Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

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The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) are household surveys implemented by countries under the programme developed by the United Nations Children's Fund to provide internationally comparable, statistically rigorous data on the situation of children and women. The surveys were first developed in India with the support of UNICEF as part of the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood programme where an "Extended" CES modelled around the Immunization CES Surveys were conceived and conducted at district and state level as part of the CSSM programme launched in 1992. The Extended CES in India included indicators related to Diarrhoea, Vitamin A and Malnutrition in the case of children and Antenatal visits and maternal immunization for mothers. The survey covered 22 indicators. UNICEF in Bangladesh adapted this Extended CES to additional indicators and conducted the first ever MICS for 28 indicators in all 64 districts of Bangladesh in 1993 and published a book 'Progathir Pathey'. India followed suit and added the additional indicators and conducted its own MICS in three different settings - Urban, Rural and Tribal and together were involved in a global meeting at Dhaka in August 1994 to discuss progress and orient UNICEF staff from several countries. There still were lingering doubts and a workshop was held in Geneva in November 1994 involving various UN agencies, UN Statistical Division, LSHTM, CDC and other experts who reviewed progress in India and Bangladesh and together determined that the methodology and sampling is rigorous enough to produce valid estimates for reporting national progress on indicators from the World Summit for Children. The UNICEF Executive Director, Mr. James P. Grant then issued an Executive Directive in November, 1994 urging all regions and country offices in UNICEF to support countries carry out the surveys as part of the reporting on progress against World Summit for Children goals.

Contents

The first round of surveys (MICS1) was carried out in over 60 countries in mainly 1995 and 1996 in response to the World Summit for Children and measurement of the mid-decade progress. A second round (MICS2) in 2000 increased the depth of the survey, allowing monitoring of a larger number of globally agreed indicators. A third round (MICS3) started in 2006 and aimed at producing data measuring progress also toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), A World Fit for Children, and other major relevant international commitments. The fourth round, launched in 2009, aimed at having most data collection conducted in 2010, but in reality most MICS4s were implemented in 2011 and even into 2012 and 2013. This represented a scale-up of frequency of MICS from UNICEF, now offering the survey programme on a three-year cycle. The fifth round, launched in 2012, was aimed at offering countries the tools to do the final MDG data collection. In 2016, the sixth round was launched with an effort towards collecting baseline data for the new set of global goals and targets - the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [1]

The seventh round was launched in 2023, with a continued focus on the SDGs and adoption of additional complex measurements, such as on mental health, time-use, and others. As of 2024, more than 400 surveys have been completed or confirmed in more than 120 countries and territories.

The MICS is highly comparable to the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the technical teams developing and supporting the surveys are in close collaboration. [2] The termination of the DHS program during the week of February 24, 2025 and suspension of USAID funding has the potential to curtail the DHS surveys at country level considerably and the UNICEF supported MICS will be a major source of data from LICs and LMICs in future. The historical data of DHS of over four decades will however be available for use and for comparison and trends.

Survey tools

At the core of MICS is the list of indicators. In MICS6 this was a compilation of 200 distinct indicators (237 counting those requiring sex disaggregate). [3] The list was not inclusive of all standard tabulations produced in a full survey, but forms those that were central to global monitoring by UNICEF and others. The list of indicators has been a central message in all rounds of MICS, as no question is asked in the questionnaires without directly contributing to an indicator algorithm or a background variable. Thus, survey-specific additional questions are always suggested to follow the same guidelines: No question should be asked without a clear plan for tabulation of results.

Questionnaires

The MICS questionnaires [3] are:

In MICS, the generic questionnaires include all modules, such that implementers only should remove non-applicable or non-desired modules and questions, e.g., the ITN module in non-malarious countries.

The full set of generic modules in MICS6 included:
Household Questionnaire

Individual Questionnaire for Women

Questionnaire for Children Under Five

Individual Questionnaire for Men

Questionnaire for Children Age 5-17

Other tools

The MICS package also includes data entry program (in CSPro) catering for tablet-based data collection on Android or Windows platforms, standard tabulation plan (in Excel) and syntax (in SPSS), workshop training programmes, in-country capacity building and technical assistance, data dissemination templates, as well as various online resources.

The tools are all compiled on the MICS website, which was launched in a modernised format in mid-2024.

