Section 3 Demographics

3.1 AGE

The respondent’s age at the time of the survey (survey year minus the birth year)

3.2 AGE_GROUP

The respondent’s age categorized into 10-year intervals

Levels:

  • 15-24
  • 25-34
  • 35-44
  • 45-54
  • 55 and over
  • DK

3.3 EDU

The highest level of education that the respondent attained

Levels:

  • No formal education
  • Primary education
  • Secondary education
  • Higher education
  • Other

3.4 ID

The respondent has any of the forms of identification necessary to become financially included. The definitions vary by country and year.

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.5 BASIC_LITERACY

The respondent is considered to have basic literacy skills, i.e., they can write or read with understanding in the survey language.

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.6 BASIC_NUMERACY

The respondent has basic numeracy skills, derived from four questions. For example, in the Bangladesh 2018 survey, a respondent who correctly answers one of the following questions is considered to have basic numeracy skills.

Question Index Question
FL12 Imagine you have 2,000 Taka. Somebody gave you 200 Taka. How much total money will you have?
FL13 Imagine you have 1,000 Taka and you have to divide it among 5 people. How much money will each person receive if you divide it equally?
FL16 Suppose you need to borrow 100 Taka. Which is the lower amount to pay back: 105 Taka or 100 Taka plus 3 percent?
FL18 Suppose you had 100 Taka. In a savings account and the bank adds 10 percent per year to the account. How much money would you have in the account after five years if you did not remove any money from the account?

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.7 FINANCIAL_LITERACY

The respondent is financially literate, derived from five questions. For example, the Bangladesh 2018 survey uses the questions in the table below. Each question is associated with 0.5 or 1 point, shown right column. Answering correctly adds the corresponding point value to the total. Respondents with a total score of three or more points are considered financially literate.

Question Index Question Points
FL14 Is it safer to put your money into one business or investment, or to put your money into multiple businesses or investments? 1
FL15 Suppose over the next 10 years the prices of the things you buy double. If your income also doubles, will you be able to buy less than you can buy today, the same as you can buy today, or more than you can buy today? 1
FL16 Suppose you need to borrow 100 Taka. Which is the lower amount to pay back: 105 Taka or 100 Taka plus 3 percent? 1
FL17 Suppose you put money in the bank for two years and the bank agrees to add 15 percent per year to your account. Will the bank add more money to your account the second year than it did the first year, or will it add the same amount of money both year 0.5
FL18 Suppose you had 100 Taka. In a savings account and the bank adds 10 percent per year to the account. How much money would you have in the account after five years if you did not remove any money from the account? 0.5

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.8 DIGITAL_LITERACY_INDEX

Digital literacy index, derived from questions on mobile phone ownership and usage.

Level Description
Not digitally literate Has never used a mobile phone
Low Has only used a mobile phone to make or receive calls
Moderate Meets criteria for “Low” and has used a mobile phone for texting
High Meets criteria for “Moderate” and has used mobile phone for advanced activities

3.9 GENDER

The respondent’s gender

Levels:

  • Male
  • Female

3.10 MARRIAGE

The respondent’s marital status

Levels:

  • Single/never married
  • Married
  • Divorced/Separated
  • Widowed
  • Living together/Cohabiting
  • Other
  • DK

3.11 HAVE_CHILDREN

Whether the respondent’s household includes children under 18 years of age

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.12 SCHOOL_FEE

Whether the respondent has ever paid a school fee

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.13 EMPLOYMENT

The respondent’s employment status

Levels:

  • Working full-time for a regular salary
  • Working part-time for a regular salary
  • Working occasionally, irregular pay (whenever the work is available)
  • Working per season (e.g., only during the harvest season)
  • Self-employed, working for yourself
  • Not working but looking for a job
  • Housewife or stay-at-home husband doing household chores
  • Full-time student
  • Not working because of retirement
  • Not working because of sickness, disability, etc.
  • Other
  • DK

3.14 INVOL_AGRI

Whether the respondent is involved in agriculture, derived from questions about respondent’s primary job (farmer or farm worker), household’s ownership of a farm, or income from any farming activities in the past 12 months

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.15 OWN_FARM

The respondent or their household owns or leases a farm/farmland.

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No

3.16 WORK_FARM

The respondent works on the farm that their household owns or leases.

Levels:

  • Yes
  • No