Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt, SFT 2004
Egypt, 2004
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Reference ID
EGY_SFT_2004_V1
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Population Council
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Identification
Survey ID
EGY_SFT_2004_V1
Title
Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt, SFT 2004
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Egypt | Egy |
Study type
Demographic and Health Survey [hh/dhs]
Abstract
<p style="border:solid thin black;"> Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt 2004 </p>
This research is motivated by the slow pace of fertility decline in Egypt in the period since 1992. Following relatively rapid decline in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Egyptian fertility decline slowed down during the latter part of the 1990s. The 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey [EDHS] provided an estimate of the Total Fertility Rate [TFR] - births per woman over a reproductive career - of roughly 3.5 births for the period 1997-2000, with the levels in some segments of the population (e.g. rural Upper Egypt) substantially higher. The 2003 Egypt Interim Demographic and Health Survey [EIDHS] indicates that the decline resumed again after 2000, with the TFR during the period 2000-2003 estimated at 3.2 births (El-Zanaty and Way 2004), roughly one-quarter birth lower than the 2000 EDHS estimate. While this represents a substantial decline in the three-year intervening period, at 3.2 the TFR remains one birth above replacement level. Moreover, the TFR in 2000-2003 was 3.6 in rural areas, 3.8 in Upper Egypt, and 4.2 in rural Upper Egypt. Clearly Egypt as a whole remains some distance from replacement-level fertility, with certain segments of the
population as much as two births above replacement.
This research is intended to benefit policy makers and program managers in Egypt by identifying those factors that encourage adoption of the two-child norm and those factors that appear to favor continuing attachment to three or more children. With this knowledge, mass media activities, as well as the counseling of women and couples, can focus more effectively on the key factors that might expedite further progress towards more universal acceptance of the two-child norm.
The project objectives are encapsulated in the following four questions:
• What is the current status of fertility in Egypt in relation to the goal of replacementlevel fertility?
• What is the nature of current childbearing desires? Why do many Egyptian women wish to have three or more births?
• What are the prospects for further fertility decline, in particular as determined by the younger cohorts who have just started their reproductive careers or will start soon?
• Given the answers to the preceding three questions, what policies and programs might facilitate more rapid fertility decline in Egypt?
With these project objectives and the prospective orientation, three sub-groups of the population are of interest:
(i) Married women in the prime reproductive years, with a special focus on women that have two children or less (and therefore can limit their fertility to two children). With this group, key questions are whether they want more than two children, and, if so, why. How does having further children, or not having further children, fit into their
strategies for maintaining and improving the welfare of their household? Why is it that many in this group wish to have further children, and what considerations might alter
those aspirations?
(ii) Young unmarried women and men. In demographic terms these are large sub-groups, and their future reproductive choices will determine the trajectory of fertility decline in Egypt. What are their fertility goals, and how do these fit with their other aspirations? What value do they place on marriage and childbearing, and how are these values reconciled with their concerns about economic survival? Do young women and men have divergent views on these matters?
This research is motivated by the slow pace of fertility decline in Egypt in the period since 1992. Following relatively rapid decline in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Egyptian fertility decline slowed down during the latter part of the 1990s. The 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey [EDHS] provided an estimate of the Total Fertility Rate [TFR] - births per woman over a reproductive career - of roughly 3.5 births for the period 1997-2000, with the levels in some segments of the population (e.g. rural Upper Egypt) substantially higher. The 2003 Egypt Interim Demographic and Health Survey [EIDHS] indicates that the decline resumed again after 2000, with the TFR during the period 2000-2003 estimated at 3.2 births (El-Zanaty and Way 2004), roughly one-quarter birth lower than the 2000 EDHS estimate. While this represents a substantial decline in the three-year intervening period, at 3.2 the TFR remains one birth above replacement level. Moreover, the TFR in 2000-2003 was 3.6 in rural areas, 3.8 in Upper Egypt, and 4.2 in rural Upper Egypt. Clearly Egypt as a whole remains some distance from replacement-level fertility, with certain segments of the
population as much as two births above replacement.
This research is intended to benefit policy makers and program managers in Egypt by identifying those factors that encourage adoption of the two-child norm and those factors that appear to favor continuing attachment to three or more children. With this knowledge, mass media activities, as well as the counseling of women and couples, can focus more effectively on the key factors that might expedite further progress towards more universal acceptance of the two-child norm.
The project objectives are encapsulated in the following four questions:
• What is the current status of fertility in Egypt in relation to the goal of replacementlevel fertility?
• What is the nature of current childbearing desires? Why do many Egyptian women wish to have three or more births?
• What are the prospects for further fertility decline, in particular as determined by the younger cohorts who have just started their reproductive careers or will start soon?
