Rwanda demographic and health survey 2005

The survey teams were able to interview individuals in 10,272 households, for a response rate of nearly 100 percent. In the 10,272 households surveyed, 11,539 women between 15 and 49 years of age were considered eligible for individual interviews and 11,321 were successfully interviewed. Thus the response rate for women was 98 percent. The male survey was conducted in one out of every two households. A total of 4,959 men between 15 and 59 years of age were identified in the sub-sample of households. Among the 4,959 men slated for individual interviews, 4,820 were successfully interviewed, for a response rate of 97 percent among men. The survey results show that 44 percent of the women interviewed were between 15 and 24 years at the time of the survey and 43 percent of men were in that age group. Two out of every five women and about one out of two men were nevermarried. These data indicate that the Rwanda"s population is generally young, a fact that needs to be drawn to the attention of policymakers in designing national development programs. The proportion of women with no formal education (23 percent) is higher than that of men (17 percent). Only 10 percent of women and 12 percent of men have at least a secondary level of education. The proportion of men and women who do not know how to read is 22 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Also noteworthy is that on the national level, more than two out of five women (44 percent) and about one out of five men (19 percent) do not have access to any media. Only 8 percent of women and 10 percent of men read a newspaper at least once a week. Very few Rwandan households have electricity (5 percent). In rural areas less than 2 percent of households have electricity, compared to 25 percent in urban areas. In regards to drinking water, 39 percent of urban households and 71 percent of rural households do not have reliably clean, potable water (tap water, boreholes, or protected wells). Concerning toilets, two out of three households (67 percent) use uncovered latrines. A total of 5 percent have no toilet facilities. (Author abstract)