MEASURE DHS assists countries worldwide in the collection and use of data to monitor and evaluate 

population, health, and nutrition programs. Additional information about the MEASURE DHS project can 

be obtained by contacting Demographic and Health Research Division, ICF International, 11785 

Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705 (telephone: 301-572-0200; fax: 301-572-0999; e-mail: 

reports@measuredhs.com; internet: www.measuredhs.com). 

The main objectives of the MEASURE DHS project are: 

• to provide decisionmakers in survey countries with information useful for informed policy 

choices; 

• to expand the international population and health database; 

• to advance survey methodology; and 

• to develop in participating countries the skills and resources necessary to conduct high-quality 

demographic and health surveys. 
DHS Comparative Reports No. 29 

Trends in Adolescent Reproductive and 

Sexual Behaviors

Monica T. Kothari 

Shanxiao Wang 

Sara K. Head 

Noureddine Abderrahim 

ICF International 

Calverton, Maryland, USA 

September 2012 

Corresponding author: Monica T. Kothari, Demographic and Health Research Division, ICF International, 

11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705; Phone: 301-572-0540; Fax: 301-572-0999; Email: 

Monica.Kothari@icfi.com 

Recommended citation: 

Kothari, Monica T., Shanxiao Wang, Sara K. Head, and Noureddine Abderrahim. 2012. Trends in Adolescent 

Reproductive and Sexual Behaviors. DHS Comparative Reports No. 29. Calverton, Maryland, USA: ICF 

International. 

iii 

Table of Contents 

Tables and Figures ........................................................................................................................................ v 

Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... v 

Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ vii 

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... ix 

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 

1.1 Study Objectives ................................................................................................................. 2 

2 Data and Methods ............................................................................................................................ 3 

2.1 Data ..................................................................................................................................... 3 

2.2 Description of Indicators .................................................................................................... 3 

2.3 Sampling and Data Limitations .......................................................................................... 6 

2.4 Figures ................................................................................................................................ 7 

3 Characteristics of Adolescent Women and Men .............................................................................. 8 

3.1 Residence, Years in Place of Residence, and Family Type ................................................ 8 

3.2 Socioeconomic Status and Household Composition ........................................................ 14 

3.3 Education, Employment, and Media Exposure ................................................................. 17 

4 Adolescent Marriage, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Risk ............................................................... 25 

4.1 Marital Status, Early Marriage, Early Sexual Debut ........................................................ 25 

4.2 Premarital Sex ................................................................................................................... 33 

4.3 Recent Sexual Activity, Multiple Partners, and Condom Use .......................................... 38 

4.4 Age-Mixing in Sexual Relationships ................................................................................ 43 

4.5 Self-reported Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Symptoms ............................. 46 

5 Adolescent Family Planning, Motherhood, and Maternal Care ..................................................... 49 

5.1 Condom and Contraceptive Use ....................................................................................... 49 

5.2 Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood ........................................................................... 52 

5.3 Fertility Planning .............................................................................................................. 59 

5.4 Antenatal and Delivery Care ............................................................................................. 62 

6 Summary and Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 65 

References ................................................................................................................................................... 67 

Appendix A: Summary of Included Surveys .............................................................................................. 69 

v 

Tables and Figures 

Table 1 Household characteristics of adolescents: place of residence and family composition ...... 9 

Table 2 Household characteristics of adolescents: wealth and other youth in the household........ 15 

Table 3 Individual characteristics of adolescents: education and employment ............................. 18 

Table 4 Individual characteristics of adolescents: media exposure ............................................... 23 

Table 5 Marriage and sexual activity of adolescents ..................................................................... 26 

Table 6 Premarital sexual intercourse among adolescents ............................................................. 34 

Table 7 Sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, and condom use among adolescents ............... 39 

Table 8 Age-mixing in sexual relationships among adolescent women ........................................ 44 

Table 9 Self-reported prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and STI 

symptoms among adolescents ........................................................................................... 47 

Table 10 Current use of condom or other modern method of contraception among adolescent 

women ............................................................................................................................... 50 

Table 11 Adolescent pregnancy and motherhood ............................................................................ 53 

Table 12 Fertility planning status of adolescent women .................................................................. 60 

Table 13 Antenatal and delivery care among adolescent women .................................................... 63 

Table A.1 Summary of adolescents included from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) 

and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) ................................................................................... 69 

Figure 1a Rural residency: Trends .................................................................................................... 11 

Figure 1b Rural residency: Current status ......................................................................................... 13 

Figure 2a School enrollment and work status: Trends ...................................................................... 20 

Figure 2b School enrollment and work status: Current status ........................................................... 22 

Figure 3a Marriage before age 15: Trends ........................................................................................ 28 

Figure 3b Marriage before age 15: Current status ............................................................................. 29 

Figure 4a Sexual intercourse before age 15: Trends ......................................................................... 30

Figure 4b Sexual intercourse before age 15: Current status .............................................................. 32 

Figure 5a Premarital sexual intercourse: Trends ............................................................................... 36 

Figure 5b Premarital sexual intercourse: Current status.................................................................... 37 

Figure 6a Sexual intercourse with nonmarital/noncohabiting partner: Trends ................................. 41 

Figure 6b Sexual intercourse with nonmarital/noncohabiting partner: Current status ...................... 42 

Figure 7a Adolescent pregnancy: Trends .......................................................................................... 55 

Figure 7b Adolescent pregnancy: Current status .............................................................................. 56 

Figure 8a Adolescent women who had a live birth: Trends .............................................................. 57 

Figure 8b Adolescent women who had a live birth: Current status .................................................. 58 

Acknowledgments 

The authors would like to thank Sunita Kishor for providing valuable guidance during the 

development of the report. Tom Pullum is acknowledged for his oversight and support as the Director of 

Research at DHS. Special thanks to Chris Gramer for designing and formatting the document. We would 

also like to acknowledge Sarah Balian for providing feedback on the initial figures and key findings of the 

report, Yuan Gu for providing assistance in formatting the earlier versions of the document, and Kerry 

MacQuarrie for her careful review of the report in its final stages. Vinod Mishra, Shane Khan, Astu Coly, 

and Jasbir Sangha are duly acknowledged for their involvement at the earlier stages of this report. 

vii 

Preface 

One of the most significant contributions of the MEASURE DHS program is the creation of an 

internationally comparable body of data on the demographic and health characteristics of populations in 

developing countries. 

