Malawi 2015-16

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS 3
Key Findings
Education: About 1 in 4 women (26%) and 36% of
men have at least some secondary education. Only
3% of women and 5% of men have more than
secondary education.
Literacy: Seventy-two percent of women and 83% of
men are literate.
Exposure to mass media: Sixty-three percent of
women and 43% of men do not read a newspaper,
listen to the radio, or watch television at least once a
week.
Internet usage: In the past 12 months, 6% of women
and 18% of men used the Internet. Among those who
used the Internet in past 12 months, 58% of women
and 48% of men used it nearly every day.
Employment: Men are more likely to be employed
than women; 63% of women are currently employed,
as compared with 81% of men.
Tobacco use: Fewer than 1% of women and 12% of
men age 15-49 use tobacco products.
T
his chapter presents information on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the
survey respondents such as age, education, place of residence, marital status, employment, and
wealth status. This information is useful for understanding the factors that affect the use of
reproductive health services and contraception, and other health behaviours.
3.1 BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS
A total of 24,562 women age 15-49 and 7,478 men age 15-54 were interviewed in the 2015-16 MDHS.
Forty-two percent of women and 45% of men are in the 15-24 age group, while 31% of women and 27%
of men are in the 25-34 age group (Table 3.1).
Among respondents age 15-49, women are more likely than men to be married (62% versus 53%),
divorced/separated (10% versus 3%), or widowed (3% versus