Venezuela, 1977 (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: Encuesta de Fecundidad
• Executive agency: Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática
• Date of fieldwork: 1977
• Universe: All women, 15-44
• Coverage: National, 98%
• Size: 4361
• Weights: Self-weighting
• Contents: WFS Core Mark 1 + most of the fertility regulation and family planning modules
• Supplementary surveys: Household (n = 8384 households, 39,503 members, self-weighting)

Additional Information

The sample is based on a subset of the areas selected for the National Household Survey but using different households. Individual and household interviews were conducted in the same visit. Half the eligible women identified in the selected households were interviewed. The Sur region was omitted (2 per cent of the population, 30 per cent of the territory).

The household questionnaire covers accommodation, household services and education.

The major addition to the WFS core questionnaire is a detailed month-by-month sexual life history for the twelve months preceding the survey (see also Dominican Republic 1975 Survey). Available are the type of pregnancy, subdivided according to use of effective or ineffective contraceptive methods (if any) prior to conception; the number of months using specific methods, the number of months without sexual intercourse and the reason (celibacy, marital dissolution, temporary absence of spouse, illness, other). From these data, various measures of contraceptive effectiveness can be derived.

The household file is in a non-rectangular format. A record for each household is followed by records for each household member.

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 individual standard recode data and dictionary, and the supplemental survey 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. Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática, Venezuela: Informe Final de la Encuesta de Fecundidad, 1977, Caracas, 1980/82.

2. Vielma, G., Evaluation of the Venezuela Fertility Survey 1977, WFS Scientific Reports no 35, 1982.

3. Gaslonde, S. and E. Carrasco, The Impact of Some Intermediate Variables on Fertility: Evidence from the Venezuela National Fertility Survey 1977, WFS Occasional Papers no 23, 1982.