The DHS Comparative Reports series examines these data across countries in a comparative 

framework. The DHS Analytical Studies series focuses on specific topics. The principal objectives of both 

series are to provide information for policy formulation at the international level and to examine 

individual country results in an international context. Whereas Comparative Reports are primarily 

descriptive, Analytical Studies have a more analytical approach. 

The Comparative Reports series covers a variable number of countries, depending on the 

availability of data sets. Where possible, data from previous DHS surveys are used to evaluate trends over 

time. Each report provides detailed tables and graphs organized by region. Survey-related issues such as 

questionnaire comparability, survey procedures, data quality, and methodological approaches are 

addressed as needed. 

The topics covered in Comparative Reports are selected by MEASURE DHS staff in conjunction 

with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Some reports are updates of previously published 

reports. 

It is anticipated that the availability of comparable information for a large number of developing 

countries will enhance the understanding of important issues in the fields of international population and 

health by analysts and policymakers. 

Sunita Kishor 

Project Director 

ix 

Executive Summary 

Adolescents age 15-19 are particularly vulnerable to reproductive and sexual health needs and are 

at heightened risk for unsafe sexual and reproductive behaviors. For more than three decades, the 

Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program has collected information on adolescents’ sexual and 

reproductive health. This report discusses the current status and trends over time of several key indicators 

relevant to adolescent sexual and reproductive health using data from 41 countries from surveys 

conducted between 1990 and 2011. 

Findings indicate a number of demographic shifts which may affect adolscent lives and the 

context in which adolescent sexual and repoductive behavior occurs. The proportion of adolescents’ age 

15-19 living in rural areas has declined in more than half of the countries surveyed, suggesting increasing 

urbanization among adolescent populations. Consistently across time, the proportion of women with no 

education is greater than that of men; this is especially evident in sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast 

Asia. The percentage of women currently working is decreasing in the majority of countries while the 

percentage of men currently working is increasing. 

Less than one-third of adolescent women and less than 3 percent of adolescent men are married or 

in union by age 15 in most countries. The proportion of adolescent women who report having sexual 

intercourse in the past 12 months has increased in more than half of the countries surveyed. The 

proportion of adolescent men reporting recent sexual intercourse has decreased by small margins in the 

majority of countries. The proportion of adolescents who have had sex with two or more partners or who 

have had sex with a nonmarital or noncohabiting partner is greater in nearly every instance for men than 

for women. Condom use and other contraceptive use does not appear to have changed substantially over 

time. 

In the majority of countries, there is a slight decline in the proportion of adolescent women who 

have ever been pregnant. A similar trend is observed for the proportion of adolescent women who have 

had a live birth. The proportion of adolescent women who received antenatal care from a skilled provider 

seems to show improvement over time, and a similar increasing trend is observed for adolescents who are 

attended by a skilled provider for delivery. 

The results of the report illustrate the need for targeted efforts to improve adolesents’ sexual and 

reproductive health and contributing factors. Interventions are needed to increase adolescent women’s age 

at marriage, especially for countries with no evidence of decline in early marriage in the last decade. 

Additionally, interventions to promote condom use, particularly among adolescents with multiple partners 

and nonmarital/noncohabiting partners, is a widespread need in the this population. Efforts to improve 

levels of contraceptive use and antenatal/delivery care among adolescent women are necessary as they 

appear to face various levels of unmet reproductive need. Beyond the descriptive information provided in 

this report, additional research would be helpful to examine the relationships between related adolescent 

behaviors, risks, and health outcomes. 

1 

1 Introduction 

Adolescence, defined by the United Nations as the period of life from age 10 to 19,1 is a critical 

period in an individual’s transition from childhood to adulthood. In 2009, there were 1.2 billion 

adolescents age 10–19 in the world accounting for 18 percent of the world’s population (UNICEF, 2010). 

Of particular interest is the latter half of adolescence, ages 15-19, when many behaviors and activities 

associated with adulthood are often initiated, including sexual activity, childbearing, and employment. 

The relative physical and mental immaturity of 15-19 year old adolescents as they transition to 

adulthood renders this age group particularly vulnerable to unique reproductive and sexual health needs. 

Adolescent research from the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores these unique vulnerabilities 

by revealing a shift in the burden of disease from primarily injuries and communicable diseases among 

the population age 10-14 to risky sexual behavior and poor mental health outcomes among those in later 

adolescence (WHO, 1999; WHO, 2002). 

Many factors contribute to adolescents’ reproductive health and behaviors. The 

sociodemographic environment such as place of residence, household wealth, and family composition 

provide the context for adolescent options and decisions; individual characteristics such as educational 

attainment and current educational and employment status contribute to the human resources that define 

adolescents’ present and shape their future (Rani and Lule, 2004; Lloyd, 2005; Blanc et al., 2009; and 

Guiella and Madise, 2007). Further, entry into first marriage is one of the key milestones influencing the 

reproductive health of adolescents. Early marriage has negative implications for life options and human 

resource development because it can cut short or interfere with education and burden adolescents with 

economic and emotional responsibilities for which they may not be yet prepared. In addition, for 

adolescent women, early marriage is associated with adolescent pregnancies that tend to be of high risk to 

the mother and child, largely due to the immaturity of the adolescent body (WHO, 2009). 

Another milestone is sexual debut, which may occur in or outside of marriage and often with only 

limited information on the reproductive health consequences of sexual activity. In fact, even when age at 

marriage increases, age at sexual debut does not necessarily increase with it. Hence, the likelihood of 

premarital sex increases as the gap between menarche and marriage increases. Premarital sex, particularly 

when initiated at young ages, can carry a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections including HIV, 

unwanted pregnancies, and sexual coercion by older partners (Hindin and Fatusi, 2009; Ashford, 2001; 

Kaestle et al., 2005; and Bearinger et al., 2007). Although the special needs of sexually active adolescents 

are rarely understood or catered to, the reproductive health needs of unmarried sexually active adolescents 

may often not even be recognized or acknowledged. 

