taken to a medical facility for treatment of the diarrhea. This usually
includes being taken to all Public Sector facilities and all Medical Private Sector facilities
except for Pharmacy. This variable is a summary of these preceding variables as is used in
the final reports.
H13
Whether the child received a sugar-salt-water solution from a special packet (ORS).
H13 is coded 1 if the respondent spontaneously reported giving ORS to treat the diarrhea,
and code 2 if it was reported only after probing. Code 1 is country specific for DHS III.
H14
Whether the child was given the recommended home solution.

H14 is coded 1 if the respondent spontaneously reported giving the recommended home
solution to treat the diarrhea, and code 2 if it was reported only after probing. Code 1 is
country specific for DHS III and MEASURE DHS+.
H14A
Duration in days for which the child was given a home-made fluid made from recommended
ingredients when he/she had diarrhea.
BASE: Children receiving a recommended home solution (H14 = 1 or H14 = 2).
H15
H15A X
H15B
H15C
H15D
H15E-H
H16
Whether the child was given other pills or syrups.

Whether the child was given antibiotics.
Whether the child was given an injection.
Whether the child was given an IV (Intravenous feeding).
Whether the child was given home remedies or herbal medicines.
Country-specific other treatments.
Whether the child was given an increase, the same amount, or a decrease in fluids.
H18
X
H20
H21A
H21
Whether the child was given an increase, the same amount, or a decrease in foods.
Whether the child received any other treatment.
Whether the respondent reported that the child received no treatment.
Whether the child received any treatment or whether advice or treatment was sought for the
child. This is a summary of the preceding variables H12A to H12Z, H13, H14, H15 to
H15H and H20.
Fever
H22
Whether the child had fever in the last two weeks.

Variables H31 to H40 relate to the prevalence and treatment of cough in the two weeks preceding the
interview.
47
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
BASE: All living children born in the last three/five years for H31, and children suffering from
cough in the last two weeks for H32 to H38 (H31 = 1 or H31 = 2).
H31
Whether the child had suffered from a cough in the last two weeks and whether the child had
been ill with the cough in the last 24 hours. Code 1 indicates that the child had been ill in
the last 24 hours, code 2 indicates that the child had been ill with the cough in the last two
weeks. Code 1 is country specific for DHS III. In case code 1 is used, code 2 indicates that
the child had cough in last two weeks but not in the last 24 hours.
H31B
Whether the child had suffered from rapid breathing when he/she had the cough.
BASE: Child who had suffered from a cough (H31 = 1 or H31 = 2).
H32A-X
The place at which medical treatment or advice was sought for the last episode of fever
and/or cough. This question has multiple coding categories and each category is recorded
separately in these variables. Most of the categories are standard (H32A, B, C, D, E, J, K, L,
M, N, S, T, X). However, room has been left for country-specific categories (H32F, G, H, I,
O, P, Q, R, U, V, W). Any category not used in a particular country is left blank.
Public Sector.
Government Hospital.
Government Health Center.
Government Health Post.
Mobile Clinic.
Other public sector.
Medical Private Sector.
Private Hospital or Clinic.
Pharmacy.
Private Doctor.
Mobile Clinic.
Other medical private sector.
Other Private Sector.
Shop.
Traditional Practitioner.
Other.
H32A
H32B
H32C
H32D
H32E
H32F
H32G
H32H
H32I
H32J
H32K
H32L
H32M
H32N
H32O
H32P
H32Q
H32R
H32S
H32T
H32U
H32V
H32W
H32X
H32Y
H32Z
March 5, 2008
Whether no treatment or advice was sought for the fever and/or cough as reported by the
respondent.
Whether the child was taken to a medical facility for treatment of the fever and/or cough.
This usually includes being taken to all Public Sector facilities and all Medical Private Sector
48
Var
Model Description
facilities except for Pharmacy. This variable is a summary of these preceding variables as is
used in the final reports.
Vitamin A vaccination
H33
H33D
H33M
H33Y
Received Vitamin A.
Vitamin A Day.
Vitamin A month.
Vitamin A year.
As for H2.
As for H2D.
As for H2M.
As for H2Y.
H34
Whether the respondent received or not a vitamin A dose in form of an ampule, a capsule or
syrup in last 6 months
Vaccination campaigns
H35
Any vaccinations in the last 2 years given as part of a national immunization day campaign
H36A
H36B
H36C
H36D
H36E
H36F
Vaccinated during Campaign A

Vaccinated during Campaign B
Vaccinated during Campaign C
Vaccinated during Campaign D
Vaccinated during Campaign E
Vaccinated during Campaign F
BASE for H36A-F: Vaccination campaigns conducted in the area (H35 = 1).
Treatment taken for fever
H37A
H37B
H37C
H37D
H37E
H37F
H37G
H37H
H37X
H37Y
H37Z
Fansidar
Chloroquine
Aspirin
Ibuprofen/acetaminophen
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Nothing
Don't know if or what was taken
BASE for H37A-Z: Children under three/five with fever last two weeks (H22 = 1).
Drinking and eating pattern during diarrhea
H38
H39
Amount offered to drink

Amount offered to eat
BASE: Diarrhea last two weeks.
Example Health History:

HIDX
H1
H2
1
1
1 22 02 2000
2
_
_ __ __ ____
49
3
2
2 __ __ ____
March 5, 2008
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H9
H0
H10
H11
H12A-Z
H13
H14
H15
H15A-H
H20
H21A
H21
H22
H31
H31B
H32A-Z
H33
H34
H35
H36A-F
H37A-Z
H38
H39
1 24 05 2000
1 24 05 2000
1 29 06 2000
1 29 06 2000
1 25 08 2000
1 25 08 2000
1 30 11 2000
1 22 02 2000
_
2
00__000_0000_000_00000_010
2
0
0
_001____
0
0
1
1
0
_
00__000_0000_000_00000_010
1 25 _8 2000
0
1
0001__
011_000_000
5
3
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_ __ __ ____
_
_
__________________________
_
_
_
________
_
_
_
_
_
_
__________________________
_ __ __ ____
_
_
______
___________
_
_
2 __ __ ____
2 __ __ ____
2 __ __ ____
2 __ __ ____
2 __ __ ____
2 __ __ ____
8 __ __ ____
0 __ __ ____
1
0
__________________________
_
_
_
________
_
_
_
0
0
_
__________________________
8 __ __ ____
8
1
1111__
___________
_
_
In this example, based on the birth history example, there are three entries representing the two living children
born in the last three/five years and one child who died. The first two entries are twins, however the second
twin has died. Thefirst child has a health card and has dates reported for BCG, DPT 1 & 2 & 3, and Polio 0, 1
& 2 & 3 vaccinations as well as a Vitamin A vaccination.. No questions about Immunization, Health and
Nutrition were asked for the dead daughter. The other living child has a health card that the respondent could
not produce; the child had received all the vaccinations according to the respondent -- BCG, Polio and DPT
with the exception of the Measles for which she does not know whether the child received it or not and the
Polio 0 for which she said that the child did not receive it. In the two weeks prior to the interview, the first
child listed had an episode of diarrhea but did not see anynone; the mother treated the child by increasing the
quantity of fluids the child was given, but and somewhat less to eat. The first child had fever in the two
weeks prior to the interview, but was not treated for it in H32A-Z but received Chloroquine and Aspirin in
H37A-Z.The first child had received a dose of vitamin A. He received a vaccination during the fourth
campaign.
March 5, 2008
50
Height and Weight
Section 44 (REC44)
The height and weight table contains information relating to children born in the period three/five
years, i.e., 0 to 35/59 months prior to the interview. The entries are in reverse order, such that the youngest
child is reported first. All live births in the period are included in the table, including children who have
subsequently died.
The information included in this section comes from data collected in the household questionnaire
and transferred to the womans level.
BASE: Living children for variables HW1-HW12, HW14-HW58 (B5(HWIDX) = 1).
Var
Model
Description
HWIDX
Index to the birth history. All live births born in the specified period have entries in this
section.
HW1
Age in months of the child is calculated from the country month code of the date of
interview less the century month code of the date of birth of the child.
HW2
Weight in kilograms. There is one implied decimal place in the weight (decimal points
are not included in the data file). To produce the weight in kilograms divide by 10.
HW3
Height in centimeters. There is one implied decimal place in the height (decimal points
are not included in the data file). To produce the height in centimeters divide by 10.
Height is supposed to be the recumbent length for children less than 24 months old and
the standing height for children born 24 or more months prior to the interview.
HW4
HW5
HW6
HW7
HW8
HW9
HW10
HW11
HW12
Height for Age percentile.

Height for Age standard deviations from the reference median.
Height for Age percent of reference median.
Weight for Age percentile.
Weight for Age standard deviations from the reference median.
Weight for Age percent of reference median.
Weight for Height percentile.
Weight for Height standard deviations from the reference median.
Weight for Height percent of reference median.
The measures above were calculated using the CDC Standard Deviation-derived Growth
Reference Curves derived from the NCHS/FELS/CDC Reference Population. The
measures are presented with two implied decimal places (no decimal points are included
in the data file). To produce the actual measure, divide the variable by 100. If either the
weight or the height of the child is missing then all of the above measures are set to the
missing code 9999 or 99999. If either the height or the weight is outside of the
acceptable range for the calculation of these measures then all of the above measures is
set to code 9998 or 99998.
HW13
Reason the child was not measured. Fully measured children are coded 0, dead children
are coded 1, and other reasons for not measuring the child are coded 2 and above.
51
March 5, 2008
HW14
Whether the child has a BCG scar on his/her left shoulder (or any other location used for
the BCG vaccination in a particular country).
BASE: Living children (B5(HWIDX) = 1).
HW15
Whether the child was measured lying down or standing up. In DHS surveys, children
aged less than 24 months are to be measured lying down, children age 24 months or
older are to be measured standing up. There may, however, be a considerable
discrepancy between policy and practice!
HW16
Day of birth of the child. This is used in conjunction with the date of measurement of
the child to more finely calculate the age of the child in days when computing the
anthropometric measures. This level of accuracy can be important in very young
children. The age of the child calculated from the day of birth information is not used as
a background characteristic for tabulations, but purely to produce a more accurate set of
anthropometric indices.
HW17
HW18
HW19
Day of measurement.
Month of measurement.
Year of measurement. This variable now occupies 4 digits.
HW20 X
Upper arm circumference in centimeters. There is one implied decimal place in the
upper arm circumference (decimal points are not included in the data file). To produce
the upper arm circumference in centimeters divide by 10.
Upper arm circumference for Age percentile.
Upper arm circumference for Age standard deviations from the reference median.
Upper arm circumference for Age percent of reference median.
Upper arm circumference for Height percentile.
Upper arm circumference for Height standard deviations from the reference median.
Upper arm circumference for Height percent of reference median.
HW21
HW22
HW23
HW24
HW25
HW26
X
X
X
X
X
X
HW51
Line number of parent/caretaker
HW52
Whether the consent to draw a droplet of blood was granted after reading a consent
statement to a parent/responsible adult.
HW53
HW55
HW56
HW57
Hemoglobin level in g/dl with 1 implied decimal

Hemoglobin level adjusted by altitude in g/dl with 1 implied decimal
Anemia level. Levels below 7.0 g/dl are considered as severe anemia, levels between
7.1g/dl and 9.9g/dl are considered as moderate anemia and cases between 10.0 g/dl
and 10.9 g/dl are considered as mild anemia.
HW58
Agrees to referral. In case where the anemia level is severe, respondents are asked
whether this information can be given to a doctor at a specified health facility for follow
up
Example Height and Weight Table:

HWIDX
HW1
HW2
March 5, 2008
1
19
90
2
__
___
52
3
47
133
Var
Model Description
HW3
HW4
HW5
HW6
HW7
HW8
HW9
HW10
HW11
HW12
HW13
HW15
HW16
HW17-19
HW51
HW52
HW53
HW55
HW56
HW57
HW58
755
73
-244
9093
151
-217
7762
1241
-115
9063
0
1
16
6/9/2001
__
_
___
_
____
_
_
____
____
____
_____
____
____
_____
____
____
_____
1
_
__
__/__/____
__
_
___
_
____
_
_
885
9999
9999
99999
9999
9999
99999
6909
50
10560
0
2
98
6/9/2001
__
_
___
_
____
_
_
In this example, based on the birth history example, three children are included. The first child aged 19
months, measuring 9.0 kg and 75.5cm. His anthropometric measures are given to 1 implied decimal place.
He is measured lying down. The second twin had died (as recorded in HW13). The third child was
measured and weighs 13.3 kg and measures 88.5 cm No hemoglobin measurements for both living children.
53
March 5, 2008
Marriage
Section 51 (REC51)
Var
Model Description
V501
Current marital status of the respondent.
V502
Whether the respondent is currently, formerly or never married (or lived with a partner).
Currently married includes married women and women living with a partner, and formerly
married includes widowed, divorced, separated women and women who have lived with a
partner but are not now living with a partner.
V503
Whether the respondent has been married or lived with a man once or more than once.
BASE: Ever-married women (V501 <> 0).
Whether the partner lives in the household or is now living elsewhere.
BASE: Currently married or in union women (V502 = 1).
V504
V505
Whether the respondent is in a polygynous union and the number of other wives the
respondent's partner currently has.
V506
The rank of the respondent among the partner's wives.

BASE: Currently married or in union women in a polygynous union (V502 = 1 & V505 >
0).
First marriage or union

Variables V507 to V513 relate to the date of start of the first marriage or union.
V507
V508
Month of start of first marriage or union (see note on imputed dates).

Year of start of first marriage or union (see note on imputed dates). This variable now
occupies 4 digits.
V509
Century month code of the date of start of first marriage or union (see note on century month
codes).
V510
Completeness of information for the date of start of the first marriage or union (see note on
imputed dates). Codes are different from the codes used in DHS I.
V511
Age at start of first marriage or union is calculated from the century month code of the date
of start of first marriage or union and the century month code of the date of birth of the
respondent.
V512
Years since start of first marriage or union is calculated from the century month code of the
start of first marriage or union and the century month code of the date of interview.
V513
Marital duration is actually the number of years elapsed since the start of the first marriage or
union until the date of interview grouped into five-year groups, irrespective of whether the
respondent is still married to her first partner.
March 5, 2008
54
Var
Model Description
Sexual intercourse
Variables V525 to V528 relate to age at first intercourse, frequency of intercourse and time since last
sexual relations. BASE (for variables V526V527 to V533V532): Respondents who have had sexual
intercourse (V525 <> 0).
V525
Age at first sexual intercourse. Respondents who had never had sex are coded 0. The
response category "First sexual intercourse at first union" has been added in DHS III.
V527
Time since the last sexual relations as reported by the respondent. The first digit gives the
units in which the respondent gave her answer: 1 - Days ago, 2 - Weeks ago, 3 - Months
ago, 4 - Years ago,, with 9 meaning a special answer was given. The last two digits give the
time in the units given. Any value for time greater than 90 is a special answer.
V528
Time since the last sexual intercourse in days is calculated from the preceding variable.
Durations of more than 30 days are grouped into one category 31+. If the respondent said
she had had sexual relations in the last four weeks, but replied that her last sexual intercourse
was one month before the interview, then this is recoded to 30 days. Otherwise, one month
is coded 31+ days.
V529
Computed time since last sexual intercourse. This is computed from the responses for V527,
with durations exceeding the interval since the last birth (V530 = 9) recoded as "Before last
birth" and inconsistent responses flagged on variable V530 (codes 1-8) recoded to 97.
V530
Flag variable indicating inconsistencies found in editing the responses for variable V527.
0
No flag
1
Duration given is greater than the interval since the last birth and the respondent did
not say, in the maternity section, that she was still abstaining from sexual relations
since her last birth
2
Duration given plus the duration of abstinence after the last birth is greater than the
interval since the last birth
3
Duration was reported, but the respondent had not resumed sexual intercourse since
the last birth
4
Respondent reported her last intercourse was before her last birth, but she had never
given birth
5
Respondent reported her last intercourse was before her last birth, but she was
currently pregnant
6
Respondent reported her last intercourse was before her last birth, but reported in the
maternity section that she had resumed sexual intercourse after her last birth
7
Respondent reported a duration since her last intercourse, but this would place her
last intercourse before her last pregnancy
8
Respondent reported a duration since her last intercourse, but this response was
inconsistent with her response concerning the number of times she had had sexual
intercourse in the four weeks preceding the survey.
9
Duration was reported, but the duration would place her last sexual intercourse
before her last birth.
V531
Age at first sexual intercourse - imputed. This is the same as V525, except for respondents
who reported that their first sexual intercourse was at the time of their union. For these
cases, the age at first sex is taken from the age at first union. In cases where the age at first
sex was inconsistent with the age at conception of the first child, but only by one year (V532
55
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
= 3), the age at first sex was reduced by one year, consistent with the "Rule of one" applied
in DHS I. Other cases flagged as inconsistent on variable V532 (codes 1, 2, 4, 5) are recoded
as 97 (inconsistent). Cases coded 6 on V532 are not changed.
V532
Flag variable for inconsistencies found in editing the responses for V525.
0
No flag
1
Respondent reported age at first sexual intercourse that exceeds her current age
2
Respondent reported her age at first sexual intercourse as occurring more than one
year after the conception of her first child
3
Respondent reported her age at first sexual intercourse as occurring up to one year
after the conception of her first child
4
Respondent reported that her first sexual intercourse was at the time of her first
marriage, but the respondent was never married
5
Respondent reported that her first sexual intercourse was at the time of her first
marriage, but her first marriage occurred after the conception of her first child
6
Respondent reported her first sexual intercourse as being after her first marriage
V534
Whether the respondent, who is not currently married or living with a man, has a regular,
occasional, or no sexual partner.
BASE: Women who are not currently married and not living with a man (V502 <> 1).
V535
Whether the respondent has ever been married or lived with a man.
BASE: Women who are not currently married and not living with a man (V502 <> 1).
Recent sexual activity. It gives the sexual activity of the respondents during the last four
weeks coded as follows:
V536
0
1
2
3
Never had intercourse