• Given the answers to the preceding three questions, what policies and programs might facilitate more rapid fertility decline in Egypt?
With these project objectives and the prospective orientation, three sub-groups of the population are of interest:
(i) Married women in the prime reproductive years, with a special focus on women that have two children or less (and therefore can limit their fertility to two children). With this group, key questions are whether they want more than two children, and, if so, why. How does having further children, or not having further children, fit into their
strategies for maintaining and improving the welfare of their household? Why is it that many in this group wish to have further children, and what considerations might alter
those aspirations?
(ii) Young unmarried women and men. In demographic terms these are large sub-groups, and their future reproductive choices will determine the trajectory of fertility decline in Egypt. What are their fertility goals, and how do these fit with their other aspirations? What value do they place on marriage and childbearing, and how are these values reconciled with their concerns about economic survival? Do young women and men have divergent views on these matters?
Kind of data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of analysis
1- Married women in the prime reproductive years
2- Never Married Females (18 - 29 Years)
2- Never Married Females (18 - 29 Years)
Version
Version
Version1: A version of SFT 2004 data prepared by the Population Council and the ERF for dissemination
Version date
2004-04
Scope
Notes
The topics covered by the survey include the following:
1. Respondent's Background
2. Reproductive updates
3. Fertility attitudes
4. Fertility Preferences
5. Family Planning attitudes
6. Family attitudes and circumstances
7. Respondent's employment
8. Husband employment
9. Household realized income, expenditure and savings
1. Respondent's Background
2. Reproductive updates
3. Fertility attitudes
4. Fertility Preferences
5. Family Planning attitudes
6. Family attitudes and circumstances
7. Respondent's employment
8. Husband employment
9. Household realized income, expenditure and savings
Topics
| Topic |
|---|
| Respondent’s Background |
| Reproductive updates |
| Fertility attitudes |
| Fertility Preferences |
| Family Planning attitudes |
| Family attitudes and circumstances |
| Respondent’s employment |
| Husband employment |
| Household realized income, expenditure and savings |
Coverage
Geographic coverage
In this survey, ever-married women were questioned at length about their recent reproductive experience, including their contraceptive experience, and their fertility preferences, among other topics. A sub-sample of 3293 of these women were re-interviewed in 2004, on average eleven months after the EIDHS interview. Seven of these women cannot be matched to an EIDHS record, leaving a sample of 3286 ever-married women for analysis. In the follow-up interview, these women were asked about their reproductive experience in the months since the EIDHS interview, their attitudes about childbearing and related issues, and some questions about household economics.
The SFT currently married women (aged 15-45) are a sub-sample of the ever married women successfully interviewed in the 2003 EIDHS. 545 of the IEDHS sampling clusters were randomly selected from all non-Frontier governorates, and all eligible women in each of the selected cluster were selected for the SFT.
The never married women and men (aged 18-29) were separately drawn from households in the larger EIDHS sample (all EIDHS households, not limited to those containing an EIDHS respondent). Two random sub-samples of clusters were selected and all never married women and men (age 18-29) in the selected clusters were selected. The never married women and men samples consist of 432 and 456 PSUs, respectively.
The SFT currently married women (aged 15-45) are a sub-sample of the ever married women successfully interviewed in the 2003 EIDHS. 545 of the IEDHS sampling clusters were randomly selected from all non-Frontier governorates, and all eligible women in each of the selected cluster were selected for the SFT.
The never married women and men (aged 18-29) were separately drawn from households in the larger EIDHS sample (all EIDHS households, not limited to those containing an EIDHS respondent). Two random sub-samples of clusters were selected and all never married women and men (age 18-29) in the selected clusters were selected. The never married women and men samples consist of 432 and 456 PSUs, respectively.
Universe
The survey covered a national sample of households and married women in the prime reproductive years and never married females (18 - 29 Years)
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name |
|---|
| Population Council |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Cairo Demographic Center | Data collection |
Sampling
Sampling procedure
<p style="border:solid thin black;"> Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt 2004 </p>
Survey design and implementation
=====================
Two main sub-groups of the population were of interest in this project: currently married women in their reproductive years, and young never married adults (women and men).
The SFT samples were national in coverage and were drawn from the 2003 EIDHS. The 2003 EIDHS survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 9,217 evermarried women aged 15-49. The main purpose of this survey--as in all previously conducted Demographic and Health Surveys--was to provide detailed information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, and maternal and child health and nutrition (see El-Zanaty and Way 2004 for the EIDHS sample and survey design).
