Bangladesh 1993-1994 Demographic and Health ... - Measure DHS

EmploymentThe BDHS Household Questionnaire included a question as to whether each person age eight andabove was working for money. The resulting information is shown in Table 2.6 for males and females byage group according to urban-rural residence. As expected, men are much more likely than women to beemployed, regardless of age group or residence. Overall, almost 60 percent of men are employed, comparedto only about 10 percent of women. Not surprisingly, employment rates are higher among both men andwomen in their 20s and 30s and decline among men and women in their late 50s and 60s. Paid employmentbegins early in Bangladesh; at ages 10-14, 17 percent of boys and 6 percent of girls are working for money.By ages 15-19, almost half of boys and 10 percent of girls are engaged in paid employment.Table 2.6 Employment statusPercentage of males and females who m'e working for money by age group and urbanruralresidence, Bangladesh 1993-94AgeMalesFemalesgroup Urban Rural Total Urban Rural Total8-9 2.1 1.1 1.2 3.6 0.7 1.010-14 17.1 17.2 17.2 17.6 4.0 5.715-19 38.8 48.2 47.1 15.9 8.1 9.120-24 57.5 74.0 71.7 18.7 12.9 13.725-29 80.3 90.2 88.8 20.9 17.9 18.330-34 94.7 97.1 96.8 24.5 19.5 20.135-39 97.3 97.6 97.6 19.3 20.1 20.040-44 95.5 98.1 97.8 25.9 15.7 17.045-49 98.3 98.0 98.0 11.9 13.l 12.950-54 92.7 96.1 95.6 24.4 9.3 10.655-59 91.1 91.4 91.4 7.3 8.9 8.860-64 67.8 79.4 78.3 18.1 4.9 5.965+ 47.7 52.2 51.9 2.4 4.3 4.1Total 56.6 57.7 57.5 16.5 9.8 10.6Number 2,432 17,873 20,305 2,432 17,873 20,3052.2 Housing CharacteristicsSocioeconomic conditions were assessed by asking respondents questions about their householdenvironment. This information is summarized in Table 2.7.As the table shows, only 18 percent of households in Bangladesh have electricity. Electricity is muchmore common in urban areas; three-quarters of urban households have electricity, compared to only 10percent of rural households.Tubewells are the major source of drinking water in Bangladesh. Overall, about nine out of tenhouseholds (88 percent) obtain their drinking water from tubewells. Only 8 percent remain dependent onsurface water such as surface wells (4 percent), ponds (3 percent) and rivers/streams (1 percent). Piped wateris available mostly in urban areas. Among urban households, 27 percent have water piped into the residence,10 percent obtain drinking water from taps (public or private) outside the residence, and 62 percent get theirdrinking water from tubewells. In rural areas, tubewells are the only major source of drinking water; morethan9in 10 rural households obtain their drinking water from tubewells. Similarlevels of use oftubewellsfor drinking water in rural areas were also documented in the 1991 National Survey on Status of Rural WaterSupply and Sanitation.16