The information obtained through MICS surveys – on topics ranging from maternal and child health, education and child mortality to child protection, HIV/AIDS and water and sanitation – is fundamental to sound decision-making and advocacy. Countries also use MICS results to measure their progress towards goals such as the SDGs. In some countries, MICS is the only source of sound population-based data on children and women. In other countries, MICS alternates with other population-based surveys to produce data at higher frequency and is an indispensable component of the data ecosystem. In many countries, MICS is a major data source in national statistical plans. To learn more about the topics covered in MICS and the complete list of indicators, visit the Tools pages on mics.unicef.org.
To collect data, interviewers administer the household questionnaire as well as individual questionnaires to women and men aged 15 to 49 years, to mothers or caretakers of all children under 5 years of age, and a randomly selected child age 5-17. The number of topics covered has increased substantially over the years as demand for data has grown. In addition to collecting information on coverage indicators, MICS also explores knowledge of and attitudes to certain topics, and specific behaviors of women, men and children, enabling analysts to gain insights into factors that may affect women’s and children’s lives. MICS reports routinely disaggregate data by age, gender, education, wealth, location of residence, ethnicity and other stratifiers, in an effort to identify those left behind, and to shed light on disparities. Over the years, MICS developed and introduced novel topics such as assessment of numeracy and literacy skills of children age 7-14, water quality testing for E. coli, and measures of child functioning, early childhood development and social protection. A detailed summary paper describing MICS is available along with all the standard survey tools used from the beginning to the current round.