Accordingly, it was decided that an efficient and appealing design for the SFT would make use of all the information gathered in the EIDHS, updated (as necessary) and supplemented by the types of information needed from each subgroup, as listed below. This design not only expedited the fieldwork, but also substantially enhanced the value of the EIDHS for relatively little marginal cost. For each of the three groups a systematic random sample, with implicit stratification by regions and urban-rural residence, was chosen from the EIDHS sample. The selection method was one-stage (selection of clusters only with no sub-sampling within clusters), and was carried out separately for the sample of evermarried women and each of the two samples of never-married women and men.
Survey sample
=========
Hence the SFT currently married women (aged 15-45) are a sub-sample of the ever married women successfully interviewed in the 2003 EIDHS. 545 of the IEDHS sampling
clusters were randomly selected from all non-Frontier governorates, and all eligible women in each of the selected cluster were selected for the SFT.
The never married women and men (aged 18-29) were separately drawn from households in the larger EIDHS sample (all EIDHS households, not limited to those containing an EIDHS respondent). Two random sub-samples of clusters were selected and all never married women and men (age 18-29) in the selected clusters were selected. The never married women and men samples consist of 432 and 456 PSUs, respectively.
Survey design and implementation
=====================
Two main sub-groups of the population were of interest in this project: currently married women in their reproductive years, and young never married adults (women and men).
The SFT samples were national in coverage and were drawn from the 2003 EIDHS. The 2003 EIDHS survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 9,217 evermarried women aged 15-49. The main purpose of this survey--as in all previously conducted Demographic and Health Surveys--was to provide detailed information on fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, and maternal and child health and nutrition (see El-Zanaty and Way 2004 for the EIDHS sample and survey design).
Accordingly, it was decided that an efficient and appealing design for the SFT would make use of all the information gathered in the EIDHS, updated (as necessary) and supplemented by the types of information needed from each subgroup, as listed below. This design not only expedited the fieldwork, but also substantially enhanced the value of the EIDHS for relatively little marginal cost. For each of the three groups a systematic random sample, with implicit stratification by regions and urban-rural residence, was chosen from the EIDHS sample. The selection method was one-stage (selection of clusters only with no sub-sampling within clusters), and was carried out separately for the sample of evermarried women and each of the two samples of never-married women and men.
Survey sample
=========
Hence the SFT currently married women (aged 15-45) are a sub-sample of the ever married women successfully interviewed in the 2003 EIDHS. 545 of the IEDHS sampling
clusters were randomly selected from all non-Frontier governorates, and all eligible women in each of the selected cluster were selected for the SFT.
The never married women and men (aged 18-29) were separately drawn from households in the larger EIDHS sample (all EIDHS households, not limited to those containing an EIDHS respondent). Two random sub-samples of clusters were selected and all never married women and men (age 18-29) in the selected clusters were selected. The never married women and men samples consist of 432 and 456 PSUs, respectively.
Weighting
** For information on the SFT sample and its sampling weights, See the English report of SFT available among the external resources in the Survey on the ERF data portal.
- For data analysis purposes, the variable "rweight" should be used to weight the data.
- For data analysis purposes, the variable "rweight" should be used to weight the data.
Survey instrument
Questionnaires
Questionnaire design
=============
The SFT women questionnaire begins with an updating of the woman’s experience since the EIDHS interview, including pregnancies and births, contraceptive use and
discontinuation, and breast feeding and postpartum amenorrhea. A calendar encompassing the months since the EIDHS interview was completed. The questionnaire then collected additional information on fertility preferences and attitudes about childbearing (perceived costs and benefits of children—in particular, having three or more children, how childbearing relates to other personal and family goals, and the place of childbearing in their larger value-system), family planning attitudes and obstacles to using contraception (access and quality of services, social costs, fear of health side effects, and so forth), and women’s autonomy and decision making within the household. Also, the questionnaire devoted three sections to the economic status of the household as well as their economic aspirations and expectations, women's productive activities, and husbands' work.
The questionnaires of the never married women and men differ very slightly from each other, simply to take account of gender differences. The content of these questionnaires overlaps considerably with the content of the currently married women's questionnaire, except for the omission of the blocks of items on current reproductive status, contraceptive use and husbands' work and preferences. The never married questionnaires include an additional section on marriage costs and attitudes towards marriage. This section collects information on the youth aspirations for marriage and parenting, including the timing of the first birth and the spacing of children, and how these aspirations relate to their aspirations for employment and family life, as well as their personal values.
After multiple pretesting of the questionnaire by the Population Council, the questionnaires were submitted to the Cairo Demographic Center for revision and final pretesting in late March 2004. The CDC and the Population Council jointly revised and developed the final versions of the questionnaires.