Current status

The 6th round of MICS commenced in October 2016 with the initiation of the Programme's Survey Design Workshops and was scheduled to run to 2021 (this has since been extended to 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related delays of face-to-face surveys). The content is expanded to cover new priorities, including adjustments to cover approximately half of the survey-based SDG indicators (about 40 of about 80).

The 6th round's tools were piloted in Costa Rica in mid-2016, and was preceded by a field test of new or refined questionnaire modules and tools for data collection and processing in Belize end of 2015. [4] In November 2017 additional questionnaire modules were tested in Malawi. [5] A similar exercise was conducted in Belize in April 2019. [6]

The MICS Programme is participating in the methodological development of new data collection tools, such as on water quality testing, child disability, external economic support, and impact of emergencies. [7] A methodological paper series was launched in 2012. [8]

The programme has been evaluated following rounds 1, [9] 3, [10] and 4. [11]

Funding

The total cost for MICS3 was about $18.6 million (and about $356,000 per country) according to a 2008 MICS evaluation. [12] :7

MICS4 was estimated to cost $31.3 million. [12] :10

Countries

The countries listed below have conducted (or plan to conduct) a MICS survey. Reports and data are available on the MICS website. [13]

MICS1MICS2MICS3MICS4MICS5MICS6MICS7
Flag of the Taliban.svg Afghanistan XXSXX
Flag of Albania.svg Albania XXX
Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria XXXXX
Flag of Angola.svg Angola XX
Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina XX
Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia X
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan XX
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain X
Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh XXXXXX
Flag of Barbados.svg Barbados X
Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus XXX
Flag of Belize.svg Belize XXXX
Flag of Benin.svg Benin XX
Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan X
Flag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia XX
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina XXXS
Flag of Botswana.svg Botswana X
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg Burkina Faso XXX
Flag of Burundi.svg Burundi XXX
Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon XXXX
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Central African Republic XXXXXX
Flag of Chad.svg Chad XXX
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China X
Flag of the Comoros.svg Comoros XX
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Democratic Republic of Congo XXXX
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg Congo X
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica XX
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Cote d'Ivoire XXXX
Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia X
Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba XXXXXX
Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea XXXX
Flag of Djibouti.svg Djibouti XX
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic XXXX
Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt XS
Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador X
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg Equatorial Guinea X
Flag of Eswatini.svg Eswatini XXXXX
Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia X
Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg Federated States of Micronesia X
Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji XX
Flag of Gabon.svg Gabon X
Flag of The Gambia.svg Gambia XXXXXX
Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia XXX
Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana XXSXSXX
Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala X
Flag of Guinea.svg Guinea XX
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg Guinea-Bissau XXXXXXX
Flag of Guyana.svg Guyana XXXX
Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg Honduras X
Flag of India.svg India XX
Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia XXSS
Flag of Iran.svg Iran XX
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq XXXXXX
Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica XXX
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan XXXX
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya SXSSSSSS
Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati XX
Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo XSXSX
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Kyrgyzstan XXXXX
Flag of Laos.svg Laos XXXXXX
Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon XSSSX
Flag of Lesotho.svg Lesotho XXX
Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia XX
Flag of Libya.svg Libya XX
Flag of Madagascar.svg Madagascar XXSXX
Flag of Malawi.svg Malawi XXXX
Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives XX
Flag of Mali.svg Mali XXXX
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands X
Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania XXXXX
Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico X
Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova XX
Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia XXXXSSXSSXX
Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro XXSXSX
Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco X
Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique XX
Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar XXX
Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru X
Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal XSXXX
Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua X
Flag of Niger.svg Niger XX
Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria XXXXXXX
Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia XXXSXS
Flag of Oman.svg Oman XX
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan XSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Flag of Palestine.svg Palestine XXXXXX
Flag of Panama.svg Panama XXX
Flag of Paraguay.svg Paraguay X
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines XX
Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar XX
Flag of Rwanda.svg Rwanda X
Flag of Saint Lucia.svg Saint Lucia XX
Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa XX
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg São Tomé and Príncipe XXXXX
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia X
Flag of Senegal.svg Senegal XXS
Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia XXSXSXSX
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Sierra Leone XXXXXX
Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia SSXXSSX
Flag of South Sudan.svg South Sudan XX
Flag of Sudan.svg Sudan XXSXXX
Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname XXXX
Flag of Syria (2025-).svg Syria XXSXS
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan XX
Flag of Tanzania.svg Tanzania X
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand XXXSX
Flag of Togo (3-2).svg Togo XXXXX
Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga XX
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago XXXX
Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia XXXXX
Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey X
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan XXXXX
Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Turks and Caicos Islands X
Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu XX
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine XXXX
Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay X
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan XXX
Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu XX
Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela X
Flag of Vietnam.svg Viet Nam XXXXXXX
Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen XXX
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Yugoslavia XX
Flag of Zambia.svg Zambia XX
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe XXXX
TotalMICS1MICS2MICS3MICS4MICS5MICS6MICS7Total
Surveys63655360507250413
Countries60615150396148124
Countries with national surveys58614943356047124

