Malawi 2015-16

• Women and men living in urban areas are more likely to be literate than those living in rural areas.
Ninety percent of urban women and 96% of urban men are literate compared with 68% of rural
women and 80% of rural men.
• The literacy rate increases with wealth, and rises from 53% of women in the lowest wealth quintile to
91% in the highest, and from 66% of men in the lowest wealth quintile to 95% in the highest.
3.3 MASS MEDIA EXPOSURE AND INTERNET USAGE
Exposure to mass media
Respondents were asked how often they read a newspaper, listened to the
radio, or watched television. Those who responded at least once a week are
considered to be regularly exposed to that form of media.
Sample: Women and men age 15-49
Information on the exposure of
women and men to mass media is
especially important to the
development of educational
programmes and the dissemination
of all types of information,
particularly information about
family planning, HIV/AIDS
awareness, and other important
health topics. Men are more likely
than women to be exposed to any
and all forms of media, including
newspapers, television, and radio
(Figure 3.3). Radio is the most
common form of media exposure
for both women and men across nearly all subgroups. Large proportions of women and men do not access
to any of the three media on a weekly basis (63% of women and 43% of men) (Tables 3.4.1 and 3.4.2).
The Internet is also a critical tool through which information is shared. Internet use includes accessing web
pages, email, and social media. Overall, 6% of women and 18% of men age 15-49 have used the Internet in
the past 12 months (Tables 3.5.1 and 3.5.2). Among those who have used the Internet in the past 12
months, women are more likely than men to have used it on a daily basis; 58% of women report that they
have used it nearly every day in the past month, compared with 48% of men.
Trends: Exposure to the three mass media for both women and men has decreased between 2000 and
2015-16. The percentage of women who did not access any of the media types at least once a week
decreased from 46% in 2000 to 31% in 2004 before going up from 38% in 2010 to 63% in 2015-16. In
2000, 26% of men did not access any of the media types at least once a week, compared with 43% in 2015-
16.
Patterns by background characteristics
8
15
Reads
newspaper
Figure 3.3 Exposure to mass media
Percentage of women and men age 15-49 who are
exposed to media on a weekly basis
• Rural women are more likely to have no regular exposure to any form of mass media than their urban
counterparts (69% versus 38%). The same pattern holds true for men (47% versus 26%) (Tables 3.4.1
and 3.4.2).
• Women and men in the Southern region are the most likely to report no regular exposure to any of the
three mass media (66% and 49%, respectively).
12
18
Watches
television
Women
30
49
Listens to
radio
Men
2
6
All three
media
63
43
None of
these media
Characteristics of Respondents • 33