=============
The SFT women questionnaire begins with an updating of the woman’s experience since the EIDHS interview, including pregnancies and births, contraceptive use and
discontinuation, and breast feeding and postpartum amenorrhea. A calendar encompassing the months since the EIDHS interview was completed. The questionnaire then collected additional information on fertility preferences and attitudes about childbearing (perceived costs and benefits of children—in particular, having three or more children, how childbearing relates to other personal and family goals, and the place of childbearing in their larger value-system), family planning attitudes and obstacles to using contraception (access and quality of services, social costs, fear of health side effects, and so forth), and women’s autonomy and decision making within the household. Also, the questionnaire devoted three sections to the economic status of the household as well as their economic aspirations and expectations, women's productive activities, and husbands' work.
The questionnaires of the never married women and men differ very slightly from each other, simply to take account of gender differences. The content of these questionnaires overlaps considerably with the content of the currently married women's questionnaire, except for the omission of the blocks of items on current reproductive status, contraceptive use and husbands' work and preferences. The never married questionnaires include an additional section on marriage costs and attitudes towards marriage. This section collects information on the youth aspirations for marriage and parenting, including the timing of the first birth and the spacing of children, and how these aspirations relate to their aspirations for employment and family life, as well as their personal values.
After multiple pretesting of the questionnaire by the Population Council, the questionnaires were submitted to the Cairo Demographic Center for revision and final pretesting in late March 2004. The CDC and the Population Council jointly revised and developed the final versions of the questionnaires.
Data collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2004-04 | 2004-05 |
Data Collectors
| Name |
|---|
| Cairo Demographic Center |
Notes on data collection
Data collection began on April 20, 2004 and ended on May 30, 2004. All call-backs and re-interviews were completed by the end of June 2004. Because of the low initial response rates in the samples of the never married women and men, the CDC suggested revisiting low-response sample areas and interviewing substitute respondents. The substitute method, as designed by the CDC, entailed interviewing a substitute from the same family (if available), otherwise from the same household, otherwise from the same building, and otherwise from the same neighborhood. This further data collection took place during the last three weeks of June. Note that the respondents obtained via substitution are identified in the final SFT data-files.
Data processing
Cleaning operations
Office editing of the completed questionnaires took place at the CDC from the second week of May until June 30, 2004. The editing team consisted of 23 editors. All editors
attended the fieldwork training with the interviewers to become familiar with the questionnaires, and they used the fieldwork instructions manual. Simultaneously, minimal manual coding was performed at the CDC. The coding team consisted of three coders, and they followed the instructions in the coding manual.
Data entry began on May 6, 2004 at the CDC and was carried out by a team of 22. IMPS software was used for data entry. An SPSS consistency program was developed to check the quality and accuracy of the data. The final data-files were delivered by the CDC to the Population Council during the first three weeks of July 2004. In a final step, El-Zanaty & Associates produced the appropriate sampling weights (including an accounting for the non-response rate) and attached them to the SFT file by the end of July 2004.
attended the fieldwork training with the interviewers to become familiar with the questionnaires, and they used the fieldwork instructions manual. Simultaneously, minimal manual coding was performed at the CDC. The coding team consisted of three coders, and they followed the instructions in the coding manual.
Data entry began on May 6, 2004 at the CDC and was carried out by a team of 22. IMPS software was used for data entry. An SPSS consistency program was developed to check the quality and accuracy of the data. The final data-files were delivered by the CDC to the Population Council during the first three weeks of July 2004. In a final step, El-Zanaty & Associates produced the appropriate sampling weights (including an accounting for the non-response rate) and attached them to the SFT file by the end of July 2004.
Data Access
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum | Economic Research Forum (ERF) | erfdataportal@erf.org.eg |
Confidentiality
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes |
To access the micro-data, researchers are required to register on the ERF website and comply with the data access agreement. The data should only be used for scholarly, research, or educational purposes. Users are prohibited from using data acquired from the Economic Research Forum in the pursuit of any commercial or private ventures. |
Access conditions
Licensed datasets, accessible under conditions.
Citation requirement
The users should cite the Population Council as the source of the data and the Economic Research Forum as the distributor as follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Population Council, 2004.
Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt, SFT 2004. [Computer file]. Cairo, Egypt: OAMDI; Economic Research Forum (distributor)."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Population Council, 2004.
Slow Fertility Transition Project In Egypt, SFT 2004. [Computer file]. Cairo, Egypt: OAMDI; Economic Research Forum (distributor)."
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The Economic Research Forum and the Population Council have granted the researcher access to relevant data following exhaustive efforts to protect the confidentiality of individual data. The researcher is solely responsible for any analysis or conclusions drawn from available data.
Copyright
(c) 2004, Population Council
Contacts
Contacts
| Name | |
|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum (ERF) - 21 Al-Sad Al-Aaly St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt | erfdataportal@erf.org.eg |
Metadata production
Document ID
EGY_SFT_2004_V1
Producers
| Name |
|---|
| Population Council |
Date of metadata production
2004
Metadata version
Version
Version 1