Active in last 4 weeks
Not active in last 4 weeks - postpartum abstinence after the birth of the last child
Not active in last 4 weeks - not postpartum abstinence after the birth of the last
child
BASE: All women. Respondent who never had sex were coded 0.
V537
March 5, 2008
Months of abstinence. Postpartum or not postpartum abstinence.

BASE: Women sexually active during the last 4 weeks (V536 = 2 or V536 = 3).
56
Var
Model Description
Fertility Preferences
Section 61 (REC61)
Var
Model Description
V602
Fertility preferences. This variable comes primarily from a single question in the DHS III
and MEASURE DHS+ questionnaires. This is the same question used in the DHS I Model
"B" questionnaire, and the DHS II and DHSIII Model "A" and "B" questionnaires.
However, for DHS I Model "A" questionnaires, this variable was constructed from a series
of questions. Women who respond that they want another child, but when asked when they
would like the next child, respond that they cannot get pregnant, are classified in the
"declared infecund category", and not in the "Wants another" category. These women can be
identified in variable V616, where the original response to the question asking how long they
would like to wait before having another child is recorded. In some countries, women who
had never had sexual intercourse were not asked the questions relating to desire for future
children, and are coded 6 on V602.
BASE: All women.
V603
Preferred waiting time before the birth of another child is created from a single question
asking how long from the date of interview the respondent would like to wait before the birth
of the next child. If the respondent answered "Don't know" or gave an "Other" answer when
she was asked how long she would like to wait for her next child, she is no longer asked how
old she would like her youngest child to be when the next child is born. In some countries
there may be some additional non-numeric responses to the question of how long to wait
before the next birth. These are assigned additional codes on a country-specific basis.
BASE: All women who want another child (V602 = 1).
V604
The preferred waiting time to the next birth is grouped into 12-month categories with
responses of more than six years coded as 6+ years. Non-numeric responses are coded into
one group (7 "Non-numeric"), but with "Don't know" and missing responses in their own
categories (8 & 9). The additional response "Soon/Now" is not grouped with the other nonnumeric codes, but is recoded as less than one year waiting time.
BASE: All women who want another child (V602 = 1).
V605
Desire for more children is a constructed variable classifying respondents who want more
children by whether they want the next child soon (less than 2 years) or they want the next
child later (2+ years). Sterilized women and women who want no more children are now
recorded in separate categories. In some countries, women who had never had sexual
intercourse were not asked the questions relating to desire for future children, and are coded
8 on V605.
BASE: All women.
V606
Respondent's attitude towards becoming pregnant.

BASE: Non-pregnant, non-sterilized women (V213 = 0 & V312 <> 6 & V312 <> 7).
V610
Whether the respondent thinks her partner approves of couples using a method to avoid
pregnancy.
BASE: Currently married or in union, non-sterilized women
(V502 = 1).
V611
How often the respondent discussed family planning with her partner in the past year.
57
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V612
Whether the respondent approves, in general, of couples using a method to avoid pregnancy.
V613
The ideal number of children that the respondent would have liked to have in her whole life,
irrespective of the number she already has. In many countries it was possible for a
respondent to reply to this question with a range of values, in which case this variable
contains the midpoint between these values. If the midpoint is not an exact number then the
number is rounded up in half the cases and rounded down for the other half. In situations
where a range of values was collected, the original variables are included as country-specific
variables. In some countries, additional country-specific categories are included, such as "It
depends on God" or "As many as I can support" and are given country-specific codes.
V614
This variable groups the preceding variable such that 6 or more children are in one category
6+ and all non-numeric responses are coded 7.
V616
This variable records the original response to the question "How long would you like to wait
from now before the birth of another child?" The first digit gives the units in which the
respondent answered (1 indicates months, 2 indicates years, and 9 indicates a special
response), while the last two digits give the time in those units. If the units value is 9 then
the variable contains a special response, and if the duration value is greater than 90 this also
indicates a special response. For example, code 994 is used for the responses "Soon/Now",
and code 299 would mean that the response was given in years but the actual duration was
missing on the questionnaire.
BASE: All women who want another child (V602 = 1), plus those originally responding that
they want another child, but then say they cannot get pregnant (see also V602).
V618
Regret for sterilization records whether the respondent regretted the sterilization and, if so,
the reason she regretted the sterilization. The category child died has been added to this
variable.
BASE: Women who are sterilized or whose partners are sterilized (V312 = 6 or V312 = 7).
V621
Whether the respondent believes her partner wants the same number of children, more
children or fewer children than she wants herself.
BASE: Currently married or in union women and neither partner is sterilized (V502 = 1 &
V312 <> 6 & V312 <> 7).
March 5, 2008
58
Var
Model Description
V623
The exposure status variable differentiates between pregnant women, postpartum

amenorrheic women, menopausal or infecund women, and fecund women:
!Pregnant women.
!Postpartum amenorrheic women are those whose period has not returned since the last
birth in the three/five years preceding the survey.
!Women are defined as being menopausal if they are not pregnant and not postpartum
amenorrheic, are not currently using a contraceptive method, and have not had a
period in the six months preceding the survey or report that they are in menopause.
!Women are defined as being infecund if they are not menopausal and not postpartum
amenorrheic and not pregnant, have had no birth in the five years preceding the
survey, and either (Model "A" countries) have been continuously married and have
not used contraception in the five years preceding the survey, or (Model "B"
countries) have been married one time and first married five or more years before
the survey and have never used contraception.
!Fecund women are all women not included in the preceding categories.
V624
The need for family planning variable categorizes women according to whether they have an
unmet need or a met need, to space or to limit their future births:
!Unmet need for spacing includes pregnant women whose pregnancy was mistimed,
postpartum amenorrheic women whose last birth was mistimed, and fecund women
who are neither pregnant nor postpartum amenorrheic and who are not using any
method of family planning and say they want to wait two or more years for their
next birth, are undecided about the timing of the next birth, or are undecided
whether to have another child.
!Unmet need for limiting includes pregnant women whose pregnancy was unwanted,
postpartum amenorrheic women whose last birth was unwanted and fecund women
who are neither pregnant nor postpartum amenorrheic and who are not using any
method of family planning and who want no more children.
!Met need for spacing includes women who are using some method of family planning and
say they want to have another child, are undecided about the timing of the next birth,
or are undecided whether to have another child.
!Met need for limiting includes women who are using family planning and who want no
more children. Note that the specific methods are not taken into account here.
In Model "A" countries, pregnant and postpartum amenorrheic women whose pregnancy was
the result of a contraceptive failure are not included in the category of unmet need, but are
categorized as spacing failures or limiting failures. In Model "B" countries, no distinction is
made since the information on contraceptive failure is not ascertained.
For formerly married and never married women, two additional categories exist. Women
who have never had sex are separated into a separate category, as are women who would be
categorized as having an unmet need to space or to limit, but who had not had sex in the
month before the interview.
The remaining cases are those women who have no need for contraceptive methods, either
because they desire a child soon (within the next two years) or because they are menopausal
or infecund. Note that the infecund or menopausal category on this variable contains fewer
cases than variable V623 as those women that are categorized as infecund or menopausal,
but are currently using a contraceptive method are recorded in the two "met need" categories.
Additionally, the code for the category "infecund or menopausal" has been changed to code
9 to allow for the two extra coding categories for formerly married or never married women.
59
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
BASE: All women.
NOTE: This definition was used in the majority of the DHS II survey reports.
V625
Exposure status (definition 2) reclassifies variable V623, using a more liberal definition of
infecundity. There are two differences between this definition and the definition used in
V623:
1) For Model "B" countries, it is only possible to say that a women had been continuously
married throughout the preceding five years if she was in her first union. This definition has
been relaxed in V625, such that the respondent need only have been first married at least five
years ago, and not necessarily continuously married throughout the last five years. For
Model "A" countries, there is no change to this part of the definition.
2) Two additional variables have been used to declare a woman infecund. If the respondent
said she cannot get pregnant when asked about preferences for additional children
(V602 = 5), or if she reported that she was menopausal or had a hysterectomy when giving
the reason she was not currently using a contraceptive method (V376 = 14), the respondent is
coded as infecund.
V626
Unmet need (definition 2) follows exactly the same logic as V624, but uses the definition of
fecundity given in V625. This variable was not used in DHS II survey reports, but has been
used in the majority of DHSIII survey reports.
BASE: All women.
V627
V628
V629
Ideal number of boys.

Ideal number of girls.
Ideal number of either sex.
These three variables should sum to the total ideal number of children given in variables
V613. If the response to the question for variables V613 is a non-numeric response, these
variables are coded with the same response. In addition, there may be non-numeric
responses on each of these questions. Country specific categories for non-numeric responses
may also be recorded for these variables.
V630A
V630B
V630C
V630D
V630E
V630F
V630G
V630H
V630I
V630J
V630K
V630L
V630M
V630N
V630O
V630X
V631
March 5, 2008
Whether the respondent discussed the practice of family planning with any of the following
people:
Husband or partner
Mother
Father
Sister(s)
Brother(s)
Daughter(s)
Mother-in-law
Friends or neighbors
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other people
If the respondent discovered that she became pregnant would that be a problem.
60
Var
V632
Model Description
Women using contraception are asked who decided on the use of contraception.
Reason for not having sex
All respondents were asked about when they think is justified to refuse sex with their
husband.
V633A
V633B
V633C
V633D
V633E
V633F
V633G
Husband has STD

Husband has other women
Recent birth
Tired, mood
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
61
March 5, 2008
Section 71 (REC71)
Var
Partner's Characteristics and Women's Work
Model Description
V701
The current or most recent husband or partner's highest level of education attended. See
variable V106.
V702
Highest year of education gives the years of education completed at the level given in V701.
BASE: Ever-married women except those answering "No education" or with missing data
for V701 (V501 <> 0 & V701 <> 0 & V701 <> 8 & V701 <> 9).
V704
Current or last husband or partner's most recent occupation as collected in the country.
Codes are country-specific.
V705
Standardized partner's occupation groups. Agricultural categories also include fishermen,

foresters and hunters and are not the basis for selection of agricultural/non-agricultural
workers for the variables that follow. This selection is based on a country specific coding
scheme in variable V704. In countries, where it is not possible to differentiate between selfemployed agricultural workers and agricultural employees, no attempt has been made to use
other information, and code 4 has been used for both categories. The analyst may wish to
use other related information to differentiate between these two categories.
V707
Whether the husband/partner works on his own land, /family land, rented land or on someone
else's land. In DHS III, his own land and family land are differentiated between.
BASE: Ever-married women whose partner works or worked in an agricultural occupation
(V501 <> 0 & V704 = country-specific agricultural category).
V714
Whether the respondent is currently working.
V715
Most recent husband or partner's education in single years. See variable V133.
V716
Respondent's occupation as collected in the country. Codes are country-specific.

BASE: Women who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months
(V731 = 1 or V731 = 2).
V717
Standardized respondent's occupation groups. Agricultural categories also include

fishermen, foresters and hunters and are not the basis for selection of agricultural/nonagricultural workers. In countries, where it is not possible to differentiate between selfemployed agricultural workers and agricultural employees, no attempt has been made to use
BASE: Women who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months
(V731 = 1 or V731 = 2).
Current type of employment. This variable is constructed from responses to the questions
concerning who the respondent works for, whether she earns cash for this work, and whether
she works at home or away from home.
V718
March 5, 2008
62
Var
Model Description
V719
Whether the respondent works for a family member, for someone else or is self-employed.
BASE: Women currently working (V731 = 1 or V731 = 2).
V720
Whether the respondent received cash for this work.

V721
Whether the respondent works at home or away from home.

V723
Who usually takes care of the youngest child while the respondent is working. Women who
have the child with them at work are coded 0. Coding categories for DHS III are slightly
different from those used in DHS II.
BASE: Women currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months and who have
at least one living child aged 5 or less and still living at home
(V731 = 1 or V731 = 2) & count(REC21 where B8 <= 5 & B5 = 1 & B9 = 0) > 0).
V729
Educational achievement recodes the education of the partner into the following categories:
None, incomplete primary, complete primary, incomplete secondary, complete secondary,
higher education, unknown level of education. If the grade within a level is unknown, it is
assumed that the level was not completed. See related variables V702, V703, V715.
V730
Age of the respondent's husband or partner.

Whether the respondent worked in the last 12 months.
V731
V732
Whether the respondent works throughout they year, seasonally, or just occasionally.
BASE: Women who are currently working or who have worked in the past year (V731 = 1
or V731 = 2).
V733
For seasonal or part year workers, the number of months they worked in the last twelve
months.
BASE: Women who are working seasonally or for part of the year (V732 = 2).
V734
Number of days the respondent usually worked per week.

BASE: Women who either work throughout the year or seasonally (V732 = 1 or V732 = 2).
V735
The approximate number of days the respondent worked in the last twelve months. For
respondents who worked throughout the year, this is 50 times the usual number of days
worked per week. For respondents who worked for part of the year or who worked
seasonally, this is the number of months worked times the number of days usually worked
per week times 50/12. For women who only work occasionally, this is the number of days
worked in the last twelve months, as reported in the questionnaire.
BASE: Women who are currently working or who worked in the past year (V731 = 1 or
V731 = 2).
V736
Usual amount the respondent earns in cash for the work she does. This variable is 8 digits in
size. The first digit gives the units in which the amount was specified, while the remaining
digits give the total amount. The first digit, or units digit, is coded as follows:
1
per hour
2
per day
63
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
3
per week
4
per month
5
per year
For example, 30000400 would indicate that the respondent received 400 per week. The
currency and units of currency used are country specific.
BASE: Women paid cash for their work (V720 = 1).
V737
V738
Approximate daily earnings.

