PDF, 1536K - Measure DHS

Table 7.6 also shows that the ideal number of children among men is one child higher than
among women. Seventy-three percent of male respondents consider four or more children ideal. The
mean ideal number among all men is 6.4 children, while currently married men preferred a mean of 7.7
children. The mean ideal number of children among polygynous men is more than twice that of
monogamous men and may contribute to the difference in the ideal number of children between women
and men.
The mean ideal family size shows a positive association with the number of living children for
both women and men (Table 7.6). It increases from 4.1 children among childless women to 6.8 children
among women with 6 or more children, while it increases from 4.8 children to 11.1 children in the case
of men. The observed positive association between the ideal family size and the number of living children
may arise from two possible reasons. First, women and men may tend to rationalize their mean family
size by reporting their actual number of children as their ideal number, or second, they may have
achieved their preferred number of children.
The mean ideal number of children for all women and all men by five-year age groups and
background variables is shown in Table 7.7. The mean ideal number of children increases with
increasing age for both women and men. It increases from 4.2 children for women age 15-19 to 6.7
children for women age 45-49 and from 4.5 children among men age 15-19 to 9.7 children among men
age 45-49. The mean ideal number of children among rural women and men is much higher than among
their urban counterparts. Women and men in the nomadic regions of Affar and Somali have much larger
mean ideal numbers than in the other areas of the country. The mean ideal family size varies negatively
with education. Women and men with no education have almost twice the mean ideal number of
children as women and men with at least secondary education.
Table 7.7 Mean ideal number of children by background characteristics
Mean ideal number of children for all women, by age and background characteristics, Ethiopia 2000
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Current age
Background
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Total Total
characteristic 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 women men
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Residence
Urban
Rural
Region
Tigray
Affar
Amhara
Oromiya
Somali
Benishangul-Gumuz
SNNP
Gambela
Harari
Addis Ababa
Dire Dawa
Education
No education
Primary
Secondary and higher
3.3 3.9 4.0 4.8 4.7 5.2 6.0 4.1 4.3
4.4 5.2 5.6 6.2 6.2 6.5 6.9 5.6 6.8
4.3 5.1 5.3 6.0 6.3 6.0 7.0 5.4 6.0
6.4 7.6 8.5 9.8 10.5 9.9 13.1 9.0 13.3
3.4 3.9 4.6 5.2 5.0 5.4 5.2 4.4 5.1
4.3 5.2 5.4 6.1 6.1 6.4 7.1 5.4 6.8
8.7 9.6 10.1 10.7 11.2 11.4 11.4 10.1 12.6
3.7 4.5 5.3 5.7 5.8 7.0 5.8 4.9 6.0
4.8 5.3 5.6 6.3 6.3 6.9 7.5 5.8 6.7
3.7 4.2 5.0 5.7 5.9 7.1 6.1 4.9 6.1
4.4 5.1 5.2 6.2 7.1 6.3 7.6 5.6 5.6
2.9 3.4 3.5 4.0 4.4 4.2 4.4 3.5 3.4
4.2 4.9 5.2 6.0 6.4 6.9 6.8 5.4 5.4
4.7 5.3 5.6 6.3 6.1 6.4 6.8 5.7 7.5
3.6 4.4 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.6 7.0 4.4 5.8
3.1 3.5 3.7 4.4 3.9 5.2 4.6 3.5 3.9
All women
4.2 4.9 5.2 6.0 5.9 6.3 6.7 5.3 NA
All men
4.5 5.0 6.3 6.2 6.9 8.4 9.7 NA 6.4
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NA = Not applicable
Fertility Preference * 93