For more than three decades, the DHS program has collected information on adolescents’ sexual 

and reproductive health, and researchers continue to analyze these data from DHS (Doyle et al., 2012; 

Kennedy et al., 2011; Blanc et al., 2009; and Gubhaju 2002). In 2008, the DHS program published a 

report “Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health” (Khan and Mishra, 2008) that provided comparative 

information on relevant reproductive and sexual health indicators for women and men age 15-24 in 38 

countries with a DHS or AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS) conducted between 2001 and 2005. This report is a 

follow-up to the 2008 publication but focuses instead on providing information on trends over time in 

relevant reproductive and sexual health indicators for adolescents age 15-19. More specifically this report 

uses data on 41 countries from the DHS program for the period 1990 to 2011 to provide various 

sociodemographic, sexual behavior, and pregnancy-related indicators for the population age 15-19 by sex, 

region, and country. 

 

1

 The World Health Organization defines adolescents as persons ages 10-19 (WHO, 1989), but for the purposes of 

this report, adolescents are defined as persons age 15-19 years. 
2 

1.1 Study Objectives 

The objectives of this report are to examine data from 112 surveys in 41 countries with respect to: 

1. the current status of key sociodemographic and reproductive and sexual health indicators for 

adolescents; and 

2. trends in these indicators from 1990 to 2011. 

Accordingly, the following Section 2 describes the data and methods used in this report and the 

variables included that capture the context and reproductive behaviors of adolescents. Results are 

organized into the following topical groups: 

• Section 3: Background characteristics of adolescents 

• Section 4: Adolescent marriage, sexual activity, and sexual risks 

• Section 5: Adolescent family planning, motherhood, and maternal care 

Finally, Section 6 provides a summary and discussion. This study intends to contribute to the 

broader literature on the context of adolescent lives and their reproductive and sexual health behaviors. 

This trend data will, in particular, help to monitor the progress and setbacks of the past two decades such 

that policy and programs may be equipped to better meet the unique reproductive health needs of the 

adolescent population. 
3 

2 Data and Methods 

2.1 Data 

This report presents data from 41 countries, each of which conducted at least two surveys under 

the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program between 1990 and 2011. For countries with more 

than two surveys in the defined time period, data from the most recent surveys (up to four, total) are 

included. While most data come from a DHS survey, some come from an interim DHS survey and others 

from the AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS). All three types of surveys follow the same methodology; are 

based on a nationally representative sample of households selected using multistage probability sampling 

techniques; and collect information from a) household representatives on household members, selected 

member characteristics, and living conditions and b) all eligible members within the household, typically 

women age 15-49 and men age 15-49 or older, on individual charactersitcs. 

The DHS survey instruments collect information on a range of socioeconomic indicators and 

demographic and health indicators including information on fertility, family planning, infant and child 

mortality, maternal and child health, nutrition of women and children, sexual behavior and other HIVrelated risk behaviors. In most countries where DHS surveys are conducted, a DHS is likely to be 

implemented every five or so years. Countries may, however, implement an interim DHS if they need 

data in the period between two DHS surveys. Typically, an interim DHS questionnaire includes only the 

subset of DHS questions needed to meet the objectives of the interim survey. Such surveys also may have 

smaller samples than a regular DHS. The third type of survey from which data are included is the AIS, 

which collects data relevant to HIV/AIDS. The AIS questionnaire typically includes the subset of DHS 

questions that provide HIV/AIDS-related behaviors and indicators. 

For this report, data from all three types of surveys is limited to comparable measures collected 

from adolescents age 15-19. All estimates are weighted to be nationally representative. Appendix A 

provides the complete list of countries and surveys included in this report with years of implementation 

and the weighted number of respondents, including those categorized as never-married, interviewed in 

each survey. 

Estimates for all indicators in this report have been calculated using standardized definitions in 

order to facilitate comparisons across countries and over time. Therefore, the report’s estimates may not 

be identical to those found in countries’ final DHS reports, particularly in cases where definitions for an 

indicator have changed over time and across the phases of the DHS program.2

 Since this report only 

included comparable data, indicators for which the corresponding survey questions have changed 

substantially across surveys are not used. For example, questions eliciting information on media exposure 

in earlier surveys (1992-1996) are not comparable to those used more recently; hence, relevant data from 

the 1992-1996 surveys cannot be included for overall trends estimation on media exposure. 

2.2 Description of Indicators 

Information on area of residence, head of household and socioeconomic status is derived from the 

Household Questionnaire, and remaining information is based on individual interviews with adolescent 

women and men. A complete description of each indicator and its standardized definition follows, 

presented by order of appearance in the report. 

 

2

 DHS Phase 2: 1988 to 1993; DHS Phase 3: 1993 to 1997; DHS Phase 4: 1997 to 2003; DHS Phase 5: 2003 to 

2008; DHS Phase 6: 2008 to Current 
4 

Area of residence: This categorical measure refers to the adolescents’ de facto place of residence 

(urban/rural). The place of residence is the cluster or sample point where the adolescent was interviewed, 

which may or may not be the adolescents’ usual place of residence. 

Years lived in current residence: This categorical variable records whether the adolescent has 

been living for more or less than three years in their current residence. Inconsistent, indeterminate, and 

missing values for this variable were less than two percent for all included surveys and are not shown in 

the tables.

Type of family: The categorical variable is constructed using information about the adolescents’ 

relationship to others in their households in the individual questionnaires. A family comprised of a 

household head, the head’s spouse(s), co-spouse(s), children, and foster children constitute a nuclear 

family; any other family composition is described as joint family.

Head of household: For this report, this categorical variable reports whether the household head 

is male or female. Head of household is self-declared by the respondent of the household questionnaire 

and not defined by DHS interviewers. 

Wealth: The wealth index is a composite variable expressed in quintiles; it is an indicator of the 

economic status of the households. The wealth index is constructed using household asset data through 

principal component analysis. Potential household assets and services in DHS surveys on which the index 

is commonly based include type of flooring, water supply, electricity, radio, TV, refrigerator, type of 

vehicle, etc. (Rutstein and Johnson, 2004). Each quintile of wealth for a country represents a relative 

measure of a household’s socioeconomic status. This definition of wealth could include different assets 

for every country and could differ from one survey to another. Therefore, caution should be applied while 

comparing wealth indices across countries. In this report, the lowest and second quintiles of wealth 

correspond to the poor and poorest wealth strata; the fourth and highest quintiles correspond to the rich 

and richest wealth stratum. 