Approximate yearly earnings.
These two variables are calculated from the preceding variables, in an attempt to standardize
earnings to common units. The currency and currency units used are country specific.
V739
The person who mainly decides how the money earned by the respondent is used.
V740
Whether the respondent works on her own land, family land, rented land or on someone
else's land.
BASE: Women who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months, and
who work or worked in agriculture (V716 = country-specific agricultural category).
V741
Type of earnings for work. The respondent is asked whether they receive cash for their
work, they are paid in kind, a combination of the two or not paid.
BASE: Respondents who have worked during the last 12 months (V731 = 1 or V731 = 2).
V742
Portion of household expenditures respondents earnings pay.

BASE: Respondents earning cash for their work (V741 = 1 or V741 = 2).
Final say in the family on the following decisions
V743A
V743B
V743C
V743D
V743E
Respondents health care

Making large household purchases
Making household purchases for daily needs
Visits to family or relatives
Food to be cooked each day
When wifes beating or hitting is justified
V744A
V744B
V744C
V744D
V744E
March 5, 2008
Goes out without telling him

Neglects the children
Argues with him
Refuses to have sex with him
Burns the food.
64
AIDS and Condom Use
Section 75 (REC75)
Var
Model Description
V750
Heard of AIDS or other sexually transmitted Diseases.
V751
Whether the respondent has ever heard of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
V752A
V752B
V752C
V752D
V752E
V752F
V752G
V752H
V752I
V752J
V752K
V752L
V752M
V752N
V752O
V752X
Sources of information from which the respondent has learned most about AIDS.
Radio
Television
Newspapers or magazines
Pamphlets or posters
Clinics or health workers
Churches or mosques
Schools or teachers
Community meetings
Friends or relatives
Work place
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
BASE: Women who have heard of AIDS (V751 = 1).
V753
V754A
V754B
V754C
V754D
V754E
V754F
V754G
V754H
V754I
V754J
V754K
V754L
V754M
V754N
V754O
V754P
V754Q
V754R
V754S
V754T
Whether the respondent believes there is anything a person can do to avoid AIDS.
Ways in which the respondent thinks people can avoid AIDS
"Safe Sex"
Abstaining from sex
Using condoms during sex
Having only one sexual partner
Avoiding sex wit prostitutes
Avoiding sex with homosexuals
Avoiding blood transfusions
Avoiding injections
Avoiding kissing
Avoiding mosquito bites
Seeking protection from a traditional healer
Limit number of sexual partners
Avoid partners who have many partners
Avoid sex with intravenous drug users
Avoid sharing razor blades with AIDS patients
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
65
March 5, 2008
V754U
V754V
V754X
V754Z
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
Does not know any means of avoiding AIDS
Reduce chances of AIDS
Respondents were asked whether using condoms or having just one sexual partner would
reduce their chances of getting AIDS.
BASE: Heard of AIDS and there are ways to avoid AIDS (V751 = 1 | V753 = 1)
V754CP
V754DP
Always using condoms during sex

1 sex partner with no other partners
Get AIDS
Respondents were asked if transmission of AIDS can happen by being bitten by a mosquito
or by sharing food with a person who has AIDS.
BASE: Heard of AIDS and there are ways to avoid AIDS (V751 = 1 | V753 = 1)
V754JP
V754WP
From mosquito bites

Sharing food with person who has AIDS
V755B
V755C
V755D
V755E
V755F
V755L
V755M
V755N
V755O
V755X
V755Z
What "Safe Sex" means to the respondent

Abstaining from sex
Having only one sex partner
Avoiding sex with prostitutes
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
Does not know the meaning of "Safe sex"
BASE: Women who responded that "Safe sex" was a way of avoiding AIDS (V754A = 1).
V756
Whether the respondent believes it is possible for a healthy-looking person to have the AIDS
virus.
V757
Whether the respondent believes that AIDS is a fatal disease.

V758
Whether the respondent believes her risk of getting AIDS is small, moderate, great, no risk at
all, or that she already has AIDS.
Whether it is acceptable to discuss AIDS on the following media:
BASE: Heard of AIDS (V751 = 1)
V759A X
March 5, 2008
Radio
66
Var
Model Description
V759B
V759C
V759D
V759E
V759F
V759G
V759H
V759I
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
V760A
V760B
V760C
V760D
V760E
V760F
V760G
V760I
V760L
V760M
V760N
V760O
V760P
V760V
V760W
V760X
V760Y
V760Z
V761
Television
Newspapers
Country Specific
Country Specific
Country Specific
Country Specific
Country Specific
Country Specific
Ways in which the respondent has changed her sexual behavior, since hearing about AIDS,
in order to avoid getting AIDS:
Did not start sex
Stopped all sex
Started using condoms during sex
Restricted the number of partners to one
Reduced the number of partners
Ask spouse to be faithful
No more homosexual contacts
Stopped receiving injections
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Ask spouse to avoid prostitutes
No non-sexual change in behavior
Other (non-sexual) responses
Other (sexual) responses
Did not change behavior
Don't know whether they changed behavior
BASE: Women who have heard of AIDS and have ever had sexual intercourse (V751 = 1 &
V525 <> 0).
Whether the respondent used a condom the last time she had sexual intercourse.
BASE: Women who have ever had sexual intercourse (V525 <> 0).
Used condom during intercourse
V761B
V761C X
With other man (1)

With other man (2).
V762
Source of condoms known by the respondent. If the respondent does not know where to get
condoms, this variables is coded 98.
BASE: Women who have ever had sexual intercourse (V525 <> 0).
Knowledge of a source for male condoms
V762AA
V762AB
V762AC
V762AD
V762AE
Government hospital
Government health center/post
Family planning clinic
Mobile clinic
Public field worker
67
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V762AF
V762AG
V762AH
V762AI
V762AJ
V762AK
V762AL
V762AM
V762AN
V762AO
V762AP
V762AQ
V762AR
V762AS
V762AT
V762AU
V762AV
V762AW
V762AX
V762AZ
Other public
Public Country specific
Private hospital, clinic
Pharmacy
Private doctor
Private field worker
Other private
Private Country specific
Shop
Church
Friends, relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Dont know a source for condom
Knowledge of a source for female condoms
V762BA
V762BB
V762BC
V762BD
V762BE
V762BF
V762BG
V762BH
V762BI
V762BJ
V762BK
V762BL
V762BM
V762BN
V762BO
V762BP
V762BQ
V762BR
V762BS
V762BT
V762BU
V762BV
V762BW
V762BX
V762BZ
Government hospital
Mobile clinic
Public field worker
Other public
Pharmacy
Private doctor
Other private
Shop
Church
Friends, relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Dont know a source for condom
Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) caught in last 12 months
March 5, 2008
68
Var
Model Description
V763A
V763B
V763C
V763D
V763E
V763F
V763G
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
V764
Any STD
Genital sore/ulcer
Genital discharge
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Whether the respondent has ever heard of condoms for contraceptive use or for use to
prevent STDs.
Whether the respondent has ever used condoms for contraceptive use or for use to prevent
STDs.
Both of these variables are created from responses to several questions in the questionnaire,
but the set of questions used may vary from country to country, depending on the depth of
questioning used in a particular country.
V765
Reason of condom use during last sexual intercourse

V765A X
V765B X
V765C X
Last time
With another man (1)
With another man (2)
Number of sexual partners during the last 12 months
V766A
V766B
Number of men other than the husband

Number of men including the husband
Relationship with last sexual partner
V767A
V767B
V767C
Last partner
Other sexual partner (1)
Length of time knows last sexual partner
V768A
V768B
V768C
Last partner
Could get a condom herself
V769
V769A
Male condom
Female condom
Seek advice or treatment for an STD
V770
Last STD infection

Place where advice or treatment is sought
69
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V770A
V770B
V770C
V770D
V770E
V770F
V770G
V770H
V770I
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Clinic/hospital/private doctor
Traditional healer
Shop/pharmacy
Friends/relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
V771
V772
X
X
Advise partner when had disease

Tried to avoid infecting partner
What done to prevent infecting the sexual partner
V773A
V773B
V773C
V773D
V773E
V773F
V773X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Abstaining from sexual intercourses

Used condoms
Took medicines
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Mother to child AIDS transmission
V774
AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child

Ways of transmission from mother to child
V774A
V774B
V774C
During pregnancy
During delivery
By breastfeeding
V775
Respondent knows personally someone who has or died of AIDS
V776
Respondent spoke with spouse about avoiding AIDS
V777
Family allowed to keep secret an AIDS infection of a member
V778
Respondent willing to care for a relative in the household who has AIDS
V779
Person with AIDS allowed to continue teaching
V780
Should children be taught about condoms

AIDS test
V781
V782
V783
March 5, 2008
X
X
X
Ever been tested for AIDS

Want to be tested for AIDS
Know a place to get AIDS test
70
Var
Model Description
V784
V785
Place where someone can get an AIDS test

Heard about other STDs
Man's symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
BASE: Women who have heard about other STDs (V785 = 1).
V785A
V785B
V785C
V785D
V785E
V785F
V785G
V785H
V785I
V785J
V785K
V785L
V785M
V785N
V785O
V785P
V785Q
V785X
V785Y
V785Z
Abdominal Pain
Genital discharge or dripping
Foul smelling discharge
Burning pain on urination
Redness, inflammation of the genital area
Swelling in the genital area
Genital sores or ulcers
Genital warts
Genital itching
Blood in urine
Loss of weight
Impotence
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
No symptoms
Dont know
Woman's symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
BASE: Women who have heard about other STDs (V785 = 1).
V786A
V786B
V786C
V786D
V786E
V786F
V786G
V786H
V7861
V786J
V786K
V786L
V786M
V786N
V786O
V786P
V786Q
V786X
V786Y
V786Z
Abdominal pain
Genital discharge
Redness or inflammation of the genital area
Genital warts
Genital itching
Blood in urine
Loss of weight
Hard to get pregnant or to have a child
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
No symptoms
Dont know
71
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Alcohol drinking during the last 3 months
V787
V788
X
X
Number of days drank alcohol

Number of days gotten drunk
Injections received last 3 months
V789
V790
March 5, 2008
X
X
Number of injections in last 3 months

Person who gave last injection
72
Characteristics of the Interview
Section 81 (REC81)
Var
Model Description
V801
Time of the start of the interview. The first two digits give the time in hours using the 24hour clock, and the last two digits give the minutes within that hour.
V802
Time of the end of interview is coded as for the start of interview.
V803
Length of interview in minutes is calculated from the previous two variables, but with
interviews that required more than one visit being coded 96.
V804
Number of visits for the interview.
V805
Interviewer identification code. Codes are country-specific. This variable occupies 3 digits
starting from DHS III.
V806
Data entry keyer code. Codes are country-specific.
V811
Presence of children aged under 10 at the end of the husbands background and womans
work section of the interview.
Presence of the husband at the end of the marriage and sexual intercourse section of the
interview.
Presence of other males at the end of the marriage and sexual intercourse section of the
interview.
Presence of other females at the end of the marriage and sexual intercourse section of the
interview.
V812
V813
V814
73
March 5, 2008
Calendar
Section 82 (REC82)
Model Description
Var
VCOL A
Column number of the entries in the calendar, indicating the type of data found in the entry
in the calendar.
VCAL A
The calendar of events representing the 5+ years prior to the date of interview. The calendar
is split into 5 records, representing each of the 5 columns. Each of the 5 columns contains a
single character for each month in the time period. The data are stored as single variables of
80 characters, allowing for up to 80 months to be represented in the calendar. The first
character in each variable represents the most recent point in time, while the 80th character
position represents data for January of the year in which the calendar started. The calendars
are fixed at the 80th character position, such that the first few entries in the calendar
represent points in time after the date of interview, and are consequently left blank. The
columns are as follows:
Column
Description
1
2
3
4
5
Births, pregnancies and contraceptive use

Reasons for discontinuation of contraceptive use
Marital/union status
Country specific
Source of contraception
The entire calendar is usually inserted in questionnaires of countries using the model A.
However, MESURE DHS+ includes, in model B questionnaires, a reduced calendar that has
one column on births, pregnancies and contraceptive use (column 1).
Column
1
March 5, 2008
Description
Records each of the births and pregnancies during the calendar period, as well as each
episode of contraceptive use and non-use. The following codes are used in column 1:
0
Non-use of contraception
L
1
Pill
C
Female condom
2
IUD
F
Foam and Jelly
3
Injections
Country-specific method 1
4
Diaphragm
5
Condom
6
Female sterilization
?
Unknown method/missing data
7
Male sterilization
B
Birth
8
Periodic abstinence/rhythm T
Terminated pregnancy/non-live birth
9
Withdrawal
P
Pregnancy
W
Other traditional methods
N
Norplant
A
Abstinence
All codes are standard except for codes , , and which are country-specific letter codes
representing traditional methods.
Records the reason for discontinuation of a method. The discontinuation code appears in the
row of the last month of use of the method for the episode. All other rows in the column are
74
Column
Description
left blank, except for those in which discontinuations took place. The standard codes are as
follows:
1
Became pregnant while using C
Cost
2
Wanted to become pregnant
F
Fatalistic
3
Husband disapproved
A
Difficult to get pregnant/menopause
4
Side effects
D
Marital dissolution
5
Health concerns
W
Other reasons
6
Access/availability
K
Don't know
7
Wanted more effective method
Country-specific reason 1
8
Inconvenient to use
9
Infrequent sex/husband away
All codes are standard except for codes , , and which are country-specific letter codes
representing additional reasons for discontinuation.
Records the episodes of marriage in the calendar period. The following codes are used:
X
In union (married or living together)
0
Not in union
4
5
Country specific
Source of contraception
Rows in the calendar, representing months after the month of interview, are left blank. With this exception,
columns 1, 3 and 4 do not contain any blank characters.
75
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Maternal Mortality
Section 83 (REC83)
The Maternal Mortality section is a country specific section that exists only for those countries that
have a maternal mortality module. It contains up to 20 entries containing information related to all of the
sisters and brothers of the respondents.
Var
Model Description
MMIDX MM
MM1
MM
MM2
MM
Index to maternal mortality history.

Sex of sibling.
Whether the sibling is dead or alive.
MM3
MM
Current age of sibling in years.

BASE: All living siblings (MM2 = 1).
MM4
MM
CMC date of birth of sibling. This is based on a crude imputation process. The analysts
may elect to perform their own imputation based on their own assumptions.
MM5
Sibling's marital status. Whether the sibling is/was ever married or not.
BASE: All siblings whose age is/was greater than or equal to the cut off age (MM3 >=
MMC5).
MM6
MM7
MM8
MM
MM
MM
Number of years ago the respondent's brother or sister died.

Age at death of sibling in years.
CMC date of death of sibling. The analyst may choose to perform their own imputation
procedure, as for the CMC date of birth of the sibling.
BASE: All siblings who have died (MM2 = 0).
MM9
MM
Indicates if the respondent's sister was pregnant when she died, if she died during
childbirth, within six weeks after the delivery, within 2 months after the delivery.
BASE: Female siblings aged older than the cutoff age (MM1 = 2 & MM2 = 0 & MM7 >=
MMC5). In some countries the question is only asked for ever married siblings (MM5 =
1).
MM10
MM
Information about whether the death that occurred was related to the sister's pregnancy.
BASE: Female siblings that died during a pregnancy or a period of time after a delivery or
a still birth (MM9 = 2 or MM9 = 4 or MM9 = 5 or MM9 = 6).
MM11
Specifies the cause of death. Codes are country specific.

BASE: All deaths not related to a pregnancy for a specified age and years within which
death occurred (see original questionnaire for each country for further details).
MM12
Time between delivery and death -- used in countries where questions relating to fixed
periods of time between delivery and death (usually six weeks or two months) are not
asked.
BASE: Female siblings who died after pregnancy (MM9 = 4 or MM9 = 5 or MM9 = 6).
MM13
Place in which the death occurred. Country specific codes.

