Household’s headship
The findings from EICV7 reveal that 26% of households were headed by females while 4% of households were headed by females in the absence of a male head (De facto female-headed households). Female household heads were found to be significantly older than male household heads with approximately 39% of female household heads being over 60 years old, compared to 16.5% of male heads in the same age group.
Poverty incidence of male /female-headed households
Considering poverty status, the data from EICV7 indicates that 30.2% of female-headed households are classified as poor compared to 26.6% of male-headed households in 2023/24.
Housing characteristics and access to services and facilities
The housing characteristics and conditions of female-headed households are almost similar to those of male-headed households, except for the main floor material and the main source of lighting. A higher percentage of female-headed households (64%) use beaten earth as the main floor material compared to male-headed households (56.5%). Conversely, a greater percentage of male-headed households rely on electricity as their main source of lighting (52%) compared to 44.5% of female-headed households.
Economic activity
In 2023/24, approximately 80% of all working-age persons were worked. Females were 78% compared to 83% among males. Findings from the EICV7 reveal that about 56% of females work in agriculture-related occupations compared to only 38% among working males.
Education and training
The findings indicate that the net attendance rate (NAR) of females at the primary school level was slightly higher than that of males (94% compared to 92% respectively) while the gross attendance ratio (GAR) of females was lower than for males (138% compared to 141% respectively).
Furthermore, data reveals that 74% of the female population aged 15 years and above are literate (able to read and write) in at least one language compared to 78% of males. In addition, only 11% of females aged 15 years and above are computer literate compared to 15% of males of the same age group.