School enrollment and current work status: A composite categorical variable was created to 

reflect the school enrollment and work status of interviewed adolescents. The tables below explain how 

the variable is categorized. Note, in DHS surveys conducted between 1990 and 1997, data on adolescent 

men’s work in the 12 months preceding the survey is not available. 
5 

In school and working Currently attending school or attended school at a some point in 

the year the survey was conducted and has also worked in the last 

12 months 

In school and not working Currently attending school or attended school at some point in the 

year the survey was conducted and has not worked in the last 12 

months

Not in school and working Not currently in school nor attended school at some point in the 

year the survey was conducted, but has worked in the last 12 

months 

Not in school and not working Not currently in school nor attended school at some point in the 

year the survey was conducted and did not work in the last 12 

months

Media exposure: This categorical measure assesses whether the adolescent is exposed to media 

sources at least once a week. Adolescents, who read a newspaper or magazine, listened to the radio or 

watched television—at least once a week—were categorized as having exposure to these media sources. 

Note that the denominator for this indicator includes adolescents who cannot read or are visually 

impaired. 

The formulation of the questions on media exposure changed over time, and, in surveys 

conducted before 1997, questions were asked in a slightly different manner than more recent surveys. 

Data on media exposure not deemed comparable across surveys have not been included in the report. 

Marital status: This is a categorical variable that records whether or not adolescents are 

currently married, in a formal union, or living with someone as if married (cohabiting). Data is also 

presented for marriages that took place by adolescents’ 15th birthday. The all women factor was applied to 

this indicator for the countries with data collected from ever-married women only (all women factors are 

used in the DHS and AIS surveys to adjust ever-married women samples in order to estimate statistics 

based on all women).

Sexual activity: This categorical measure records whether adolescents have never had sexual 

intercourse (primary abstinence). This indicator is based on never-married adolescents. Adolescents who 

previously had sexual intercourse but who have not engaged in intercourse in the 12 months preceding the 

survey are considered to be not currently sexually active (secondary abstinence). Data is also presented 

for adolescents who became sexually active before age 15. Note that primary and secondary abstinence 

terminologies are obsolete and have been used only in this section for reference for users familiar with 

these terms. 

Multiple sexual partners: Adolescents who had sexual intercourse with more than one sexual 

partner in the last 12 months are considered to have multiple sexual partners. Data is also included for an 

older definition of this indicator (previously known as higher risk sex) which records sexual intercourse 

with a nonmarital or noncohabiting partner in the 12 months prior to the survey. The denominator for 

these indicators is adolescents who had sexual intercourse in the 12 months preceding the survey. 

Age-mixing: Adolescent women who had sexual intercourse with an older partner, specifically, a 

partner ten or more years older than the interviewed adolescent, in the 12 months preceding the survey 

were categorized accordingly. 
6 

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or STI symptoms: Surveys asked adolescents who had 

sexual intercourse in the 12 months preceding the survey if they had an STI or any STI symptoms (survey 

probes included bad smelling/abnormal genital discharge or any genital sores or ulcers). Adolescents’ 

yes/no responses were categorized as having an STI or not. 

Condom use and modern methods of contraception: The main modern methods of 

contraception include female sterilization, male sterilization, the pill, intra-uterine device (IUD), 

injectables, implants, male condom, female condom, and lactation amenorrhoea method (LAM). 

Adolescent women who reported use of the male condom were categorized as currently using condoms; 

those who reported using other types of modern contraceptive (not including the male condom) were 

categorized accordingly. 

Pregnancy and motherhood: Data regarding adolescents’ experience with pregnancies was 

categorized four ways. Adolescents who have ever been pregnant were those who reported a current 

pregnancy, a previous pregnancy terminated due to abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth, or a previous livebirth(s). Adolescent women who had a previous live-birth were recorded as such; data is also presented 

for those who had a birth before their 15th birthday. Finally, adolescent women experiencing their first 

pregnancy were categorized as such. 

Fertility planning: Surveys asked women who had recently experienced a live-birth or had a 

current pregnancy if the birth was desired. Adolescents’ yes/no responses were recorded as wanted or not. 

Antenatal and delivery care: Surveys asked adolescent women who had recently experienced a 

live-birth or were currently pregnant about the care they received. The antenatal care (ANC) indicators 

assess whether or not the adolescent received at least one ANC visit by a skilled care provider and 

whether or not the adolescent delivered with a skilled provider. A skilled provider includes a doctor, 

nurse, midwife, and auxiliary nurse/midwife. 

2.3 Sampling and Data Limitations 

Data from each country included in the report are nationally representative except for the Kenya 

1998-99 DHS (KDHS). The North Eastern province of Kenya and four other northern districts (Samburu, 

Turkana, Isiolo, and Marsabit) were excluded from the 1998-99 KDHS. Together, these excluded areas 

accounted for less than four percent of Kenya’s population; therefore, the overall impact on KDHS’ 

national estimates of the indicators is minimal (NDPD, CBS, and MI, 1999). 

Some surveys included in the report do not have information for all indicators. Specifically, the 

South/Southeast Asian and North Africa/West Asia/Europe regions did not consistently collect data from 

men or data on all the sexual behavior indicators. Where data are available on the specified indicators and 

samples, it is presented within the tables and figures. In situations where a country’s DHS did not collect 

data for an indicator from either adolescent women or men in any survey round, the country is not 

presented in the table. 

Of additional note, in eight of the 41 countries—Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Bangladesh, India, 

Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam—survey samples were not consistent across phases of the DHS project. 

For example, a country may have completed a DHS using data from only ever-married women and men, 

while a later DHS in that country collected data from all women and men. In order to examine trends in 

such a country across time, the sample must be comparable. Therefore, data from such surveys were 

limited to a comparable sample of ever-married or currently-married women and men only. In the tables, 

these countries are distinguished by grey shading. 
7 

Questions used to calculate indicators were thoroughly checked for consistency across surveys, 

and appropriate footnotes have been included to indicate any discrepancies. However, the possibility of 

minor country-specific differences in survey questions cannot be completely ruled out. 