BASE: Siblings who have died (MM2 = 0).
March 5, 2008
76
Var
Model Description
MM14
MM
Number of children to whom the female sibling gave birth during her live. In most
countries, for women with a maternity related death, this is the number of children born
prior to the pregnancy, if the respondent was pregnant when she died or if she died during
delivery, and includes the child, if the woman died after the birth of the child.
BASE: As for MM9 above.
MM15
MM
Year of death of sibling.

BASE: All siblings who have died (MM2 = 0).
77
March 5, 2008
Maternal Mortality
Section 84 (REC84)
Var
Model Description
MMC1
MM
Number of occurrences of the maternal mortality section. This variable gives the number
of the respondent's brothers and sisters born to the same mother including the respondent.
MMC2
MM
Number of births to the respondent's mother preceding the respondent's birth. This
variables gives the number of brothers and sisters born to the respondent's mother who
are/were older than the respondent.
MMC3
In some countries information about the siblings is given by one of the sisters of the
respondent, and not by the respondent herself, if both the sibling and the respondent were
interviewed. In this variable, the line number of the sibling providing the information is
recorded, if the information was not given by the respondent. If the respondent gave the
information for the maternal mortality section, this variables is coded 0. The information
for the respondent is copied from that reported by the sister, replacing the respondent's
data by here sister's data in the maternal mortality section.
MMC4
Line numbers in the household schedule of the eligible sisters of the respondent.
MMC5
MM
Cut off age for this section. In most countries the age of 12 was taken as the cut off age,
however in some countries the age of 10, 13 or 15 was used.
March 5, 2008
78
AIDS and STDs Module
Section 85 (REC85)
Var
Model Description
Last Sexual Intercourse, Condom Use and Other Partners
Variables V850 to V852 relate to the time since last sexual intercourse and whether condoms were
used at that time, for sexual relationships with the respondent=s husband or partner and with other
people, respectively. Variable V852 gives the number of other partners.
BASE (for V850 to V852): Currently married or in union women (V502 = 1)
V850
Time since the respondent=s last sexual intercourse with her husband or partner. The first
digit gives the units in which the respondent gave her answer: 1 - Days ago, 2 - Weeks
ago, 3 - Months ago, 4 - Years ago,, with 9 meaning a special answer was given. The last
two digits give the time in the units given. Any value for time greater than 90 is a special
answer.
V850A
Whether a condom was used the last time the respondent had sexual intercourse with her
husband or partner.
V851
Time since the last sexual intercourse with someone other than the respondent=s husband
or partner. Respondents who have had no other partner in the prior twelve months are
coded 995.
V852
Whether a condom was used the last time the respondent had sexual intercourse with
someone other than her husband or partner.
V853
Number of partners other than the husband or partner with whom the respondent lives,
with whom the respondent had sexual intercourse in the 12 months prior to the interview.
Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Variables V855 to V856Z relate to knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases.
BASE (for V856A to V856Z): Heard of any sexually transmitted disease (V855 = 1).
V855
Whether the respondent has ever heard of any sexually transmitted diseases.
V856A
V856B
V856C
V856D
V856E
V856F
V856G
V856H
V856I
V856J
V856K
V856X
V856Z
Knowledge of Syphilis
Knowledge of Gonorrhea
Knowledge of AIDS
Knowledge of Genital warts
Knowledge of country specific
Knowledge of other diseases
Does not know sexually transmitted diseases by name.
79
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Prevalence of STDs
Variables V857 to V858Z relate to whether the respondent has had any sexually transmitted
disease in the twelve months prior to the interview.
BASE (for V858A to V858Z): Whether the respondent has ever had a sexually transmitted disease
in the twelve months prior to the interview (V857 = 1).
V857
Whether the respondent has had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior
to the interview.
BASE: Women who had ever had sexual intercourse and had heard of sexually
transmitted diseases (V525 <> 0 & V855 = 1).
V858A
V858B
V858C
V858D
V858E
V858F
V858G
V858H
V858I
V858J
V858X
V858Z
Last 12 months had syphilis

Last 12 months had gonorrhea
Last 12 months had AIDS
Last 12 months had genital warts
Last 12 months had country specific
Last 12 months had other disease
Last 12 months had unknown disease
Treatment of STDs
Variables V859 to V860Z relate to treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
BASE (for V860A to V860Z): Women who sought advise for the last sexually transmitted disease
(V859 = 1).
V859
Sought advise for the last sexually transmitted disease.

BASE: Women who had a sexually transmitted disease in the 12 months prior to
interview (V857 = 1).
V860A
V860B
V860C
V860D
V860E
V860F
V860G
V860H
V860I
V860J
V860K
V860L
V860M
V860N
V860O
Sought advice from a government hospital

Sought advice from a government health center
Sought advice from a health post or dispensary
Sought advice from a mobile clinic
Sought advice from a community health worker
Sought advice from a family planning clinic
Sought advice from country specific public sector
Sought advice from other public sector sources
Sought advice from a private hospital or clinic
Sought advice from a private pharmacy
Sought advice from a private doctor
Sought advice from a private mobile clinic
Sought advice from country specific medical private sector
March 5, 2008
80
Var
V860P
V860Q
V860R
V860S
V860T
V860U
V860V
V860W
V860X
V860Z
Model Description
Sought advice from other private sector sources
Sought advice from a shop
Sought advice from a traditional practitioner
Sought advice from relatives or friends
Sought advice from country specific other sector
Sought advice from other sources
Sought advice from an unknown source
Avoidance of infecting others with STD
Variables V861 to V863X provide information on what the respondent did when she realized that
she had a sexually transmitted disease.
BASE (for V863A to V863X): Whether the respondent tried to avoid infecting her partner
(V863 = 1).
V861
V862
V863A
V863B
V863C
V863D
V863E
V863F
V863W
V863X
Whether the respondent advised her partner when she had the sexually transmitted disease.
BASE: Women who had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior to the
survey (V857 = 1).
Whether the respondent tried to avoid infecting her partner.
BASE: Women who had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior to the
survey (V857 = 1).
Means of avoiding infecting her partner:
No sexual intercourse
Used condoms
Took medicines
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other (non-sexual)
Other (sexual)
Knowledge of Means of Transmission of AIDS
Variables V864A to V864Z provide information on the ways in which the respondent believes a
person can get AIDS. Variables V865 to V867 relate specifically to whether AIDS can be cured,
whether it is transmitted from mother to child, and whether the respondent knows anyone who has
AIDS or who has died of AIDS.
BASE: Respondents who have heard of AIDS (V751 = 1).
V864A
V864B
V864C
V864D
V864E
V864F
V864G
V864H
Get AIDS from sexual intercourse

Get AIDS from sex with multiple partners
Get AIDS from sex with prostitutes
Get AIDS from not using a condom
Get AIDS from homosexual contact
Get AIDS from blood transfusions
Get AIDS from injections
Get AIDS from kissing
81
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
V864I
V864J
V864K
V864L
V864M
V864N
V864O
V864P
V864X
V864Z
Get AIDS from mosquito bites

Get AIDS from country specific
Get AIDS from: other responses
Get AIDS from unknown sources
V865
V866
V867
Whether the respondent believes AIDS can be cured.

Whether the respondent believes that AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child.
Whether the respondent knows someone who has AIDS or who has died of AIDS.
Reasons Respondent Assesses Risk of Getting AIDS to be Low
Variables V868B to V868Z give the reasons the respondent believes that she is at no risk or at a
small risk of getting AIDS.
BASE: Respondents reporting they are at no risk or at only a small risk of getting AIDS (V758 = 0
or V758 = 1).
V868B
V868C
V868D
V868E
V868F
V868G
V868H
V868I
V868J
V868K
V868L
V868P
V868X
V868Z
No/small risk: abstains from sex

No/small risk: uses condoms
No/small risk: has only one sexual partner
No/small risk: has a limited number of partners
No/small risk: spouse has no other partners
No/small risk: has no homosexual contact
No/small risk: has not received a blood transfusion
No/small risk: has had no injections
No/small risk: country specific
No/small risk: spouse avoids prostitutes
No/small risk: other reasons
No/small risk: reasons unknown
Reasons Respondent Assesses Risk of Getting AIDS to be High
V869C
V869D
V869E
V869F
V869G
V869H
V869I
March 5, 2008
Variables V869C to V869Z give the reasons the respondent believes that she is at a moderate or
great risk of getting AIDS.
BASE: Respondents reporting they are at a moderate or great risk of getting AIDS (V758 = 2 or
V758 = 3).
Great/moderate risk: not using condoms
Great/moderate risk: has more than one sex partner
Great/moderate risk: has many sex partners
Great/moderate risk: spouse has other sexual partners
Great/moderate risk: has homosexual contacts
Great/moderate risk: has received blood transfusions
Great/moderate risk: has had injections
82
Var
V869J
V869K
V869L
V869P
V869X
V869Z
Model Description
Great/moderate risk: country specific
Great/moderate risk: spouse frequents prostitutes
Great/moderate risk: other reasons
Great/moderate risk: reasons unknown
Condom Use in Relation to AIDS
V870
Whether the respondent has heard of using condoms to avoid AIDS.
V871
Whether the respondent has ever used a condom to avoid AIDS.

BASE: Women who reported having heard of using condoms to avoid AIDS and who had
ever had sexual intercourse (V870 = 1 & V525 <> 0).
Payments or Gifts for Sexual Intercourse
V872
Whether the respondent ever received or gave money or gifts in return for sexual
intercourse.
BASE: Women who had ever had sexual intercourse (V525 <> 0).
83
March 5, 2008
Country-Specific Variables
Sections 91-99 (REC91-REC99)
The following sections will appear in the recode data file as needed on a country-specific basis.
REC91
All single occurrence country-specific variables relating to the respondent.
REC92
Country-specific variables from the birth history (REC21). Variable IDX92 is always
included as the first variable in this section and is equal to BIDX for each entry in the birth
history.
REC94
Country-specific variables from the maternity history (REC41). Variable IDX94 is always
included as the first variable in this section and is equal to MIDX for each entry in the
maternity history.
REC95
Country-specific variables from the health history (REC43). Variable IDX95 is always
included as the first variable in this section and is equal to HIDX for each entry in the
health history.
REC96
Country-specific variables from the height and weight table (REC44). Variable IDX96 is
always included as the first variable in this section and is equal to HWIDX for each entry
in the height and weight table.
REC97-99
The last three country-specific sections are not assigned to any particular section of the
questionnaire, but are used for additional modules not usually incorporated in the
questionnaires. These include the respondent's work history, the diagnoses of deaths for
dead children who were born in the three/five years preceding the interview, pregnancy
history, or for husband's questionnaires.
Note:
As the child related sections REC41, REC43, REC44 are now completely parallel, i.e. the
first entry in each section relates to the last child born, the second entry in each section
relates to the last but one child born, etc., country specific variables for these sections,
usually placed in REC94, REC95 or REC96, may all be placed in REC94 if the number of
variables involved is small. This is to save space in the data file.
March 5, 2008
84
Section and Variable Description - Household

Occurrences
Max
Section
Code Length
Class
Min
RECH0
H0
129
Household's Basic Data
RECH1
H1
57
90
Household Schedule
RECH2
H2
56
Household Characteristics
RECH3
H3
Country-specific Household Variables
RECH4
H4
90
Country-specific Household Schedule
RECH5
H5
90
15
Women Height/Weight/Hemoglobin
RECH6
H6
116
15
Children Height/Weight/Hemoglobin
Section label
85
March 5, 2008
Household's Basic Data
Section H0 (RECH0)
Var
Model Description
HHID
Case identification uniquely identifies each household. In most surveys this is constructed
by concatenating the cluster or sample point number and the household number, but in some
surveys this may be the questionnaire number taken from the front page of the questionnaire.
HV000
Alphabetic country code to identify the survey from which the data were collected. The code
is based on an international standard code. This variable is 3 characters in length, with the
third character indicating the format of the recode file used for this survey. For all surveys in
MEASURE DHS+ following this standard, this code will be 4. For example: DR4 is the
Dominican Republic, MA4 is Morocco, ZM4 is Zambia, and ID4 is Indonesia.
HV001
variables are included in RECH3 as country-specific variables.
HV002
Household number is the number identifying the household within the cluster or sample
point. In some cases, this variable may be the combination of dwelling number and
household number within dwelling. In these cases, the original variables are included as
country-specific variables.
HV003
Respondent's line number is the line number in the household schedule of the person
responding to the questions asked in the household questionnaire. If nobody in the
household was available for interview, this variable is coded 00.
HV004
HV005
households when using the full dataset with no selection. This variable should be used to
weight all tabulations produced using the data file. For self-weighting samples this variable
is equal to 1000000.
HV006
HV007
Month of interview.
Year of interview. The size of this variable was changed from 2 digits in the previous
surveys to 4 digits in MEASURE DHS+.
HV008
HV009
Total number of household members indicates the number of entries to be found in RECH1.
HV010
Total number of eligible women indicates the number of women found eligible for the
individual survey in the household schedule. The eligibility criteria are generally: female,
aged between 15 and 49. In some countries, the eligibility criteria restricts the survey to
ever-married women. In early DHS II surveys, the eligibility criteria also required that the
members slept the previous night in the household. In later surveys, this criteria was
March 5, 2008
86
Var
Model Description
dropped and all usual residents and visitors who slept in the household the previous night
were interviewed. Non de facto women were later dropped in the analysis and do not appear
in the Individual Recode Data File.
HV011 X
Total number of eligible men indicates the number of men found eligible for the men's or
husband's survey in the household. The selection criteria is country-specific and will be
documented in the Household Recode Documentation for each country.
HV012
Total number of de jure household members gives the number of household members that
usually live in the household.
Total number of de facto household members gives the number of household members that
slept in the household the previous night, including visitors.
HV013
HV014
Number of children resident in the household and aged 5 and under. Visiting children are
not included.
HV015
Result of household interview. Code 1 represents a completed interview. For all other cases,
only RECH0 will exist in the data file. For flat and rectangular format data files, cases with
a result code different than 1 are dropped from the file.
HV016
Day of interview.
HV017
HV018
Interviewer identification code. Codes are country-specific.
HV019
HV020
The ever-married sample indicator is a constant for all cases in the data file. For all woman
samples it is code 0, and for ever married samples it is code 1.
HV021
HV022
calculation of sampling errors when using the Taylor series expansion method (for example,
with the package Clusters).
HV023
is code 0.
HV024
Region of residence in which the household resides. Codes are country-specific.
HV025
Type of place of residence where the household resides as either urban or rural.
87
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
HV026
Size of place of residence is the type of place in which the household resides. Urban areas
are classified into large cities (capital cities and cities with over 1 million population), small
cities (population over 50,000), and towns (other urban areas), and all rural areas are
assumed to be countryside.
HV027 X
Selection for men's or husband's survey indicates whether the household was selected for the
subset of households in which the men's or husband's survey was administered. Code 1
indicates a men's survey and code 2 a husband's survey, while code 0 indicates the household
was not selected.
HV028 X
Sample weight for men's or husband's survey is an 8 digit variable with 6 implied decimal
places. To use the sample weight divide it by 1000000 before applying the weighting factor.
All sample weights are normalized such that the weighted number of cases is identical to the
unweighted number of households selected for the men's or husband's survey when using the
full dataset with no other selection. This variable should be used to weight all tabulations
produced using the households selected for the men's or husband's survey. For selfweighting samples this variable is equal to 1000000. For households not included in the
men's or husband's survey subsample, this variable is set to zero.
HV030
Field supervisor's code. Codes are country-specific. The size of this variable was changed
from 2 digits in the previous surveys to 3 digits in MEASURE DHS+.
Field editor's code. Codes are country-specific. The size of this variable was changed from 2
digits in the previous surveys to 3 digits in MEASURE DHS+.
HV031
HV032
HV033
HV035
Number of children under five eligible for height and weight.
HV040
Cluster altitude in meters. Used to adjust the anemia measurement for altitude.
HV041
Number of women eligible for height and weight measured.
HV042 X
Household selected for hemoglobin measurements.
HV043 X
Household selected for womens status module.
HV044 X
Household selected for the domestic violence module.
March 5, 2008
88
Household Schedule
Section H1 (RECH1)
Var
Model Description
HVIDX
Line number of the household member.
HV101
Relationship to the head of the household.
HV102
Whether the member is a de jure household member, i.e., whether the member is a usual
resident of the household.
HV103
Whether the member is a de facto household member, i.e., whether the member slept in the
household the previous night.
HV104
Sex of the household member.
HV105
Age of the household member.
HV106
Highest level of education the household member attended. This is a standardized variable
providing level of education in the following categories: No education, Primary, Secondary,
Higher. Any member below the lower age limit for the education questions is classified in
the "No education" category. Note that the lower age limit may be different from 6 years in
some countries. Country-specific categorizations of education are recorded in RECH3.
HV107
Highest year of education gives the years of education completed at the level given in
HV106.
BASE: All household members except those answering "No education" or with missing data
or the response "Don't know" for HV106 (HV106 <> 0 & HV106 <> 9 & HV106 <> 8).
HV108
Education in single years. This variable is constructed from the educational level (HV106)
and the grade at that level (HV107) as follows:
HV106 = >
HV108
0
=>
0
1
=>
HV107
2
=>
HV107+x
3
=>
HV107+y
9
=>
99
HV109
Educational achievement recodes the education of the household member into the following
secondary, higher education. See related variables HV106, HV107, HV108.
HV110
Whether the household member is still in school. All members aged equal to or older than
the upper limit (usually 25 years) for this question or who have not attended school are coded
0 (Not in school).
HV111
Whether the mother of the household member is still alive.

