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

Household PossessionsRespondents were asked about ownership of selecteddurable goods and agricultural land. The informationwas collected primarily as socioeconomic indicatorsof the population. Results are shown in Table 2.8.Possession of household durable goods is notvery common in Bangladesh, since many of the familieshere cannot afford them. Nationally, 72 percent ofhouseholds own a cot or bed, 49 percent a table, chair,or bench, 35 percent a watch or clock and only 22 percentan almirah (wardrobe). As for the more valuableitems, 25 percent of households possess working radios,16 percent own bicycles, and ortty 7 percent possesstelevisions in working condition. A higher proportion ofurban than rural households possess every durable goodasked about except bicycles, which reflects, amongother things, the relatively better economic conditions inurban areas.Table 2.8 Household durable goods and agricultural landPercentage of households possessing various durablegoods and agricultural land, by urban-rural residence,Bangladesh 1993-94Ch~ac~nsficResidenceUrban Rural TotalAlmirah (wardrobe) 53.9 18.0 22.1Table/chair/bench 68.2 46.1 48.6Watch/clock 64.7 31.5 35.2Cot/bed 89.4 70.0 72.2Working radio 42.3 22.3 24.6Working television 37.6 3.4 7.2Bicycle 15.7 16.0 15.9Agricultural land 33.9 59.4 56.6Number of households 1038 8136 9174Just over half of households in Bangladesh own agricultural land. This indicates that a large numberofB angladeshi families live in poverty, given that Bangladesh's economy is largely dependent on agriculture.Two-fifths of households in rural areas are without agricultural land (41 percent), while, as expected,households without agricultural land are more common in urban areas (66 percent).2.3 Background Characteristics of Women RespondentsGeneral CharacteristicsTable 2.9 shows the distribution of female respondents by selected background characteristics. Toassess their age, women were asked two questions in the individual interview: "In what month and year wereyou born?" and "How old were you at your last birthday?" Interviewers were trained to probe in situationsin which respondents did not know their age or date of birth, and they were instructed as a last resort to recordtheir best estimate of the respondent's age.The age distribution of ever-married women in the BDHS is very similar to that found in the 1991CPS, with 42 percent in their 20s. The majority (57 percent) of ever-married women are age 15-29 years,compared to only 16 percent in the oldest age groups, 40-44 amd 45-49 years. The distribution of currentlymarried women is similar to that of ever-married women.Among ever-married women, more than nine in ten are currently married (93 percent). Only 4percent have been widowed, and 3 percent are divorced or separated. A similar distribution of ever-marriedwomen by current marital status was reported in the 1991 CPS.The majority (58 percent) of ever-married and currently married women have never attended school.Only one-quarter have completed primary school and only about 15 percent have secondary education.Nevertheless, the data show some improvement since 1991, when 61 percent of ever-married women had hadno formal education (Mitra et al., 1993:18).18