This is a descriptive report; multivariate analyses or confidence intervals to statistically test 

changes in the indicators from one time point to another were not conducted. Further, data were collected 

over imprecise intervals of time; that is, there may be between 4 and 11 years between the first survey and 

the most recent survey included. Thus, any trends suggested by the data must be interpreted with caution, 

with attention to the timing of the surveys, and without causal or correlational inference. 

Finally, survey questions regarding sexual behavior and contraceptive use are based on the 

respondents’ self-reports and may be subject to reporting bias according to their potentially sensitive 

nature. The DHS program collects data on multiple indicators related to adolescent reproductive and 

sexual behaviors and not all can be covered in this report. Additional information for a survey or indicator 

can be found in the country specific DHS/AIS Final Reports, available at www.measuredhs.com. 

2.4 Figures 

In addition to tables, figures are used to depict time trends for and the current status of specific 

indicators selected according to their association with adolescent health as supported in the broader 

literature. Specifically for each selected indicator, there is a series of line graphs displaying changes in the 

indicator over time. These line graphs are followed by bar graphs showing the current status of the 

selected indicator estimated from each country’s most recent survey. Figures are organized by region 

separately for adolescent women and men. 

Given the large number of sub-Saharan countries included in the report, it was decided that visual 

representation would be improved by NOT showing all sub-Saharan countries in each line-graph. Instead, 

only sub-Saharan countries that show a specified level of percentage-point change between their earliest 

and latest survey are included in the line graphs up to a total of ten countries. The level of percentagepoint change was determined by calculating the difference in the prevalence of the selected indicators 

between the countries’ earliest and the most recent surveys included in this report. Because the magnitude 

of percentage point change is different for different indicators, the cutoffs for the line graphs are also 

different; ranging from 2 to 12 percentage points. 

To standardize the year of the survey across countries in the line graphs, surveys were categorized 

into the following time periods: early 1990s (E1990s), late 1990s (L1990s), early 2000s (E2000s), mid 

2000s (M2000s), and late 2000s (L2000s). Note that since some countries have more than two surveys 

within the report time period, there are more than two data points applied to the line graphs. 
8 

3 Characteristics of Adolescent Women and Men 

3.1 Residence, Years in Place of Residence, and Family Type 

Tables 1 and 2 present information about the environment in which adolescents live and about 

adolescents’ individual characteristics. This information helps frame the social and economic context in 

which adolescent sexual and reproductive behavior occurs. 

Table 1 presents the percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who live in a rural area, have lived in 

their current residence for three or more years, who live in a joint family, and who live in a household 

headed by a female. Figure 1 presents graphs of adolescents’ rural residency by geographic region and 

sex. 

Key Findings 

• The proportion of adolescents age 15-19 living in rural areas has declined in more than half of the 

41 countries surveyed, suggesting increasing urbanization among adolescent populations. The 

greatest decline in rural residence among adolescent women is observed in Cameroon; the 

greatest increase is observed in Madagascar and Bolivia. The decline in rural residence is less 

dramatic for women than for men. 

• In most countries, the majority of adolescent women and men have lived in their current place of 

residence for three or more years. Smaller proportions of adolescent women have lived in their 

current residence for three or more years than have adolescent men. However, for women, the 

proportion who have lived in their current residence for three or more years has risen over time in 

more than half of the countries (in 20 of 36), whereas it has declined for men in more than half of 

the countries for which data can be compared. 

• In most countries, at least half of adolescents age 15-19 live in joint families. In Cote d’Ivoire, 

Namibia, Senegal, India, and Vietnam at least three out of four female and male adolescents live 

in a joint family. Joint family residence has fallen over time for women in about half the countries 

and for men in the majority of countries. 

• The percentage of adolescent women and men age 15-19 living in female headed households has 

increased in the majority of countries. In Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua (trend 

data for women only), and Haiti, consecutive surveys consistently indicate more than a third of 

adolescent women and men live in female headed households, while in an additional five 

countries trends suggest levels have recently increased above one-third. 
9 

Table 1 Household characteristics of adolescents: place of residence and family composition 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 living in a rural residence, living three or more years in the current residence, living in a joint family, and 

living in a household headed by a female, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Living in 

rural areas 

Living in the 

current 

residence 

for 3+ years

Living within 

a joint family

Living in 

households 

headed by a 

female 

Living in 

rural areas 

Living in the 

current 

residence 

for 3+ years 

Living within 

a joint family 

Living in 

households 

headed by a 

female 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 52.6 71.8 72.3 19.7 na na na na 

 Benin 2001 52.9 72.8 63.3 23.2 54.0 84.4 57.8 18.0 

 Benin 2006 53.9 81.3 54.4 24.1 54.2 89.0 54.5 19.2 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 78.6 75.9 55.8 7.0 77.0 91.4 64.0 6.3 

 Burkina Faso 2003 72.5 75.6 58.5 10.3 78.4 90.4 58.6 6.5 

 Cameroon 1998 61.3 67.4 74.6 23.7 54.5 77.6 74.7 19.2 

 Cameroon 2004 40.8 72.9 70.6 25.7 41.4 76.4 73.6 20.8 

 Chad 1996-1997 76.8 81.3 53.1 17.4 68.4 88.1 62.7 15.6 

 Chad 2004 75.4 na 46.0 16.5 71.8 na 50.7 14.9 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 42.3 81.9 78.5 27.3 41.1 na 78.5 22.0 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 36.7 na 65.9 27.2 35.2 na 66.6 22.0 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 54.8 na 85.5 17.0 58.2 na 84.0 12.0 

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 51.2 60.6 80.8 25.6 56.7 68.9 81.3 17.3 

 Eritrea 1995 60.3 85.9 46.9 30.9 62.5 92.8 42.8 25.4 

 Eritrea 2002 54.2 86.5 47.0 41.8 na na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 78.0 86.7 59.7 22.3 84.5 90.2 57.4 20.5 