BASE: All children in the household aged less than 15.
89
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
HV112
Line number in the household of the mother of the member. This variable is code 00 if the
mother is not a member of the household.
HV113
Whether the father of the household member is still alive.

HV114
Line number in the household of the father of the member. This variable is code 00 if the
father is not a member of the household.
HV115 X
Marital status of the household member.
HV116 X
Whether the household member is currently, formerly or never married (or lived with a
partner). Currently married includes married women and women living with a partner, and
formerly married includes widowed, divorced, separated women and women who have lived
with a partner but are not now living with a partner. In countries where the only question
asked relates to whether the household member is ever married, the responses are coded 2 for
ever married and 0 for never married.
HV117
Eligibility of the household member for the individual women's survey. This indicates the
women included in the individual recode. In most surveys, both de facto and non de facto
women are interviewed, however women are included in the individual recode only if they
were eligible for interview and were de facto members of the household. (A few surveys
used a de jure sample and this selection does not apply in those countries.)
HV118 X
Eligibility of the household member for the individual men's survey.
HV120
HV121
Eligibility of the child for the height/weight and hemoglobin.

Household member attended school during current school year.
HV122
Educational level attended during current school year.
HV123
Grade of education at the level of education attended during current school year.
HV124
Education in single years during current school year.
HV125
Household member attended school during previous school year.
HV126
Educational level attended during previous school year.
HV127
Grade of education at the educational level during previous school year.
HV128
Education in single years during- previous school year.
HV129
School attendance status.

0
Never attended. Children with no education.
1
Entered school. Children who did not attend school the previous year but are
currently enrolled.
March 5, 2008
90
Var
Model Description
2
3
4
5
8
Advanced. Children at a current level that is higher than the previous year
Repeating. Children who are at the same level than the previous year or at a level
less than the previous year.
Dropout. Children who were at school the previous year but not currently attending
school.
Left school 2+ years ago. Children who are not currently attending school and did
not go to school the previous year.
Dont know
91
March 5, 2008
Household Characteristics
Section H2 (RECH2)
Var
Model Description
HV201
HV202 X
Major source of drinking water for members of the household. Individual codes are countryspecific, but the major categories are standard.
Major source of water for household use other than for drinking. Individual codes are
HV203 X
Whether the same source of water is used for drinking water as for household water.
HV204
Time taken to get to the water source for drinking water.

BASE: All respondents except those with drinking water either piped to, or available from a
well in, the residence, yard or plot or who use rainwater or bottled water (HV201 <> 11 &
HV201 <> 21 & HV201 <> 41 & HV201 <> 61). The actual selection criteria is countryspecific.
HV205
Type of toilet facility in the household. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major
categories are standard.
HV206
HV207
HV208
HV209
Whether the household has:

Electricity.
A radio.
A television.
A refrigerator.
HV210
HV211
HV212
Whether any member of the household has:

A bicycle.
A motorcycle.
A car.
HV213
HV214 X
HV215 X
Main material of the floor. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories
are standard.
Main material of the walls. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories
are standard.
Main material of the roof. Individual codes are country-specific, but the major categories are
standard.
HV216
Number of rooms used for sleeping in the household.
HV217
Relationship structure in the household describes the household composition in the following
categories: one adult, two related adults of the opposite sex, two related adults of the same
sex, three or more related adults, all other combinations. Only usual (de jure) members aged
15 and over are considered in determining the relationship structure.
HV218
Line number of head of household. This should always be 01, however there are some
households in certain surveys in which the head of household has not been listed as the first
person in the household listing.
Sex of head of household.
Age of head of household.
HV219
HV220
March 5, 2008
92
Var
Model Description
HV221
Whether the household has a telephone.
HV222
Type of salt used for cooking in the household is used to assess the presence of iodine in the
diet.
HV225
Share toilet with other households.
HV226
Type of cooking fuel.
HV227
Have a bednet for sleeping.
HV228
Children under 5 slept under bednet last night.
HV230
Place for hand washing.
HV231
Items present: Water, tap.
HV232
Items present: Soap/other cleansing agent.
HV233
Items present: Basin.
HV234
Test
salt
for
93
Iodine.
March 5, 2008
Country-Specific Household Variables
Sections H3-H4 (RECH3-RECH4)
The following sections will appear in the household recode data file as needed on a country-specific
basis.
RECH3
All single occurrence country-specific variables relating to the household.
RECH4
Country-specific variables from the household schedule. Variable IDXH4 is always

included as the first variable in this section and is equal to HVIDX for each entry in the
household schedule.
March 5, 2008
94
Sections H5 (RECH5)
Var
Womens height/weight and hemoglobin Variables
Model Description
HA0
Index to household schedule.
HA1
Women's age in years.
HA2
Respondent's weight (kilos-1d).
HA3
Respondent's height (cms-1d).
HA4
HA5
HA6
Height/Age Percentile
Height/Age Standard deviations.
Height/Age Percent ref. Median.
HA11
HA12
HA12A
HA12B
Weight/Height Std deviations (DHS).

Weight/Height Percent ref. median (DHS).
Weight/Height Percent ref. median (Foggarty)
Weight/Height Percent ref. median (WHO).
HA13
Womens result of measurement.
HA32
Date of birth (cmc).
HA33
Completeness of information.
HA35
Smoking.
HA40
Body mass index for respondent.
HA41
Rohrer's index for respondent.
HA50
Under age 18.
HA51
Line number of parent/caretaker.
HA52
Whether the consent to draw a droplet of blood was granted after reading a consent statement
to woman/parent/responsible adult.
HA53
Hemoglobin level in g/dl with 1 implied decimal.
HA54
Currently pregnant.
HA55
Result of Hemoglobin measuring.
HA56
Hemoglobin level adjusted by altitude in g/dl with 1 implied decimal.
HA57
Anemia level. Levels below 7.0 g/dl are considered as severe anemia, levels between 7.1g/dl
and 9.9g/dl are considered as moderate anemia and cases between 10.0 g/dl and 10.9 g/dl
95
March 5, 2008
are considered as mild anemia for pregnant women and between 10.0 g/dl and 11.9 g/dl for
all other adult women.
HA58 X
this information can be given to a doctor at a specified health facility for follow up.
Section H6 (RECH6)
Var
Childrens Height/Weight/Hemoglobin Variables
Model Description
HC0
Index to household schedule
HC1
Age in months
HC2
Weight in kilograms (1 dec.)
HC3
Height in centimeters (1 dec.)
HC4
HC5
HC6
Height/Age Percentile
Height/Age Standard deviations
Height/Age Percent of ref. median
HC7
HC8
HC9
Weight/Age Percentile
Weight/Age Standard deviations
Weight/Age Percent of ref. median
HC10
HC11
HC12
Weight/Height Percentile
Weight/Height Standard deviations
Weight/Height Percent of ref. median
HC13
Reason not measured
HC15
Height: lying or standing
HC16
Day of birth of child
HC17
HC18
HC19
Date measured (day)

Date measured (month)
Date measured (year)
HC27
Sex of the child
HC30
HC31
Month of birth of child

Year of birth of child
HC32
Date of birth (cmc)
HC33
Completeness of information
HC51
Line number of parent/caretaker
HC52
Read consent statement
March 5, 2008
96
HC53
Hemoglobin level (g/dl - 1 decimal)
HC55
HC56
Hemoglobin level adjusted by altitude in g/dl with 1 implied decimal
HC57
Anemia level. Levels below 7.0 g/dl are considered as severe anemia, levels between 7.1g/dl
and 9.9g/dl are considered as moderate anemia and cases between 10.0 g/dl and 10.9 g/dl
are considered as mild anemia.
HC58 X
this information can be given to a doctor at a specified health facility for follow up
HC60
Mother's line number from woman's questionnaire
HC61
Mother's highest educational level
HC62
Mother's highest year of education
HC63
Preceding birth interval
HC64
Birth order number
97
March 5, 2008
Section and Variable Description - Men

Section
Code Length
Class
Min
Occurrences
Max
Section label
MREC01
M0
146
MREC11
M1
62
MREC22
M2
41
Reproduction
MREC31
M3
99
Contraceptive Table
MREC32
M4
295
Contraceptive Use
MREC51
M5
57
Marriage/Exposure
MREC61
M6
148
MREC71
M7
46
Occupation and Work Status
MREC75
M8
229
AIDS and Condom Use
MREC91
MA
Country-specific - Single variables
MREC92
MB
Country-specific
MREC93
MC
Country-specific
March 5, 2008
98
Section 01 (MREC01)
Var
Model Description
MCASEID
Case identification is used to uniquely identify each respondent. In most surveys this is
constructed by concatenating the cluster or sample point number, the household number and
the respondent's line number, but in some surveys this may be the questionnaire number
taken from the front page of the questionnaire.
MV000
Alphabetic country code to identify the survey from which the data were collected. The code
is based on an international standard code. This variable is 3 characters in length, with the
third character indicating the format of the recode file used for this survey. For all surveys in
DHS III this code will be 3. For example: BI4 is Benin, BD4 is Bangladesh, and ZW4 is
Zimbabwe.
MV001
variables are included in MREC91 as country-specific variables.
MV002
Household number is the number identifying the household in which the respondent was
interviewed, within the sample point. In some cases, this variable may be the combination of
dwelling number and household number within dwelling. In these cases, the original
variables are included as country-specific variables.
MV003
Respondent's line number in the household schedule.
MV004
MV005
cases when using the full dataset with no selection. This variable should be used to weight
all tabulations produced using the data file. For self-weighting samples this variable is equal
to 1000000.
MV006
MV007
Month of interview.
Year of interview. This variable now occupies 4 digits.
MV008
MV009
MV010
Month of birth of respondent (see note on imputed dates).

Year of birth of respondent (see note on imputed dates). This variable now occupies 4 digits.
MV011
Century month code of date of birth of the respondent (see note on century month codes).
99
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV012
Current age in completed years is calculated from the century month code of the date of birth
of the respondent (MV011) and the century month code of the date of interview (MV008). In
a few cases the age in the data file will be different from that reported by the respondent
when the respondent's birthday was in the month of interview, but he had not yet had his
birthday. If the respondent correctly reported his age at his last birthday (and not his age at
his next birthday) then the calculated age was rounded up from the reported age, to avoid
inconsistencies between the age and the century month code for the birth.
MV013
Current age in 5-year groups is produced by grouping MV012.
MV014
Completeness of information for the date of birth of the respondent (see note on imputed
dates).
MV015
Result of individual interview. Code 1 represents a completed interview. For all other cases,
only MREC01 will exist in the data file. For flat and rectangular format data files, cases
with a result code different than 1 are dropped from the file.
MV016
Day of the month in which the interview took place.
MV021
MV022
calculation of sampling errors when using the Taylor series expansion method````.
MV023
is code 0.
MV024
De facto region of residence. This is a copy of MV101, added to this section to allow for
analysis of completion rates by region.
MV025
De facto type of place of residence. This is a copy of MV102, added to this section to allow
for analysis of completion rates by urban/rural residence.
MV026
This is a copy of MV134, added to this section to allow for analysis of completion rates by
type of place of residence.
MV027
MV028
Interviewer identification code. Codes are country-specific.
MV029
March 5, 2008
100
Var
Model Description
MV030
MV031
MV032
Field supervisor's code. Codes are country-specific. This variable now occupies 3 digits.
Field editor's code. Codes are country-specific. This variable now occupies 3 digits.
MV033
Line numbers of wives as recorded in the household schedule. This is a multiple variable
with entries for up to 8 wives. This variable can be used, in conjunction with the cluster or
sample point number and the household number to match the men=s data with the women=s
data, to allow for the analysis of couples. An entry with the value 0 means the wife was not
listed as a member of the household.
Mens wife or partner. For each of the women listed in MV034, it gives her status wife or
partner of the men.
MV034
MV034A
MV035
Number of wives or partners for whom line numbers are given in MV034.
MV801
Time of the start of the interview. The first two digits give the time in hours using the 24hour clock, and the last two digits give the minutes within that hour.
MV802
Time of the end of interview is coded as for the start of interview.
MV803
Length of interview in minutes is calculated from the previous two variables for interviews
requiring only one visit. Interviews that required more than one visit are coded 96.
101
March 5, 2008
Section 11 (REC11)
Var
Model Description
MV101
De facto region of residence. Region in which the respondent was interviewed. Codes are
country-specific. For de jure region of residence, see MV139.
MV102
De facto type of place of residence. Type of place of residence where the respondent was
interviewed as either urban or rural. Note that this is not the respondent's own
categorization, but was created based on whether the cluster or sample point number is
defined as urban or rural. See also MV134. For de jure type of place of residence, see
MV140.
MV103
Childhood place of residence is classified into city, town and countryside as reported by the
respondent. In some countries, additional codes are used for capital/major cities (code 0) and
for abroad (code 4).
MV104
Number of years the respondent has lived in the village, town, or city where he was
interviewed. Visitors to the community are coded 96.
MV105
Type of place of previous residence is coded as for MV103. In some countries, additional
codes are used for capital/major cities (code 0) and for abroad (code 4).
BASE: All respondents except those answering "Always" or "Visitor" to MV104
(MV104 <> 95 & MV104 <> 96).
MV106
Highest education level attended. This is a standardized variable providing level of

education in the following categories: No education, Primary, Secondary, Higher. In some
countries the educational system does not fit naturally within this scheme and a different
categorization was used for the Final Report. In this case, this variable is constructed as
accurately as possible from the country's own scheme and the variable used for the Final
Report is included as a country-specific variable.
MV107
Highest year of education gives the years of education completed at the level given in
MV106.
BASE: All respondents except those answering "No education" or with missing data for
MV106 (MV106 <> 0 & MV106 <> 9).
MV108
Literacy of the respondent. In many countries, respondents with secondary or higher levels
of education are coded 1, "Reads easily." The exact criteria for this assumption is countryspecific.
MV109
Whether the respondent usually reads a newspaper or magazine at least once a week.
MV110
MV111 A
MV112 B
Whether the respondent usually watches television every week.

Whether the respondent usually listens to a radio every day.
Whether the respondent usually listens to a radio every week.
MV130
MV131
Religion. Both the question and the codes are country-specific.

