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Lesotho, 1977 (WFS)

The following description of this survey appeared in the 1991 edition of Dynamic Database: A Catalogue of Survey Data Files, Voorburg: International Statistical Institute.

Basic Information

• Name of survey: Lesotho Fertility Survey
• Executive agency: Bureau of Statistics
• Date of fieldwork: 1977
• Universe: Ever-married women, 15-49
• Coverage: National, 100%
• Size: 3603
• Weights: Self-weighting
• Contents: WFS Core Mark 1 + FOTCAF and family planning modules (part)
• Supplementary surveys: Household members Phase 1 (n = 92,258, non-self weighting); Household members Phase 2 (n = 24,296, self-weighting); Re-interview (n = 736)

Additional Information

A household survey on an enlarged sample was conducted by a male field force. In addition to standard items, the household questionnaire contained items on paternal and maternal orphanhood, survivorship of first spouse, details of deaths in the preceding 24 months and life time and current fertility. A set of derived variables on household composition has been added to the file.

The second phase of the survey was based on a subselection of households enumerated in the main household survey and was conducted by a female field force about six weeks later. Selected households were re-interviewed using a simple household schedule and all ever-married women aged 15-49 were eligible for the individual questionnaire. In the latter, the full family planning module was not used but information on family planning availability was collected: knowledge and ever-use of specified sources; mode of transport and travelling time to sources; waiting time at source. The utility of these data is limited by low levels of knowledge and use. A full non-live birth history is available on the SR file.

As part of a wider Response Errors Project a re-interview survey was conducted on a subsample of 736 women (see reference 3 below for results).

Release Conditions

Data may be used for academic research, provided that credit is given in any publication resulting from the research to the agency that conducted the survey and that two copies of any publication are sent to:

Mr. L.L. Phamotse Director of Statistics Bureau of Statistics P.O. Box 455 Maseru-100 Lesotho

Public Use Files

Available files include the household data, and the individual standard recode data and dictionary, in the original WFS format. In addition, the individual standard recode data and dictionary dictionary are available in DHS/ISSA format. The table below lists the file names and descriptions.

Note: There is no machine-readable dictionary for the Lesotho Household Survey. A printed questionnaire with column numbers is in the OPR library, bound with the dictionary for the Lesotho Individual Raw Data file. This questionnaire (in the back of the volume) has English translations of most but not all of the questions.

Key References

1. Ministry of Planning and Statistics, Lesotho Fertility Survey 1977: First Report, Maseru, 1981.

2. Timaeus, I. and K. Balasubramanian, Evaluation of the Lesotho Fertility Survey 1977, WFS Scientific Reports no 58, 1984.

3. O'Muircheartaigh, C.A., The Magnitude and Pattern of Response Variance in the Lesotho Fertility Survey, WFS Scientific Reports no 70, 1984.