 Ethiopia 2005 78.5 88.2 49.0 23.5 83.3 94.9 49.5 21.1 

 Ethiopia 2011 74.0 na 51.4 27.1 78.6 na 50.2 21.1 

 Ghana 1998 62.6 80.9 50.7 44.2 69.0 88.3 50.3 31.9 

 Ghana 2003 45.2 73.8 62.1 42.0 54.5 84.8 53.6 29.7 

 Ghana 2008 51.9 76.6 56.2 42.4 59.5 89.1 50.4 30.9 

 Guinea 1999 58.6 na 68.2 13.3 59.7 na 68.2 12.8 

 Guinea 2005 60.6 86.8 63.4 17.9 55.6 90.1 66.6 14.2 

 Kenya 1998 78.0 74.0 58.6 35.0 83.6 91.5 49.3 37.3 

 Kenya 2003 79.1 68.8 60.0 35.6 83.4 85.9 53.4 36.2 

 Kenya 2008-2009 81.3 75.7 55.9 36.8 84.7 88.8 59.1 37.9 

 Madagascar 1997 70.8 79.5 52.1 21.0 na na na na 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 74.6 81.1 53.0 20.7 76.2 91.3 50.4 16.2 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 82.0 85.1 53.4 20.7 83.8 91.7 54.4 18.5 

 Malawi 2000 82.9 71.5 58.6 30.1 82.2 78.9 61.5 24.3 

 Malawi 2004 81.0 68.6 59.1 26.1 80.4 81.3 63.1 23.1 

Malawi 2010 81.1 76.2 63.4 31.4 77.9 85.6 63.4 31.3 

 Mali 1995-1996 59.4 77.2 45.5 6.7 65.5 83.1 47.5 4.8 

 Mali 2001 58.6 73.7 47.7 11.9 62.6 83.8 50.5 7.4 

 Mali 2006 59.9 81.6 50.3 11.8 64.0 90.5 49.0 11.0 

 Mozambique 1997 72.1 79.9 62.9 23.0 61.3 89.8 61.9 20.5 

 Mozambique 2003 53.0 82.9 66.5 26.9 44.4 87.2 67.7 23.2 

 Mozambique 2009 58.9 na 59.9 33.4 56.5 na 59.9 34.1 

 Namibia 2000 68.3 86.8 84.7 48.2 69.4 87.3 86.4 41.0 

 Namibia 2006-2007 59.6 73.2 86.2 53.8 62.2 79.4 83.3 49.2 

 Niger 1998 77.6 77.0 58.2 10.3 72.6 91.0 60.5 9.4 

 Niger 2006 76.0 86.0 53.7 19.8 64.8 90.8 53.3 16.7 

 Nigeria 1999 70.0 83.7 39.9 17.4 66.9 90.8 46.6 16.8 

 Nigeria 2003 66.2 83.0 48.6 16.3 64.6 89.2 51.4 19.3 

 Nigeria 2008 65.1 74.4 42.1 20.9 64.3 88.9 42.1 16.7 

 Rwanda 2000 79.3 78.6 49.0 39.6 80.6 87.7 42.3 39.7 

 Rwanda 2005 81.7 84.2 48.5 40.5 85.9 87.7 45.6 42.2 

 Rwanda 2007-2008 80.3 na 50.1 39.7 83.0 na 43.1 37.3 

 Senegal 1992-1993 54.2 83.7 88.4 17.4 na na na na 

 Senegal 1997 53.9 81.0 87.6 17.6 na na na na 

 Senegal 2005 50.9 81.9 80.9 26.2 45.3 85.6 79.4 21.8 

 Tanzania 1999 76.1 79.3 70.4 20.5 74.5 90.4 69.8 21.2 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 70.1 70.6 68.7 23.2 72.9 84.8 65.5 24.0 

 Tanzania 2007-2008 73.8 63.9 72.7 23.6 76.8 81.4 68.4 23.6 

 Tanzania 2010 70.4 na 71.6 24.8 74.8 na 64.2 25.7 

 Uganda 2000-2001 80.6 57.0 61.5 28.2 81.7 80.1 57.7 25.1 

 Uganda 2006 82.3 61.6 69.5 33.9 84.6 80.3 65.6 37.5 

Continued...
10 

Table 1—Continued

Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Living in 

rural areas 

Living in the 

current 

residence 

for 3+ years

Living within 

a joint family

Living in 

households 

headed by a 

female 

Living in 

rural areas 

Living in the 

current 

residence 

for 3+ years 

Living within 

a joint family 

Living in 

households 

headed by a 

female 

 Zambia 1996 52.3 71.9 70.6 22.3 55.6 80.8 75.9 24.4 

 Zambia 2001-2002 57.9 61.4 68.6 22.4 64.3 79.4 71.9 19.5 

 Zambia 2007 51.6 66.6 71.1 23.8 52.0 79.1 73.0 22.9 

 Zimbabwe 1999 64.9 64.1 67.8 38.1 71.0 80.5 67.9 36.2 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 60.5 84.5 75.5 41.1 68.1 85.5 73.9 42.5 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 61.7 na 75.8 47.7 69.8 na 75.2 45.5 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 40.7 93.5 48.4 22.3 40.5 98.3 40.8 24.6 

 Armenia 2005 39.1 92.5 43.7 28.9 43.0 94.7 44.1 32.6 

 Armenia 2010 40.0 na 51.9 35.7 42.1 na 42.4 40.0 

Egypt 2000 74.4 74.2 65.3 6.0 na na na na 

Egypt 2005 76.3 77.4 53.8 5.4 na na na na 

Egypt 2008 77.8 79.3 54.4 7.1 na na na na 

Jordan 1997 15.8 56.8 54.1 6.2 na na na na 

Jordan 2002 15.2 59.2 52.6 10.2 na na na na 

Jordan 2007 12.0 41.2 35.9 7.2 na na na na 

Jordan 2009 14.4 na 50.1 4.1 na na na na 

Turkey 1993 39.9 61.5 72.6 7.2 na na na na 

 Turkey 1998 39.9 84.2 47.5 7.5 na na na na 

Turkey 2003 31.7 61.0 69.7 5.9 na na na na 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 84.1 50.0 70.1 4.9 * * * * 