Ethnicity. Both the question and the codes are country-specific.
March 5, 2008
102
Var
Model Description
MV133
Education in single years. This variable is constructed from the educational level (MV106)
and the grade at that level (MV107) as follows:
MV106 = >
MV133
0
=>
0
1
=>
MV107
2
=>
MV107+x
3
=>
MV107+y
9
=>
99
MV134
Urban areas are classified into large cities (capital cities and cities with over 1 million
population), small cities (population over 50,000), and towns (other urban areas), and all
rural areas are assumed to be countryside. Note that this classification differs from that used
in DHS I.
MV135
Whether the respondent is a usual resident of the household or is just visiting the household.
Responses of "Visitor" to MV104 are visitors to the city, town or village where the interview
took place, but MV135 shows respondents who were visitors to the household.
MV136
Total number of household members is the number of usual residents plus the number of
visitors who slept in the house the previous night that were listed in the household schedule.
MV138
Number of eligible men in the household. Eligible men are usually defined to be men aged
15-59 who slept in the household the previous night, irrespective of whether they usually
reside in the household or are visiting the household. In some countries an ever-married
sample is used for the individual interview, and so the eligibility criteria is further restricted
to husbands of eligible women.
MV148
Whether the respondent is still in school. In DHS III, these data are now taken directly from
a question in the men's questionnaire. Men who are older than 24 years of age are coded 0,
assuming that they are no longer in school.
MV149
Educational achievement recodes the education of the respondent into the following
secondary, higher education. See related variables MV106, MV107, MV133.
MV150
Relationship to the head of the household. These data are taken from the household
schedule.
Sex of the head of the household.
Age of the head of the household.
MV151
MV152
Literacy
MV155
MV156
Literacy. The respondent is asked to read a written sentence and the interviewer would note
whether the respondent could read it or not at all.
Ever participated in a literacy program outside of primary.
Media
103
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV157
MV158
MV159
Frequency of reading newpaper or magazine

Frequency of listening to radio
Frequency of watching television
Travel
MV167
MV168
Times away from home in last 12 months

Away for more than one month
Tobacco smoking
MV463A
MV463B
MV463C
MV463E
MV463D
MV463F
MV463G
MV463Z
Cigarettes
Pipe
Other tobacco
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Nothing
MV464
Number of cigarettes in last 24 hours.

BASE: Respondents smoking cigarettes.
March 5, 2008
104
Reproduction
Section 22 (MREC22)
Var
Model Description
MV201
Total number of children ever born.
MV202
MV203
MV204
MV205
MV206
MV207
Total number of sons living at home.

Total number of daughters living at home.
Total number of sons living away from home.
Total number of daughters living away from home.
Total number of sons who have died.
Total number of daughters who have died.
MV201 is the sum of variables MV202 to MV207.
MV212
Age of respondent at first birth.
MV213
Whether the respondent=s first listed partner is currently pregnant.
MV217
Knowledge of the womens ovulatory cycle.
MV218
Total number of living children is the sum of variables MV202 to MV205.
MV225
At the time the respondent=s partner became pregnant with the current pregnancy, whether
the current pregnancy was wanted then, later or not at all.
BASE: Respondent=s whose partner is currently pregnant (MV213 = 1).
Childrens fathering
MV245
MV246
Number of women the respondent fathered the children with.

Married to the mother of the first child when
105
he
was
March 5, 2008
born.
Contraceptive Table
Section 31 (MREC31)
Var
Model Description
MV301
Knowledge of any method is classified into modern, traditional and folkloric methods as
follows: Modern methods are Pill, IUD, Injections, Diaphragm, Condom, Female
Sterilization, Male Sterilization, Implants, Lactational amenorrhea, Female condom and
Foam/Jelly. Traditional methods are Periodic Abstinence (Rhythm), Withdrawal, and
Abstinence. Folkloric methods are the category "other" and any other country-specific
methods. If a respondent knows both a traditional method and a modern method then the
modern method takes priority and he is coded as knowing a modern method. Similarly, if a
man knows a traditional method and a folkloric method, the traditional method takes priority.
MV302
Ever use of a modern, traditional or folkloric method is created in the same way as MV301.
Contraceptive Table
The contraceptive table contains entries for 20 contraceptive methods, and for each entry gives
information relating to knowledge of the method, and ever use of the method. Entries 1 to 12 are standard but
entries 13 to 15 are used for country-specific methods. The methods relating to each entry are as follows:
1
Pill
11
NorplantTM or implants
2
IUD
12
Abstinence
3
Injections
13
4
Diaphragm
14
Female condom
5
Condom
15
Foam or Jelly
6
Female Sterilization
16
7
Male Sterilization
17
8
Periodic Abstinence (Rhythm) 18
9
Withdrawal
19
10
Other methods
20
For Foam/Jelly, if questions about the methods are asked separately (for example, foaming tablets in
one set of questions and jelly in another set of questions), the original responses are recorded as
country-specific variables and the standard variables presented in this section are a composite of the
two sets of questions.
The contraceptive table contains variables MV304A to MV307 as follows:
M304A
Whether the method is modern, traditional or folkloric.
MV304
Knowledge of the method, differentiating between spontaneous responses and probed

responses for each method. If questions relating to the method were not asked in a particular
country then code 8 "Not asked" is used.
MV305
Whether the respondent has ever used the contraceptive method.

BASE: Respondents who knew of the method, either spontaneously (1) or after probing
(being read a description of the method) (2) according to MV304.
MV307
Whether the method is currently being used.
March 5, 2008
106
Example Contraceptive Table:
M304A
MV304
MV305
MV307
1
Pill
2
IUD
3
Inj.
4
Dia.
5
Cond.
6
F.S
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
7
M.S
1
0
8
P.A
9
With
10
Oth.
11
Nor.
12
Abst
13
L.Am
14
F.C.
15
Foam
2
0
2
1
1
0
3
0
1
0
2
8
1
0
1
0
1
0
16
CS1
17
CS2
18
CS3
19
CS4
1
0
3
8
3
8
3
8
20
CS5
3
8
In this example the entries in the table are shown across the page while the variables in each entry are
shown down the page. The numbers shown above the method names are the occurrence or entry number
associated with that method. The respondent knew two methods, Condom and withdrawal. The respondent
has used Condoms and withdrawal and currently using condoms.
107
March 5, 2008
Contraceptive Use
Section 32 (MREC32)
Var
Model Description
MV312
Current contraceptive method.
MV312A
MV312B
MV312C
Most recent contraceptive method

Contraceptive method with other woman
Contraceptive method with other woman (2)
MV313
Type of contraceptive method categorizes the current contraceptive method as either a

modern method, a traditional method, or a folkloric method.
MV313A
MV313B
MV313C
Most recent use by method type

Method use by method type with other woman
Method use by method type with other woman (2)
Pattern and intentions for future use.

Variables MV361 to MV364 relate to the respondent's past contraceptive practice and future
intentions for using contraception.
MV361
Pattern of past contraceptive use. The questions relating to contraceptive use since the last
birth are not asked and thus the respondent cannot be categorized as having used a method
since the last birth or having only used a method before the last birth. All past users are
given code 3.
MV362
Intention to use a contraceptive method in the future is based on two questions in the model
questionnaires, and classifies those intending to use a method in the future by whether they
intend to use that method in the next twelve months or not. The two "Unsure" categories
correspond to replies of unsure about using a method in the future (unsure about use) or, for
those intending to use a method in the future, unsure about whether they intend to use that
method in the next twelve months (unsure about timing). In some countries, men who had
never had sexual intercourse were not asked these questions, and are coded 6 on MV362.
BASE: All respondents not currently using contraception (MV312 = 0).
MV363
Preferred future method for respondents intending to use a method in the future.
BASE: Respondents not currently using a method, but intending to use a method in the
future (MV312 = 0 & (MV362 = 1 or MV362 = 2 or MV362 = 3)).
MV364
Contraceptive use and intention shows current users of modern methods, current users of
traditional methods, non-users who intend to use in the future and non-users not intending to
use a method. In some countries, men who had never had sexual intercourse were not asked
the questions relating to their intention to use contraception in the future, and are coded 5 on
MV364.
MV366A
MV366B
Acceptability of family planning messages being provided on radio.

Acceptability of family planning messages being provided on television.
MV367
Whether the last child was wanted at that time, later or not at all.
BASE: Men who have at least one child (MV201 > 0).
March 5, 2008
108
Reasons for Non-Use of Contraceptive Methods.

MV375A
Reason the respondent is not using a method of contraception to avoid pregnancy.

BASE: Men who are not currently using a contraceptive method and none of whose partners
are currently pregnant (MV312 = 0 & MV213 <> 1).
MV376
Reason the respondent does not intend to use a method of contraception in the future.
BASE: All men not currently using a contraceptive method and not intending to use a
method in the future (MV362 = 5).
Sources of Contraception.
MV384A
MV384B
MV384C
MV384D
MV384E
Whether the respondent has heard about family planning in the last few months from any of
the following sources:
On the radio.
On the television.
In a newspaper or magazine.
From a poster.
From leaflets or brochures
MV396
Whether a woman who is breastfeeding can get pregnant.
MV3B0
Method known. The methods that are included are Pill, IUD and Female sterilization.
BASE: Respondents who knew the method (MV304 = 1)
Method is suitable for couples planning a family
MV3B1
Advantages of the method

BASE: Respondents who answered to MV3B1 that the method is a suitable method
(MV3B1 = 1)
MV3B2A
MV3B2B
MV3B2C
MV3B2D
MV3B2E
MV3B2F
MV3B2G
MV3B2H
MV3B2I
MV3B2J
MV3B2K
MV3B2L
MV3B2X
MV3B2Z
Simple to use
Effective
Affordable
No or few side effects
Can stop children when desired
No need for medical personnel
No risk of getting pregnant again
Once inserted, no daily worry
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Don't know
Advantages of the method
BASE: Respondents who answered to MV3B1 that the method is not a suitable method
(MV3B1 = 2)
MV3B3A
MV3B3B
Too expensive
Against religion
109
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV3B3C
MV3B3D
MV3B3E
MV3B3F
MV3B3G
MV3B3H
MV3B3I
MV3B3J
MV3B3K
MV3B3L
MV3B3M
MV3B3N
MV3B3X
MV3B3Z
May harm women's health

Has side effects
Increases promiscuity
Can cause sterility/cannot have children
Method can fail
Baby in danger if pregnancy occurs
Involves doctor/medical personnel
Can lead to complications
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Don't know
MV3B11
Age at first use of condom.

BASE: Respondent who heard and used condoms (MV304 = 1 & MV305 = 1)
Reason of first condom use
MV3B12A
MV3B12B
MV3B12C
MV3B12D
MV3B12E
MV3B12F
MV3B12G
MV3B12H
MV3B12X
Avoid pregnancy
Avoid getting AIDS/HIV
Avoid getting an STD
Avoid infecting partner
To experiment/try a condom
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
MV3B13
Frequency of use of condom

Timing of condom use
MV3B14A
MV3B14B
MV3B14C
MV3B14D
MV3B14E
MV3B14F
MV3B14G
MV3B14H
MV3B14I
MV3B14J
MV3B14X
On partner's fertile days

During partner's menstruation
When not using some other method
With a stranger
With a commercial sex worker
With anyone other than partner
With wife/regular partner
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Problems with condom
March 5, 2008
110
Var
Model Description
MV3B15A
MV3B15B
MV3B15C
MV3B15D
MV3B15E
MV3B15F
MV3B15G
MV3B15H
MV3B15I
MV3B15J
MV3B15K
MV3B15L
MV3B15M
MV3B15X
MV3B15Y
Too expensive
Embarrassing to obtain
Difficult to dispose of
Difficult to put on/take off
Spoils the mood
Diminishes pleasure
Wife/partner objects, does not like
Wife/partner got pregnant
Inconvenient to use/messy
Condom broke
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
No problem
Purchase of condoms
BASE: Respondent who used condoms at each intercourse (MV3B13 = 1)
MV3B16
MV3B17
MV3B18
MV3B19
MV3B20
Brand of condom
Source of condoms
Cost of condom's packet
Number of condom in each packet
Affordability of condoms
Other aspects of condom use
BASE: Respondent who have heard of condoms(MV304 = 1)
MV3B21A
MV3B21B
MV3B21C
MV3B21D
MV3B21E
Diminish a man's sexual pleasure

Inconvenient to use
Can be reused
Protects against disease
Women has no right to tell a man whether he should use it
MV3B22
Consider getting sterilized

BASE: Heard of male sterilization but did not use it (MV304 = 1 & MV305 = 0)
Benefits of male sterilization
BASE: Would consider sterilization or used male or female sterilization (MV3B22 =1 or
MV3B22 = 5 or MV3B22 = 4)
MV3B23A
MV3B23B
MV3B23C
MV3B23D
MV3B23E
MV3B23F
MV3B23G
MV3B23H
Puts man in control

Effective method
Operation is safe
Safer than female sterilization
Operation is inexpensive
Less expensive than female sterilization
Operation is simple
Gives man freedom
111
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV3B23I
MV3B23J
MV3B23K
MV3B23X
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Reason never consider sterilization
BASE: Women who would not consider getting sterilized (MV3B22 = 2)
MV3B24A
MV3B24B
MV3B24C
MV3B24D
MV3B24E
MV3B24F
MV3B24G
MV3B24H
MV3B24I
MV3B24J
MV3B24K
MV3B24L
MV3B24X
Against religion
Bad for man's health
Operation not safe
Less intrusive ways available
May want more children
May remarry some day
Loss of wages
Loss of sexual function
Loss of manliness
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
MV3B25A
MV3B25B
MV3B25C
MV3B25D
Contraception is woman's business and a man should not worry

Sterilized women become promiscuous
To a man equivalent to being castrated
Woman can get pregnant not the man, so the women should be sterilized
March 5, 2008
112
Marriage
Section 51 (MREC51)
Var
Model Description
MV501
Current marital status of the respondent.
MV502
Whether the respondent is currently, formerly or never married (or lived with a partner).
Currently married includes married men and men living with a partner, and formerly married
includes widowed, divorced, separated men and men who have lived with a partner but are
not now living with a partner.
MV503
Whether the respondent has been married or lived with a woman once or more than once.
BASE: Ever-married men (MV501 <> 0).
MV505
The number of wives the respondent currently has. This is the number of wives and live-in
partners.
BASE: Currently married or in union men (MV502 = 1).
MV505A
MV505B
Number of wives
Number of live-in partners
First marriage or union

Variables MV507 to MV513 relate to the date of start of the first marriage or union.
BASE: Ever-married men (V501 <> 0).
MV507
MV508
Month of start of first marriage or union (see note on imputed dates).

