Demographics (v2.1)

Afrobarometer is an African-led, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues across more than 30 countries in Africa and are repeated on a regular cycle. Each of the barometers is implemented independently. In each country, a national research team administers a country-wide face-to-face survey using standardized survey instruments to compile the required micro-level data under a common research framework and research methodology. Core donors for Afrobarometer Rounds 5 and 6 include: The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Department for International Development (DFID), UK and The United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Supplemental funding is provided by: The World Bank, Institute for Security Studies (South Africa), United States Institute of Peace, Transparency International and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Further information is available at www.afrobarometer.org.

The AmericasBarometer is an scientifically rigorous comparative survey that covers all of the mainland independent countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as a significant number of countries in the Caribbean. The AmereicasBarometer is part of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) of the Department of Political Science of Vanderbilt University. With the AmericasBarometer, LAPOP measures values, behaviors, and socio-economic conditions in the Americas using national probability samples of voting-age adults. Stratified sample designs, available on LAPOP’s website, permit complex analyses of individuals nested within sub-regions. Survey participants are voting-age adults interviewed face to face in their households, except in Canada and the United States where the interviews are Web-based. Major supporters of LAPOP are the United States Agency for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Vanderbilt University. Further information is available at www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop

The Arab Barometer is a nonpartisan research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic attitudes and values of ordinary citizens across the Arab world by conducting rigorous and nationally representative public opinion surveys in Arab countries. The Arab Barometer is directed by a Steering Committee. Members of the committee include the leaders of regional hubs at four institutions in the Middle East and North Africa: The Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan in Amman, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute at Qatar University in Doha, and One to One for Research and Polling in Tunis. Further information is available at www.arabbarometer.org

DHS are large representative household surveys that provide data for a wide range of monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition. Standard DHS Surveys have large sample sizes (usually between 5,000 and 30,000 households). Each survey consists of a household interview, in which basic information is collected on all household members, and separate women’s and men’s surveys. In the women’s survey, all usual resident women aged 15 to 49 are invited for an oral interview. The men’s surveys are generally smaller and show more variation across countries. In the interviews, information is obtained on socioeconomic, demographic, and (reproductive) health related issues. Since the 1980s over 300 DHS surveys have been held in all regions of the developing world. For most countries, several surveys have been held in different years, allowing comparisons over time. Producer of the DHS datasets is ICF International and major sponsor of the programme is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Further information is available at www.dhsprogram.com.

The IHDS is a nationally representative, multi-topic panel survey of 41,554 households in 1503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. IHDS has been jointly organized by researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. Funding for the second round (used here) was provided by the National Institutes of Health, grants R01HD041455 and R01HD061048 and The Ford Foundation.

IPUMS-International is an effort of the Minnesota Population center of the University of Minneapolis to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facilitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system. The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems. Further information is available at international.ipums.org.

UNICEF supports countries to collect data on the situation of children and women through the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) programme. The MICS was originally developed in response to the World Summit for Children to measure progress towards an internationally agreed set of mid-decade goals. Since the initiation of the programme, several rounds of surveys have been carried out and close to 300 MICS have been carried out in more than 100 countries, generating data on key indicators on the well-being of children and women, and helping shape policies for the improvement of their lives. MICS has been a major source of data on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) indicators and will continue to be a major data source during the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to measure Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators. Further information is available at mics.unicef.org.