Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

2.3 CHILDREN’S LIVING ARRANGEMENTS AND PARENTAL SURVIVALTable 2.3 takes into account parental survival status in looking at children’s living arrangements.Several aspects of the table are of interest, particularly the extent of orphanhood, i.e., the proportion ofchildren who have lost one or both parents. The AIDS epidemic is a major factor contributing to orphanhood.Table 2.3 Children’s living arrangements and orphanhoodPercent distribution of de jure children under age 15 by children's living arrangements and survival status of parents, according to backgroundcharacteristics, Zambia 2001-2002BackgroundcharacteristicLivingwith bothparentsLiving withmother butnot fatherFatheraliveFatherdeadLiving withfather butnot motherMotheraliveMotherdeadBothaliveNot living with either parentOnly Onlyfather motheralive aliveBothdeadMissinginforma-tion onfather/motherTotalNumberofchildrenAge0-1 75.2 20.0 2.4 0.3 0.2 1.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.4 100.0 2,7372-4 70.4 14.7 4.1 1.7 0.6 5.7 0.9 0.8 0.5 0.5 100.0 3,6905-9 61.1 9.8 6.6 3.5 1.3 8.9 2.1 3.0 3.0 0.8 100.0 6,09610-14 49.0 7.4 8.9 4.3 1.8 12.4 3.2 5.5 6.1 1.4 100.0 5,265SexMale 62.2 11.5 6.3 3.1 1.1 7.2 1.8 2.9 3.0 0.7 100.0 8,878Female 61.0 11.9 5.9 2.6 1.2 8.9 1.9 2.8 2.9 1.0 100.0 8,910ResidenceUrban 60.5 10.1 7.9 3.9 1.2 7.6 1.5 2.8 3.5 1.0 100.0 6,070Rural 62.2 12.5 5.2 2.4 1.1 8.3 2.1 2.9 2.6 0.8 100.0 11,719ProvinceCentral 58.0 11.7 6.2 2.5 1.2 8.8 2.6 4.7 3.8 0.5 100.0 1,349Copperbelt 64.3 8.8 7.7 3.3 0.7 7.3 1.6 2.3 3.3 0.8 100.0 3,217Eastern 65.4 12.2 3.8 1.9 1.0 8.2 1.7 2.1 2.5 1.1 100.0 2,374Luapula 62.6 10.6 6.5 2.0 1.0 10.3 2.3 2.0 1.8 0.9 100.0 1,400Lusaka 60.0 9.9 7.7 3.4 1.3 8.6 1.6 3.2 3.4 0.8 100.0 2,315Northern 67.6 10.7 6.0 1.6 1.4 5.2 1.4 2.3 3.0 0.7 100.0 2,559North-Western 59.8 13.7 6.4 3.8 1.0 9.0 1.5 1.9 1.9 1.0 100.0 968Southern 58.0 12.5 4.7 3.0 1.2 10.0 1.8 4.8 3.4 0.6 100.0 2,081Western 50.7 20.1 5.4 5.2 1.7 7.4 3.1 2.9 2.2 1.3 100.0 1,525Total 61.6 11.7 6.1 2.9 1.1 8.1 1.9 2.9 2.9 0.9 100.0 17,789There has not been a measurable change in the proportion of children under the age of 15 living withboth their natural parents between the 1996 ZDHS (62 percent) and the 2001-2002 ZDHS (62 percent).Overall, 18 percent of children under the age of 15 live with only their mothers compared with 19 percent inthe 1996 ZDHS, 4 percent live with only their fathers compared with 5 percent in the 1996 ZDHS, while16 percent are fostered or not living with either parent. Results from the 2001-2002 ZDHS show that fathersof 12 percent of the children under the age of 15 are dead, mothers of 6 percent are dead and both parents of3 percent are dead.Table 2.3 shows that the proportion of children living with both parents declines with age. Threefourthsof children under age two live with both parents, compared with less than half of those age 10-14.Western province has the smallest proportion of children under the age of 15 living with both parents(51 percent), while Northern province has the largest proportion (68 percent).14 | Characteristics of Households and Respondents