Year of start of first marriage or union (see note on imputed dates). This variable occupies 4
digits.
MV509
Century month code of the date of start of first marriage or union (see note on century month
codes).
MV510
Completeness of information for the date of start of the first marriage or union (see note on
imputed dates).
MV511
Age at start of first marriage or union is calculated from the century month code of the date
of start of first marriage or union and the century month code of the date of birth of the
respondent.
MV512
Years since start of first marriage or union is calculated from the century month code of the
start of first marriage or union and the century month code of the date of interview.
MV513
Marital duration is actually the number of years elapsed since the start of the first marriage or
union until the date of interview grouped into five-year groups, irrespective of whether the
respondent is still married to his first partner.
113
March 5, 2008
Sexual intercourse
Variables MV525 to MV528 relate to age at first intercourse, frequency of intercourse and time since
last sexual relations. BASE (for variables MV527 to MV532): Respondents who have had sexual
intercourse (MV525 <> 0).
MV525
Age at first sexual intercourse. Respondents who had never had sex are coded 0.
MV527
Time since the last sexual relations as reported by the respondent. The first digit gives the
units in which the respondent gave his answer: 1 - Days ago, 2 - Weeks ago, 3 - Months ago,
4 - Years ago,, with 9 meaning a special answer was given. The last two digits give the time
in the units given. Any value for time greater than 90 is a special answer.
MV531
Age at first sexual intercourse - imputed. This is the same as MV525, except for respondents
who reported that their first sexual intercourse was at the time of their union. For these
cases, the age at first sex is taken from the age at first union. In cases where the age at first
sex was inconsistent with the age at conception of the first child, but only by one year (V532
= 3), the age at first sex was reduced by one year, consistent with the "Rule of one" applied
in DHS I which is the correction of the data if the error is no more than a month. Other cases
flagged as inconsistent on variable V532 (codes 1, 2, 4, 5) are recoded as 97 (inconsistent).
Cases coded 6 on V532 are not changed.
MV532
Flag variable for inconsistencies found in editing the responses for MV525.
0
No flag
1
Respondent reported age at first sexual intercourse that exceeds his current age
2
Respondent reported his age at first sexual intercourse as occurring more than one
year after the conception of his first child
3
Respondent reported his age at first sexual intercourse as occurring up to one year
after the conception of his first child
4
Respondent reported that his first sexual intercourse was at the time of his first
marriage, but the respondent was never married
5
Respondent reported that his first sexual intercourse was at the time of his first
marriage, but his first marriage occurred after the conception of his first child
6
Respondent reported his first sexual intercourse as being after his first marriage
MV534
Whether the respondent, who is not currently married or living with a man, has a regular,
occasional, or no sexual partner.
BASE: Men who are not currently married and not living with a woman (MV502 <> 1).
MV534A
One or more regular partner.
MV535
Whether the respondent has ever been married or lived with a woman.
BASE: Men who are not currently married and not living with a woman (MV502 <> 1).
MV536
Recent sexual activity. Whether the respondent had sex and whether it was during the last 4
weeks.
MV538
Total wives, and partners including current and all former wives and partners
MV539
Other regular sexual partners
March 5, 2008
114
Section 61 (MREC61)
Var
Model Description
MV602
Fertility preferences. This variable comes primarily from a single question in the
MEASURE DHS+ questionnaires. This is the same question used in the DHS I Model "B"
questionnaire, the DHS II, and the DHS III Model "A" and "B" questionnaires. However, for
DHS I Model "A" questionnaires, this variable was constructed from a series of questions.
Men who respond that they want another child, but when asked when they would like the
next child, respond that they ca not have anymore children or their wife cannot get pregnant,
are classified in the "declared infecund category", and not in the "Wants another" category.
These men can be identified in variable MV616, where the original response to the question
asking how long they would like to wait before having another child is recorded. In some
countries, men who had never had sexual intercourse were not asked the questions relating to
desire for future children, and are coded 6 on MV602.
BASE: All men.
MV603
Preferred waiting time before the birth of another child is created from a single question
asking how long from the date of interview the respondent would like to wait before the birth
of the next child. In some countries there may be some additional non-numeric responses to
the question of how long to wait before the next birth. These are assigned additional codes
on a country-specific basis.
BASE: All men who want another child (MV602 = 1).
MV604
The preferred waiting time to the next birth is grouped into 12-month categories with
responses of more than six years coded as 6+ years. Non-numeric responses are coded into
one group (7 "Non-numeric"), but with "Don't know" and missing responses in their own
categories (8 & 9). The additional response "Soon/Now" is not grouped with the other nonnumeric codes, but is recoded as less than one year waiting time.
BASE: All men who want another child (MV602 = 1).
MV605
Desire for more children is a constructed variable classifying respondents who want more
children by whether they want the next child soon (less than 2 years) or they want the next
child later (2+ years). In some countries, men who had never had sexual intercourse were
not asked the questions relating to desire for future children, and are coded 8 on V605.
BASE: All men.
MV610
Whether the respondent thinks his partner approves of couples using a method to avoid
pregnancy.
BASE: Currently married or in-union men (MV502 = 1).
MV611
How often the respondent discussed family planning with his partner in the past year.
BASE: Currently married or in-union men (MV502 = 1).
MV612
Whether the respondent approves, in general, of couples using a method to avoid pregnancy.
115
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV613
The ideal number of children that the respondent would have liked to have in his whole life,
irrespective of the number he already has. In many countries it was possible for a respondent
to reply to this question with a range of values, in which case this variable contains the
midpoint between these values. If the midpoint is not an exact number then the number is
rounded up in half the cases and rounded down for the other half. In situations where a
range of values was collected, the original variables are included as country-specific
variables. In some countries, additional country-specific categories are included, such as "It
depends on God" or "As many as I can support" and are given country-specific codes.
MV614
This variable groups the preceding variable such that 6 or more children are in one category
6+ and all non-numeric responses are coded 7.
MV616
This variable records the original response to the question "How long would you like to wait
from now before the birth of another child?" The first digit gives the units in which the
respondent answered (1 indicates months, 2 indicates years, and 9 indicates a special
response), while the last two digits give the time in those units. If the units value is 9 then
the variable contains a special response, and if the duration value is greater than 90 this also
indicates a special response. For example, code 994 is used for the responses "Soon/Now",
and code 299 would mean that the response was given in years but the actual duration was
missing on the questionnaire.
BASE: All men who want another child (MV602 = 1), plus those originally responding that
they want another child, but then say their partner cannot get pregnant (see also MV602).
MV621
Whether the respondent believes his partner wants the same number of children, more
children or fewer children than he wants herself.
BASE: Currently married or in union men (MV502 = 1).
MV627
MV628
MV629
Ideal number of boys.

Ideal number of girls.
Ideal number of either sex.
These three variables should sum to the total ideal number of children given in variables
MV613. If the response to the question for variables MV613 is a non-numeric response,
these variables are coded with the same response. In addition, there may be non-numeric
responses on each of these questions. Country specific categories for non-numeric responses
may also be recorded for these variables.
March 5, 2008
116
Var
Model Description
MV630A
MV630B
MV630C
MV630D
MV630E
MV630F
MV630G
MV630H
MV630I
MV630J
MV630K
MV630L
MV630M
MV630N
MV630O
MV630X
MV631
Whether the respondent discussed the practice of family planning with any of the following
people:
Husband or partner
Mother
Father
Sister(s)
Brother(s)
Daughter(s)
Mother-in-law
Friends or neighbors
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other people
Problem if became pregnant
BASE: Wife listed first is not currently pregnant (MV642(1) <> 1).
Reason for not having sex
MV633A
MV633B
MV633C
MV633D
MV633E
MV633F
MV633G
Husband has STD

Husband has other women
Recent birth
Tired, mood
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Husbands rights
MV634A
MV634B
MV634C
MV634D
Get angry
Refuse financial support
Use force for unwanted sex
Have sex with another women
MV635
Wife number would prefer next child with

BASE: Respondent with more than one partner who wants to have another child (MV602 = 1
& MV035 <> 0).
MV636
Planning to have children with any other partner
MV637
Plan to take another wife
MV638
Main reason may take another wife
MV640
MV641
Sequence number of partners

Line number of wives/partners
117
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV642
MV643
Partner currently pregnant

Current pregnancy wanted
MV644
Problem if became pregnant
MV645
Wives desire for children
MV646
MV647
MV648
Discussed FP with partner

Wife approves FP
Discussed FP with health worker
MV649A
Interest in avoiding unwanted pregnancies
MV649B
Interest in helping his partner to have a safe pregnancy.
MV649C
Interest in helping to care for newborn infants
March 5, 2008
118
Occupation andWork Status
Section 71 (MREC71)
Var
Model Description
MV714
Whether the respondent is currently working.
MV716
Respondent's occupation as collected in the country. Codes are country-specific.

BASE: Men who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months
(MV731 = 1 or MV731 = 2).
MV717
Standardized respondent's occupation groups. Agricultural categories also include

fishermen, foresters and hunters and are not the basis for selection of agricultural/nonagricultural workers. In countries, where it is not possible to differentiate between selfemployed agricultural workers and agricultural employees, no attempt has been made to use
BASE: Men who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months
(MV731 = 1 or MV731 = 2).
MV719
Whether the respondent works for a family member, for someone else or is self-employed.
BASE: Men currently working (MV731 = 1 or MV731 = 2).
MV721 X
Works at home or away.
MV731
Whether the respondent worked in the last 12 months.
MV732
Whether the respondent works throughout they year, seasonally, or just occasionally.
BASE: Men who are currently working or who have worked in the past year (MV731 = 1 or
MV731 = 2).
MV733
For seasonal or part year workers, the number of months they worked in the last twelve
months.
BASE: Men who are working seasonally or for part of the year (MV732 = 2).
MV736
Usual amount the respondent earns in cash for the work he does. This variable is 8 digits in
size. The first digit gives the units in which the amount was specified, while the remaining
digits give the total amount. The first digit, or units digit, is coded as follows:
1
per hour
2
per day
3
per week
4
per month
5
per year
For example, 30000400 would indicate that the respondent received 400 per week. The
currency and units of currency used are country specific.
BASE: Men paid cash for their work (MV7?? = 1).
V740
Whether the respondent works on his own land, family land, rented land or on someone
else's land.
BASE: Men who are currently working or who have worked in the last 12 months, and who
work or worked in agriculture (MV716 = country-specific agricultural category).
119
March 5, 2008
MV741
Type of earnings for work
MV742
Portion of the household expenditures the respondents earnings pay.

BASE: Respondents working for cash (MV741 = 1 or MV741 = 2).
Final say of the respondent on key issues
MV743A
MV743B
MV743C
MV743D
MV743E
MV743F
MV743G
Own health care

Making large household purchases
Making household purchases for daily needs
Visits to family or relatives
Food to be cooked each day
Deciding what to do with money wife earns
Deciding how many children to have
Justification of wifes beating
MV744A
MV744B
MV744C
MV744D
MV744E
Goes out without telling him

Neglects the children
Argues with him
Refuses to have sex with him
Burns the food
MV745
Activity last 12 months.

BASE: Respondents who worked last 12 months (MV714 = 1 or MV716 = 1).
March 5, 2008
120
AIDS and Condom Use
Section 75 (MREC75)
Var
Model Description
MV750
MV751
Heard of sexually transmitted disease

Whether the respondent has ever heard of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
MV752A
MV752B
MV752C
MV752D
MV752E
MV752F
MV752G
MV752H
MV752I
MV752J
MV752K
MV752L
MV752M
MV752N
MV752O
MV752X
Sources of information from which the respondent has learned most about AIDS.
Radio
Television
Newspapers or magazines
Pamphlets or posters
Clinics or health workers
Churches or mosques
Schools or teachers
Community meetings
Friends or relatives
Work place
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
BASE: Men who have heard of AIDS (MV751 = 1).
MV753 Whether the respondent believes there is anything a person can do to avoid AIDS.
Ways in which the respondent thinks people can avoid AIDS
MV754A
MV754B
MV754C
MV754D
MV754E
MV754F
MV754G
MV754H
MV754I
MV754J
MV754K
MV754L
MV754M
MV754N
MV754O
MV754P
MV754Q
MV754R
MV754S
"Safe Sex"
Abstaining from sex
Having only one sexual partner
Avoiding sex wit prostitutes
Avoiding blood transfusions
Avoiding injections
Avoiding kissing
Avoiding mosquito bites
Seeking protection from a traditional healer
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
121
March 5, 2008
MV754T
MV754U
MV754V
MV754X
MV754Z
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
Does not know any means of avoiding AIDS
Ways to reduce AIDS
BASE: Respondents who have heard of AIDS (MV751 = 1).
MV754CP
MV754DP
Reduce chances of AIDS by always using condoms during sex

Reduce chance of AIDS: have 1 sex partner with no other partner
Means of getting AIDS
MV754JP
MV754WP

Get AIDS by sharing food with person who has AIDS
MV755B
MV755C
MV755D
MV755E
MV755F
MV755L
MV755M
MV755N
MV755O
MV755X
MV755Z
What "Safe Sex" means to the respondent

Abstaining from sex
Having only one sex partner
Avoiding sex with prostitutes
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other responses
Does not know the meaning of "Safe sex"
BASE: Men who responded that "Safe sex" was a way of avoiding AIDS (MV754A = 1).
MV756
Whether the respondent believes it is possible for a healthy-looking person to have the AIDS
virus.
MV757
Whether the respondent believes that AIDS is a fatal disease.

MV758
Whether the respondent believes his risk of getting AIDS is small, moderate, great, no risk at
all, or that he already has AIDS.
Acceptability of messages on AIDS in the media
MV759A
MV759B
MV759C
MV759D
MV759E
March 5, 2008
Radio
Television
Newspapers
Country specific
Country specific
122
Var
Model Description
MV759F
MV759G
MV759H
MV759I
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
MV760A
MV760B
MV760C
MV760D
MV760E
MV760F
MV760G
MV760I
MV760L
MV760M
MV760N
MV760O
MV760P
MV760V
MV760W
MV760X
MV760Y
MV760Z
Ways in which the respondent has changed his sexual behavior, since hearing about AIDS, in
order to avoid getting AIDS:
Did not start sex
Stopped all sex
Started using condoms during sex
Restricted the number of partners to one
Reduced the number of partners
Ask spouse to be faithful
No more homosexual contacts
Stopped receiving injections
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Ask spouse to avoid prostitutes
No non-sexual change in behavior
Other (non-sexual) responses
Other (sexual) responses
Did not change behavior
Don't know whether they changed behavior
BASE: Men who have heard of AIDS and have ever had sexual intercourse (MV751 = 1 &
MV525 <> 0).
MV761
Whether the respondent used a condom the last time he had sexual intercourse.
BASE: Men who have ever had sexual intercourse (MV525 <> 0).
Condom use during sexual intercourses
MV761B
MV761C
MV761D
With other woman (1)

For money
MV762
Source of condoms known by the respondent. If the respondent does not know where to get
condoms, this variables is coded 98.
BASE: Men who have ever had sexual intercourse (MV525 <> 0).
Source for male condom
MV762AA
MV762AB
MV762AC
MV762AD
MV762AE
MV762A
MV762AG
MV762AH
Government hospital
Government health center or post
Mobile clinic
Public field worker
Other public
Public country specific
123
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV762AI
MV762AJ
MV762AK
MV762AL
MV762AM
MV762AN
MV762AO
MV762AP
MV762AQ
MV762AR
MV762AS
MV762AT
MV762AU
MV762AV
MV762AW
MV762AX
MV762AZ

Pharmacy
Private doctor
Other private
Private country specific
Shop
Church
Friends, relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Don't know source for condom
Source for female condoms
MV762BA
MV762BB
MV762BC
MV762BD
MV762BE
MV762BF
MV762BG
MV762BH
MV762BI
MV762BJ
MV762BK
MV762BL
MV762BM
MV762BN
MV762BO
MV762BP
MV762BQ
MV762BR
MV762BS
MV762BT
MV762BU
MV762BV
MV762BW
MV762BX
MV762BZ
Government hospital
Mobile clinic
Public field worker
Other public
Pharmacy
Private doctor
Other private
Shop
Church
Friends, relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Other
Don't know source for female condom
MV764
Whether the respondent has ever heard of condoms for contraceptive use or for use to
prevent STDs.
MV763
Partners in the last 12 months.
March 5, 2008
124
Var
Model Description
Sexually transmitted diseases last 12 months
MV763A
MV763B
MV763C
MV763D
MV763E
MV763F
MV763G
Any STD
Genital sore or ulcer
Genital discharge
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
MV765
Whether the respondent has ever used condoms for contraceptive use or for use to prevent
STDs.
Both of these variables are created from responses to several questions in the questionnaire,
but the set of questions used may vary from country to country, depending on the depth of
questioning used in a particular country.
Reason used condom during the last sexual intercourse
MV765A
MV765B
MV765C
Last intercourse
BASE: Respondents who had sex during the last 12 months.
MV766A
MV766B
Number of women other than the wife the respondent had sex with in last 12 months.
Number of women the respondent had sex with including his wife in last 12 months.
Relationship with last sexual partner
MV767A
MV767B
MV767C
Last partner
Other partner (1)
Other partner (2)
BASE: Respondents who had sexual intercourse last 12 months.
Length of time knows last sexual partner
MV768A
MV768B
MV768C
Last partner
Other partner (1)
Other partner (2)
BASE: Respondents who had sexual intercourse last 12 months.
MV769
Could get a male condom
MV769A
Could get a female condom
MV770
Seek advice for last disease.

