Bangladesh, 1975-76 (WFS)

The following description of this survey appeared in the 1991 edition of Dynamic Database: A Catalogue of Survey Data Files, Voorburg: International Statistical Institute.

Basic Information

• Name of survey: Bangladesh Fertility Survey
• Executive agency: National Institute of Population Research and Training
• Date of fieldwork: 1975-76
• Universe: Ever-married women, -49
• Coverage: National, 100%
• Size: 6504
• Weights: Self-weighting within rural-urban domains
• Contents: WFS Core Mark 1 + fertility regulation module
• Supplementary surveys: Household members (n = 37,059, self-weighting within domains); Re-interview (n = 322); Community (n = 158 rural clusters)

Additional Information

A considerable range of economic data was collected in this survey. The number of children (aged 5-12) at school and working, together with aspirations for education of sons and daughters were ascertained. Household survey data have been transferred to the SR file. These include ownership of dwelling, land, cattle and specified household utilities.

Limited information on non-contraceptive proximate fertility determinants was collected: the lengths of post-partum abstinence and amenorrhoea following the last live birth; and the number of temporary spousal separations during the last year.

A large number of interviews were tape recorded and 220 of these have been analyzed (see reference 2 below) to provide an unusual insight into the dynamics of the interview. A small re-interview survey was also conducted but this has not been analyzed because of problems in the coding of the data.

Community data were collected successfully for 155 of the 160 rural clusters, but three of these cannot be matched to the individual files. Data include: access to family planning, health, educational and other facilities; economic and agricultural characteristics; details of natural disasters since 1970.

Release Conditions

Data may be used for academic research, provided that credit is given in any publication resulting from the research to the agency that conducted the survey and that two copies of any publication are sent to:

Public Use Files

Available files include the household members data and dictionary, and the individual standard recode data and dictionary, in the original WFS format. In addition, the individual standard recode data and dictionary dictionary are available in ISSA format. The table below lists the file names and descriptions.

Key References

1. Ministry of Health and Population Control, Bangladesh Fertility Survey 1975-76: First Report, Dhaka, 1978.

2. Thompson, L., M.N. Ali and J.B. Casterline, The Bangladesh Fertility Survey: Evidence from Tape-Recorded Interviews, WFS Scientific Reports no 41, 1982.

3. Al-Kabir, A., Effects of Community Factors on Infant and Child Mortality in Rural Bangladesh, WFS Scientific Reports no 56, 1984.