Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

Figure 7.4 Unmet Need for Spacing and Limiting amongCurrently Married Women, by Residence and Region30Percent25201510141219 19101415122011118141317187 8201319750UbanRuralCentralCopperbeltEasternLuapulaLusakaNorthernNorth-WesternSouthernWesternSpacingLimitingZDHS 2001-20027.4 IDEAL FAMILY SIZEInformation on what men and women believe to be their ideal family size was elicited throughtwo questions. Respondents who had no children were asked, “How many children would you like tohave if you could choose the number of children to have?” Respondents who had children were asked,“If you could go back to the time you did not have any children, how many children would you have ifyou could choose the number of children to have. Even though these questions are based on hypotheticalsituations, they give an idea of the total number of children women who have not started childbearing willhave in the future, while among older and high parity women, these data provide a measure of the level ofunwanted fertility.Table 7.4 shows that 94 percent of all women and 93 percent of all men gave a numeric responseto the question. The remaining 6 percent and 7 percent respectively gave responses such as “any number,”“it’s up to God,” or “do not know.”Generally, men prefer larger families than women. Forty-two percent of men would like to haveat least 6 children, compared with 28 percent of women. Less than 1 percent of all women and men do notwant to have a child at all. For women with one child, 16 percent would like to have at least 6 childrencompared with 42 percent for those with 4 children and 54 percent for those who already have 6 children.This pattern is similar to that of men, though the percentages are higher for men at every given number ofliving children.Fertility Preferences and Unmet Need │ 111