BASE: Respondents who had an infection in the last 12 months.
125
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Place where sought advice for last disease
BASE: Respondents who sought advice for the last disease (MV770 = 1).
MV770A
MV770B
MV770C
MV770D
MV770E
MV770F
MV770G
MV770H
MV770I
Clinic, hospital, private doctor

Traditional healer
Shop, pharmacy
Friends, relatives
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
MV771
Advise partner when had disease.

Tried to avoid infecting partner.
MV772
What was done to avoid infecting the partner

MV773A
MV773B
MV773C
MV773D
MV773E
MV773F
MV773X
Used condoms
Took medicines
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
BASE: Respondents who tried to avoid infecting their partners (MV772 = 1).
MV774
AIDS transmitted from mother to child

Mother to child AIDS transmission knowledge
MV774A
MV774B
MV774C
During pregnancy
During delivery
By breastfeeding.
BASE: Respondentswho said that the AIDS virus can be transmitted from the mother to the
child (MV774 = 1).
MV775
Knows someone who has or died of AIDS.

MV776
Spoken with spouse about avoiding AIDS.

BASE: Respondents in union or living with a man (MV502 = 1) and have heard of AIDS
(MV751 = 1).
MV77
Allowed to keep AIDS infection secret.

March 5, 2008
126
Var
Model Description
MV778
Willing to care for relative with AIDS.

MV779
Person with AIDS allowed to continue teaching.

MV780
Should children be taught about condoms.

AIDS tests
MV781
MV782
MV783
MV784
Ever been tested

Want to be tested
Know a place to get AIDS test
Where to get an AIDS test
MV785
Heard about other STDs

Man's symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
MV785A
MV785B
MV785C
MV785D
MV785E
MV785F
MV785G
MV785H
MV785I
MV785J
MV785K
MV785L
MV785M
MV785N
MV785O
MV785P
MV785Q
MV785X
MV785Y
MV785Z
Abdominal Pain
Genital discharge or dripping
Redness, inflammation of the genital area
Genital warts
Genital itching
Blood in urine
Loss of weight
Impotence
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
No symptoms
Don't know
BASE: Men who have heard about other STDs (MV785 = 1).
Woman's symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
MV786A
MV786B
MV786C
MV786D
MV786E
MV786F
MV786G
Abdominal pain
Genital discharge
Redness or inflammation of the genital area
127
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV786H
MV7861
MV786
MV786K
MV786L
MV786M
MV786N
MV786O
MV786P
MV786Q
MV786X
MV786Y
MV786Z
Genital warts
Genital itching
Blood in urine
Loss of weight
Hard to get pregnant or to have a child
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other
No symptoms
Don't know
BASE: Men who have heard about other STDs (MV785 = 1).
Alcohol drinking during the last 3 months
MV787 X
MV788 X
Number of days drank alcohol

Number of days gotten drunk
Injections received last 3 months
MV789 X
MV790 X
Number of injections in last 3 months

Person who gave last injection
Paid sex
MV791
MV792
March 5, 2008
Ever paid for sex

Time since last paid for sex.
128
AIDS and STDs Module
Section 85 (MREC85)
Var
Model Description
Last Sexual Intercourse, Condom Use and Other Partners
Variables MV850 to MV852 relate to the time since last sexual intercourse and whether condoms
were used at that time, for sexual relationships with the respondent=s husband or partner and with
other people, respectively. Variable MV852 gives the number of other partners.
BASE (for MV850 to MV852): Currently married or in union men (MV502 = 1)
MV850
Time since the respondent=s last sexual intercourse with his partner. The first digit gives the
units in which the respondent gave his answer: 1 - Days ago, 2 - Weeks ago, 3 - Months ago,
4 - Years ago,, with 9 meaning a special answer was given. The last two digits give the time
in the units given. Any value for time greater than 90 is a special answer.
MV850A
Whether a condom was used the last time the respondent had sexual intercourse with his
partner.
MV851
Time since the last sexual intercourse with someone other than the respondent=s partner.
Respondents who have had no other partner in the prior twelve months are coded 995.
MV852
Whether a condom was used the last time the respondent had sexual intercourse with
someone other than his partner.
MV853
Number of partners other than the wife or partner with whom the respondent lives, with
whom the respondent had sexual intercourse in the 12 months prior to the interview.
Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Variables MV855 to MV856Z relate to knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases.
BASE (for MV856A to MV856Z): Heard of any sexually transmitted disease (MV855 = 1).
MV855
Whether the respondent has ever heard of any sexually transmitted diseases.
MV856A
MV856B
MV856C
MV856D
MV856E
MV856F
MV856G
MV856H
MV856I
MV856J
MV856K
MV856X
MV856Z
Knowledge of Syphilis
Knowledge of Gonorrhea
Knowledge of AIDS
Knowledge of Genital warts
Knowledge of other diseases
Does not know sexually transmitted diseases by name.
129
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
Prevalence of STDs
Variables MV857 to MV858Z relate to whether the respondent has had any sexually transmitted
disease in the twelve months prior to the interview.
BASE (for MV858A to MV858Z): Whether the respondent has ever had a sexually transmitted
disease in the twelve months prior to the interview (MV857 = 1).
MV857
Whether the respondent has had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior to
the interview.
BASE: Men who had ever had sexual intercourse and had heard of sexually transmitted
diseases (MV525 <> 0 & MV855 = 1).
MV858A
MV858B
MV858C
MV858D
MV858E
MV858F
MV858G
MV858H
MV858I
MV858J
MV858X
MV858Z
Last 12 months had syphilis

Last 12 months had gonorrhea
Last 12 months had AIDS
Last 12 months had genital warts
Last 12 months had other disease
Last 12 months had unknown disease
Treatment of STDs
Variables MV859 to MV860Z relate to treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
BASE (for MV860A to MV860Z): Whether sought advise for the last sexually transmitted disease
(MV859 = 1).
MV859
ought advise for the last sexually transmitted disease.

BASE: Men who had a sexually transmitted disease in the 12 months prior to interview
(MV857 = 1).
MV860A
MV860B
MV860C
MV860D
MV860E
MV860F
MV860G
MV860H
MV860I
MV860J
MV860K
MV860L
MV860M
MV860N
MV860O
Sought advice from a government hospital

Sought advice from a government health center
Sought advice from a health post or dispensary
Sought advice from a mobile clinic
Sought advice from a family planning clinic
Sought advice from other public sector sources
Sought advice from a private hospital or clinic
Sought advice from a private pharmacy
Sought advice from a private doctor
Sought advice from a private mobile clinic
March 5, 2008
130
Var
Model Description
MV860P
MV860Q
MV860R
MV860S
MV860T
MV860U
MV860V
MV860W
MV860X
MV860Z

Sought advice from other private sector sources
Sought advice from a shop
Sought advice from a traditional practitioner
Sought advice from relatives or friends
Sought advice from other sources
Sought advice from an unknown source
Avoidance of infecting others with STD

Variables MV861 to MV863X provide information on what the respondent did when he realized that
he had a sexually transmitted disease.
BASE (for MV863A to MV863X): Whether the respondent tried to avoid infecting his partner
(MV863 = 1).
MV861
Whether the respondent advised his partner when he had the sexually transmitted disease.
BASE: Men who had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior to the survey
(MV857 = 1).
MV862
Whether the respondent tried to avoid infecting his partner.

BASE: Men who had a sexually transmitted disease in the twelve months prior to the survey
(MV857 = 1).
MV863A
MV863B
MV863C
MV863D
MV863E
MV863F
MV863W
MV863X
Means of avoiding infecting his partner:

Used condoms
Took medicines
Country specific
Country specific
Country specific
Other (non-sexual)
Other (sexual)
Knowledge of Means of Transmission of AIDS

Variables MV864A to MV864Z provide information on the ways in which the respondent believes a
person can get AIDS. Variables MV865 to MV867 relate specifically to whether AIDS can be cured,
whether it is transmitted from mother to child, and whether the respondent knows anyone who has
AIDS or who has died of AIDS.
MV864A
MV864B
MV864C
MV864D
MV864E
MV864F
MV864G
Get AIDS from sexual intercourse

Get AIDS from sex with multiple partners
Get AIDS from sex with prostitutes
Get AIDS from not using a condom
Get AIDS from homosexual contact
Get AIDS from blood transfusions
Get AIDS from injections
131
March 5, 2008
Var
Model Description
MV864H
MV864I
MV864J
MV864K
MV864L
MV864M
MV864N
MV864O
MV864P
MV864X
MV864Z
Get AIDS from kissing

Get AIDS from: other responses
Get AIDS from unknown sources
MV865
MV866
MV867
Whether the respondent believes AIDS can be cured.

Whether the respondent believes that AIDS can be transmitted from mother to child.
Whether the respondent knows someone who has AIDS or who has died of AIDS.
Reasons Respondent Assesses Risk of Getting AIDS to be Low
Variables MV868B to MV868Z give the reasons the respondent believes that he is at no risk or at a
small risk of getting AIDS.
BASE: Respondents reporting they are at no risk or at only a small risk of getting AIDS (MV758 = 0
or MV758 = 1).
MV868B
MV868C
MV868D
MV868E
MV868F
MV868G
MV868H
MV868I
MV868J
MV868K
MV868L
MV868P
MV868X
MV868Z
No/small risk: abstains from sex

No/small risk: uses condoms
No/small risk: has only one sexual partner
No/small risk: has a limited number of partners
No/small risk: spouse has no other partners
No/small risk: has no homosexual contact
No/small risk: has not received a blood transfusion
No/small risk: has had no injections
No/small risk: avoids prostitutes
No/small risk: other reasons
No/small risk: reasons unknown
Reasons Respondent Assesses Risk of Getting AIDS to be High

Variables MV869C to MV869Z give the reasons the respondent believes that he is at a moderate or
great risk of getting AIDS.
BASE: Respondents reporting they are at a moderate or great risk of getting AIDS (MV758 = 2 or
MV758 = 3).
MV869C
Great/moderate risk: not using condoms
MV869D
Great/moderate risk: has more than one sex partner
MV869E
Great/moderate risk: has many sex partners
MV869F
Great/moderate risk: spouse has other sexual partners
Great/moderate risk: has homosexual contacts
MV869G
MV869H
Great/moderate risk: has received blood transfusions
March 5, 2008
132
Var
Model Description
MV869I
MV869J
MV869K
MV869L
MV869P
MV869X
MV869Z
Great/moderate risk: has had injections

Great/moderate risk: frequents prostitutes
Great/moderate risk: other reasons
Great/moderate risk: reasons unknown
Condom Use in Relation to AIDS

MV870
Whether the respondent has heard of using condoms to avoid AIDS.
MV871
Whether the respondent has ever used a condom to avoid AIDS.

BASE: Men who reported having heard of using condoms to avoid AIDS and who had ever
had sexual intercourse (MV870 = 1 & MV525 <> 0).
Payments or Gifts for Sexual Intercourse
MV872
Whether the respondent ever received or gave money or gifts in return for sexual intercourse.
BASE: Men who had ever had sexual intercourse (MV525 <> 0).
Prevalence of STDs
MV873
Whether the respondent has suffered from a discharge from his penis during the last 12
months.
diseases (MV525 <> 0 & MV855 = 1).
MV874
Whether the respondent had a sore or ulcer on his penis in the last 12 months.
diseases (MV525 <> 0 & MV855 = 1).
Last Sexual Intercourse
MV875
Whether the last sexual partner was the respondent=s wife or woman that he lives with,
regular partner, acquaintance, someone paid for sex or someone else.
BASE: Men who had ever had sexual intercourse (MV525 <> 0).
133
March 5, 2008
Country-Specific Variables
Sections 91-93 (MREC91-MREC93)
The following sections will appear in the recode data file as needed on a country-specific basis.
MREC91
All single occurrence country-specific variables relating to the respondent.
MREC92-93
The last two country-specific sections are not assigned to any particular section of the
questionnaire, but are used for additional modules not usually incorporated in the
questionnaires.
March 5, 2008
134
Dictionary Listing
The dictionary listing provides the basic information relating to each variable in the data file. The
dictionary listing provided separately is for rectangular and hierarchical data files. It contains a description of
all of the standard variables included in the recode file. The first page gives dictionary information about the
file, including the name of the dictionary, its creation date and last modification date, the questionnaire
identification fields and the section identification fields. This is followed by the section descriptions giving
the following information:
Section name
Code
Length
Class
Occurs
Group
Section label
Name by which the section is referred.

Code used to identify the record for this section.
Number of characters used in the record.
Whether the section is a single (S) or multiple (M) section.
Minimum and maximum number of occurrences allowed for the section. If the
maximum is greater than one then the section is a multiple section, but if the
maximum is one then the section is a single section. If the minimum number of
occurrences is zero then the section is not always required for every case.
Maximum number of occurrences of a group within a single section, the starting
location of the group within the section and the total length of all of the variables in
one occurrence of the group.
Title for the section.
This is followed by the detailed description of each variable in the data file, section by section. The
following information is provided for each variable:
Variable name
Location
Length
Decimals
Name by which the variable is referred.

Character position on the record.
Size of the variable in characters.
Number of decimal places in the variable. If decimal places are specified then the
variable is stored with the decimal point in the data file. For example, if a variable
is 4 characters in size, with 2 decimal places the variable will appear as X.XX in the
data file.
Format
N is for numeric, A for alphabetic.
Class
S is for single variables in single or multiple sections, M for multiple variables of a
group in single sections.
Variable label Title of the variable.
Value labels
Labels assigned to each code for the variable.
Ranges
Pairs of values giving the lower and upper limits for the values of the variable.
The dictionary listing following is for the hierarchical data structure. The rectangular data structure
has exactly the same format, but with the minimum number of occurrence of each section equal to the
maximum number of occurrences of the section. The flat file data structure contains the same variables, but
with all variables on one record. The locations of each variable can be calculated by concatenating all of the
records end to end, but leaving out the section identification from all records and the respondent identification
from all sections except the first.
135
March 5, 2008

Recode 4 Dhs

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Description

Rationale for Recoding

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

Data File Structure

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

9999, 999, 99, 9

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Century Month Code

for month MM in year 19YY.

for month MM in year YYYY.

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Sections and Occurrences

Section and Variable Descriptions

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

Section and Variable Description

without group Respondent's basic data

without group Respondent's basic data

Reproduction (Birth history)

Contraception knowledge & use

Health and Breastfeeding

Height and Weight

AIDS and Condom Use

Maternal mortality (optional)

Maternal mortality (optional)

Country specific - Single variables

Country specific - births

Country specific - Maternity

Country specific - Health

Country specific - Height/Weight

? implies that the entry is country-specific

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Respondent's Basic Data

Respondent's line number in the household schedule.

Month of birth of respondent (see note on imputed dates).

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

Current age in 5-year groups is produced by grouping V012.

Day of the month in which the interview took place.

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Number of visits for the interview. This is a copy of V804.

Household selection for hemoglobin.

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

Respondent's Basic Data

Highest education level attended. This is a standardized variable providing level of

Whether the respondent usually watches television every week.

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Time taken to get to the water source for drinking water.

Whether the household has:

Whether a member of the household has:

Religion. Both the question and the codes are country-specific.

MEASURE DHS+ individual recode

Whether the household has a telephone.

Main reason that the respondent stopped attending school.

MEASURE DHS+ Individual recode

Inflation factors for ever-married samples

All-woman factor for the total population.

Frequency of reading newspaper or magazine

Toilet facilities shared with other households