Bangladesh 2004 81.4 48.2 74.3 7.3 * * * * 

Bangladesh 2007 82.3 41.5 74.6 8.1 * * * * 

 Cambodia 2000 79.2 94.3 44.4 22.2 na na na na 

 Cambodia 2005 80.0 87.3 46.5 19.7 83.7 92.3 42.4 23.3 

 Cambodia 2010 78.2 na 50.0 24.2 na na na na 

India 1998-1999 85.3 39.4 85.7 7.3 na na na na 

India 2005-2006 83.9 44.7 83.9 12.6 90.9 95.9 89.3 8.7 

Indonesia 1997 85.8 na 63.8 8.3 na na na na 

Indonesia 2002-2003 65.1 na 74.6 8.7 * * * * 

Indonesia 2007 79.6 na 72.0 11.0 * * * * 

Nepal 1996 94.8 39.6 86.4 8.5 na na na na 

Nepal 2001 94.5 34.5 88.5 10.5 96.6 85.0 na na 

Nepal 2006 89.1 35.5 86.8 15.7 88.0 83.8 na na 

 Philippines 2003 41.6 77.1 52.1 15.9 48.6 92.0 42.5 13.9 

 Philippines 2008 44.7 75.5 55.7 17.0 na na na na 

Vietnam 1997 93.5 75.1 85.8 15.5 na na na na 

Vietnam 2002 92.5 63.5 86.8 15.8 na na na na 

Vietnam 2005 95.1 55.3 91.8 12.0 (93.5) (90.6) (93.5) (6.5) 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 24.5 na 44.6 20.0 28.7 na 38.2 15.7 

 Bolivia 2003 30.5 87.4 43.6 21.5 33.2 89.1 44.0 19.2 

 Bolivia 2008 34.1 89.5 41.9 27.0 34.9 92.1 41.2 21.7 

 Colombia 1995 25.2 80.4 57.3 24.4 na na na na 

 Colombia 2000 23.6 80.4 57.0 29.8 na na na na 

 Colombia 2005 24.3 85.9 56.6 30.7 na na na na 

 Colombia 2010 23.7 85.8 52.5 35.8 na na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 29.5 85.0 64.7 42.8 38.6 94.2 52.4 32.5 

 Dominican Republic 2002 31.8 83.2 55.6 31.3 36.9 89.4 50.7 29.5 

 Dominican Republic 2007 29.4 90.5 50.3 37.1 30.9 92.8 46.7 35.8 

 Haiti 1994-1995 52.6 86.5 75.8 44.1 61.9 na 77.3 44.0 

 Haiti 2000 49.5 79.9 72.8 48.1 60.2 89.5 62.6 47.8 

 Haiti 2005-2006 52.3 75.2 70.2 47.5 61.6 87.4 64.8 43.4 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 36.5 88.7 65.6 33.3 34.9 94.5 60.3 33.9 

 Nicaragua 2001 38.3 87.7 64.1 35.3 na na na na 

 Peru 2000 30.5 87.6 54.0 18.6 na na na na 

 Peru 2004-2008 28.6 88.1 50.5 22.2 na na na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only. 

* An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed. 

() Numbers in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
11 

Figure 1a Rural residency: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescents age 15-19 that live in rural areas, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of five percentage points between the first and the last survey included in the report).) 

Continued... 

908070605040302010

E1990s L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Rural Residence — Women 

(North Africa/West Asia/Europe) 

ArmeniaEgyptJordanTurkey

908070605040302010

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Rural Residence — Women 

(South/Southeast Asia) 

BangladeshCambodiaIndiaIndonesiaNepalPhilippinesVietnam

908070605040302010

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Rural Residence — Women 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru
12 

Figure 1a—Continued

908070605040302010

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Rural Residence — Men 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

MadagascarNamibiaCameroonCongo(Brazzaville)GhanaNigerEthiopia

908070605040302010

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Rural Residence — Men 

(Latin American/Caribbean)

BoliviaDominicanRepublicHaiti
13 

Figure 1b Rural residency: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 that live in rural areas from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

 

 

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Rural Residence — Women

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin 

America/Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/Southeast Asia

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Rural Residence — Men

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin 

America/

Caribbean

North 

Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast 

Asia 
14 

3.2 Socioeconomic Status and Household Composition 

Table 2 presents the percentage of adolescents age 15-19 by wealth quintile. It is important to 

note that comparisons of wealth across countries should be made with caution. It is most meaningful to 

compare wealth estimates within a country. Additionally, Table 2 presents details regarding household 

composition, specifically, the percentage of adolescents with other youth in their households and the 

mean number of other adolescents in the household. 

Key Findings 

• Where data are available for both adolescent women and men within a country, data indicate a 

higher proportion of adolescent women are in the wealthiest quintiles than adolescent men. 

• In the majority of countries, more than 50 percent of adolescent women live in households with 

other youth age 13-19 years. In nearly every country for which data was available, more than 60 

percent of adolescent men live with other youth age 13-19. 

• In all but four countries, consecutive surveys consistently report more than 95 percent of 

adolescent women live with an adult in the household. Proportions were slightly lower among 

adolescent men (data not shown). 
15 

Table 2 Household characteristics of adolescents: wealth and other youth in the household 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 by wealth quintile; percentage of adolescents age 15-19 with other youth (age 13-19) in the household; and mean 

number of adolescents (age 15-19) in the household, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

 Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Percentage living in 

households in 

Percentage 

with other 

youth in 

household 

Mean 

number of 

adolescents 

in household

Percentage living in 

households in 

Percentage 

with other 

youth in 

household 

Mean 

number of 

adolescents 

in household

Poorest or 

poor wealth 

quintile 

Rich or 

richest 

wealth 

quintile 

Poorest or 

poor wealth 

quintile 

Rich or 

richest wealth 

quintile 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 33.3 51.6 64.3 0.4 na na na 0.5

 Benin 2001 30.9 51.4 57.5 0.4 29.9 54.7 68.6 0.4

 Benin 2006 31.3 51.0 57.9 0.3 29.2 51.5 69.1 0.4

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 38.9 44.5 60.3 0.5 36.0 47.0 75.4 0.5

 Burkina Faso 2003 33.7 44.3 64.4 0.5 31.8 44.0 78.5 0.5

 Cameroon 1998 34.1 48.8 62.0 0.4 25.9 56.0 69.0 0.4

 Cameroon 2004 30.9 48.9 59.1 0.4 28.2 50.6 65.8 0.4

 Chad 1996-1997 43.0 38.4 50.5 0.4 31.7 47.2 67.8 0.4

 Chad 2004 39.4 43.9 54.2 0.4 34.1 43.2 71.2 0.4

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 35.7 43.9 58.1 0.5 35.1 47.1 73.1 0.4

