Malawi 2015-16

Table 5.5 Birth intervals
Percent distribution of non-first births in the 5 years before the survey by number of months since preceding birth, and median number of
months since preceding birth, according to background characteristics, Malawi DHS 2015-16
Background
characteristic
Months since preceding birth
7-17 18-23 24-35 36-47 48-59 60+
Total
Number of
non-first
births
Median
number of
months
since
preceding
birth
Age
15-19 15.2 27.1 37.5 15.3 4.9 0.0 100.0 89 26.7
20-29 5.4 8.1 31.5 27.6 15.7 11.6 100.0 6,176 37.6
30-39 3.1 5.9 22.1 23.7 17.6 27.6 100.0 5,405 45.6
40-49 3.5 6.0 19.1 21.5 15.1 34.7 100.0 1,179 47.9
Sex of preceding birth
Male 5.1 6.7 26.4 25.5 16.3 19.9 100.0 6,365 40.6
Female 3.6 7.6 26.4 25.1 16.5 20.9 100.0 6,483 41.5
Survival of preceding birth
Living 2.9 6.6 26.5 26.2 16.9 20.9 100.0 11,896 41.8
Dead 22.8 13.9 25.1 14.2 10.5 13.5 100.0 953 29.8
Birth order
2-3 4.8 7.4 27.6 25.9 16.0 18.3 100.0 6,400 40.0
4-6 3.4 6.3 24.5 24.8 17.4 23.7 100.0 5,068 43.3
7+ 5.8 9.0 28.0 24.6 14.4 18.2 100.0 1,381 38.4
Residence
Urban 4.7 4.7 17.9 21.5 17.1 34.1 100.0 1,506 48.6
Rural 4.3 7.5 27.6 25.8 16.3 18.6 100.0 11,342 40.2
Region
Northern 2.5 5.5 24.5 28.3 18.0 21.2 100.0 1,451 42.6
Central 5.0 7.6 27.0 26.5 15.1 18.9 100.0 5,394 40.1
Southern 4.2 7.2 26.4 23.5 17.2 21.5 100.0 6,004 41.6
Education
No education 5.5 8.6 25.9 25.7 15.1 19.2 100.0 2,082 40.0
Primary 4.1 7.0 28.0 25.5 16.6 18.8 100.0 8,701 40.2
Secondary 4.0 6.0 20.5 24.6 17.1 27.7 100.0 1,925 44.8
More than secondary 6.1 6.6 16.9 18.3 14.2 38.0 100.0 140 49.5
Wealth quintile
Lowest 5.2 7.4 30.9 24.7 16.6 15.1 100.0 3,243 38.4
Second 5.4 8.5 28.4 27.0 13.4 17.4 100.0 2,900 38.3
Middle 3.6 7.7 27.2 26.6 17.3 17.6 100.0 2,543 40.5
Fourth 3.2 6.3 23.3 25.1 18.3 23.8 100.0 2,263 43.7
Highest 3.8 4.8 18.4 22.2 17.1 33.6 100.0 1,900 48.4
Total 4.4 7.1 26.4 25.3 16.4 20.4 100.0 12,849 41.0
Note: First-order births are excluded. The interval for multiple births is the number of months since the preceding pregnancy that ended in
a live birth.
78 • Fertility