X: National Survey S: Sub-national Survey

Note: Only countries from UNICEF's official list are included. It appears that some surveys are based on the MICS tools, but not included in the list, e.g. Botswana 2007-08 Family Health Survey [14] and Bangladesh 2009 Progotir Pathey (MICS). [15]

The total number of countries having ever conducted a MICS (or plan to do so) is 124. This includes Yugoslavia, which at the time of MICS1 and MICS2 was the territory now split into Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. In MICS7, six countries are new to the programme: Armenia, The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. The surveys in FSM and Marshall Islands follow other Pacific nations joining the programme in MICS6: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu, many of whom are also participating in the seventh round.

Use of survey data

Survey data are widely used, predominantly in multi-country analyses, but also often for simple trend analyses in single countries. An example of use of MICS data is provided by Monasch et al. (2004). [16]

Due to the near perfect comparability between MICS and DHS, much analysis draws on multiple data sets of both programmes. However, each survey programme have modules specific to their mandates and not often used in both programmes. For example, a recent compilation of evidence on child discipline makes use of surveys that included the Child Discipline Module; these were all MICS. [17]

Most global statistics, such as on the indicators of the MDGs rely heavily on data collected through MICS (and other household surveys), particularly for countries where administrative reporting systems are not entirely adequate. Other global statistics rely on only household survey data, such as the Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by OPHI and reported by UNDP.

Examples of recent publications are listed under external links.

References

  1. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) 1995-2015: Monitoring the Situation of Children and Women for 20 Years
  2. "MICS PARTNERS WITH THE DHS AND LSMS SURVEY PROGRAMS IN A COLLABORATIVE GROUP". mics.unicef.org.
  3. 1 2 "Tools - UNICEF MICS".
  4. "CONCLUSION OF THE MICS FIELD TEST IN BELIZE AND THE WAY FORWARD: MICS6". mics.unicef.org.
  5. "USING MICS TO UNDERSTAND EMERGENCIES". mics.unicef.org.
  6. "CHILDREN'S TIME USE- DEVELOPING A NEW MODULE IN BELIZE". mics.unicef.org.
  7. "MICS5 Survey Design Workshop standard PowerPoint presentation on "MICS – Past, Present and Future"".
  8. "Publications - Methodological - UNICEF MICS".
  9. "UNICEF Evaluation database: 1999 Global: Evaluation of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys".
  10. "2009 Global: Evaluation of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys Round 3 (MICS3) | Evaluation database | UNICEF". UNICEF.
  11. "2014 Global: UNICEF Evaluation of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) -- Parts 1 and 2 | Evaluation database | UNICEF". UNICEF.
  12. 1 2 Beth Ann Plowman (August 2014). "UNICEF Evaluation of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) - Round 4" (PDF). UNICEF.
  13. "Surveys - UNICEF MICS".
  14. "2007 Botswana Family Health Survey Report" (PDF). Central Statistics Office. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23.
  15. "Women- - বাংলাদেশ পরিসংখ্যান ব্যুরো-গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার".
  16. Roeland Monasch, Annette Reinisch, Richard W. Steketee, Eline L. Korenromp, David Alnwick, and Yves Bergevin (2004) "Child Coverage with Mosquito Nets and Malaria Treatment from Population-based Surveys in African Countries: A Baseline for Monitoring Progress in Roll Back Malaria" in: The Intolerable Burden of Malaria II: What's New, What's Needed online book, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
  17. UNICEF, Child Disciplinary Practices at Home: Evidence from a Range of Low- and Middle-Income Countries Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine , New York, 2010.

Recent examples of use of MICS data

Household survey programme websites

Regional programmes

Networks