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 39.7 40.2 51.1 0.3 35.4 43.7 64.4 0.3

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 33.3 52.7 68.7 0.6 30.4 46.6 76.6 0.5

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 32.4 52.3 64.1 0.5 35.2 41.9 65.8 0.4

 Eritrea 1995 24.5 55.3 52.8 0.3 25.7 54.7 64.5 0.3

 Eritrea 2002 33.0 48.2 58.7 0.4 na na na 0.4

 Ethiopia 2000 33.7 48.0 54.9 0.4 43.3 41.2 60.4 0.4

 Ethiopia 2005 31.0 49.8 56.9 0.4 34.8 48.5 63.5 0.4

 Ethiopia 2011 34.5 48.4 56.3 0.4 33.6 46.4 62.9 0.4

 Ghana 1998 34.2 46.9 53.0 0.3 35.1 43.5 58.9 0.3

 Ghana 2003 29.2 51.5 61.3 0.3 36.9 42.2 65.2 0.3

 Ghana 2008 34.4 44.0 55.4 0.3 39.9 40.4 60.5 0.3

 Guinea 1999 32.9 50.2 56.0 0.5 26.8 53.6 74.0 0.5

 Guinea 2005 32.9 48.8 57.0 0.4 27.1 56.6 71.5 0.4

 Kenya 1998 37.7 43.0 60.7 0.4 32.3 44.8 71.1 0.4

 Kenya 2003 na na 58.6 0.4 na na 69.6 0.4

 Kenya 2008-2009 38.9 39.1 58.9 0.3 40.1 39.8 68.5 0.3

 Madagascar 1997 40.1 43.4 54.9 0.4 na na na 0.4

 Madagascar 2003-2004 33.5 47.0 53.9 0.3 34.8 39.9 72.5 0.4

 Madagascar 2008-2009 35.1 46.3 58.7 0.4 34.4 47.0 70.7 0.4

 Malawi 2000 38.4 44.3 52.8 0.3 39.1 44.3 67.9 0.3

 Malawi 2004 33.8 47.7 50.4 0.3 34.8 50.0 63.4 0.3

Malawi 2010 35.6 44.7 57.1 0.4 31.4 48.6 67.9 0.4

 Mali 1995-1996 33.4 49.6 48.8 0.4 30.5 48.3 69.3 0.4

 Mali 2001 30.2 53.1 50.2 0.4 40.0 45.1 73.5 0.4

 Mali 2006 33.2 49.3 52.4 0.4 39.9 45.9 78.5 0.4

 Mozambique 1997 29.5 51.0 56.8 0.4 32.8 55.3 63.9 0.4

 Mozambique 2003 30.4 53.7 56.9 0.4 26.3 58.5 67.7 0.4

 Mozambique 2009 32.4 51.7 48.2 0.3 27.2 54.5 61.1 0.3

 Namibia 2000 39.9 37.0 66.2 0.4 36.9 40.0 71.9 0.4

 Namibia 2006-2007 40.9 40.2 63.7 0.4 41.8 38.0 67.4 0.4

 Niger 1998 40.6 40.5 52.6 0.4 29.7 51.9 70.8 0.4

 Niger 2006 34.4 46.3 50.0 0.4 25.5 53.4 65.9 0.4

 Nigeria 1999 na na 56.1 0.4 na na 73.8 0.4

 Nigeria 2003 33.2 44.9 53.5 0.4 38.8 45.1 65.6 0.4

 Nigeria 2008 36.2 43.1 48.6 0.3 32.7 45.8 59.9 0.3

 Rwanda 2000 33.7 47.7 66.0 0.4 31.0 49.6 71.9 0.4

 Rwanda 2005 41.2 41.6 64.8 0.4 36.6 40.1 67.5 0.4

 Rwanda 2007-2008 39.8 42.5 61.8 0.3 37.8 40.6 64.4 0.3

 Senegal 1992-1993 na na 77.5 0.7 na na na 0.7

 Senegal 1997 32.5 48.1 78.6 0.8 na na na 0.7

 Senegal 2005 33.3 45.9 79.9 0.8 30.3 50.1 81.9 0.7

 Tanzania 1999 32.3 44.2 60.3 0.4 34.8 40.6 70.7 0.4

 Tanzania 2004-2005 35.8 45.8 58.2 0.4 38.7 42.5 66.0 0.4

 Tanzania 2007-2008 33.6 46.5 61.2 0.4 36.9 44.4 69.4 0.4

 Tanzania 2010 30.4 49.7 63.7 0.4 31.3 47.0 72.5 0.4 

 Uganda 2000-2001 36.0 46.8 58.8 0.4 32.3 49.3 71.6 0.4

 Uganda 2006 32.8 50.0 62.5 0.4 34.8 48.2 67.8 0.4

 Zambia 1996 34.4 47.8 60.6 0.5 31.6 46.7 70.4 0.5

 Zambia 2001-2002 33.0 47.4 60.2 0.4 37.8 46.2 67.4 0.4

 Zambia 2007 29.5 53.9 58.8 0.4 27.3 54.3 70.7 0.4

Continued...
16 

Table 2—Continued

 Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Percentage living in 

households in: 

Percentage 

with other 

youth in 

household 

Mean 

number of 

adolescents 

in household

Percentage living in 

households in: 

Percentage 

with other 

youth in 

household 

Mean 

number of 

adolescents 

in household

Poorest or 

poor wealth 

quintile 

Rich or 

richest 

wealth 

quintile 

Poorest or 

poor wealth 

quintile 

Rich or 

richest wealth 

quintile 

 Zimbabwe 1999 35.6 44.0 61.4 0.4 39.6 36.4 68.2 0.4

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 33.1 48.1 58.3 0.4 34.5 41.8 64.6 0.4

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 33.3 47.6 50.9 0.3 34.9 41.8 57.4 0.3

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe

 Armenia 2000 37.4 42.2 67.9 0.3 33.4 46.8 70.5 0.3

 Armenia 2005 40.2 39.6 60.2 0.3 37.9 38.4 63.6 0.2

 Armenia 2010 43.8 40.0 54.2 0.2 43.9 36.4 50.3 0.2

Egypt 2000 na na 43.2 0.4 na na na 0.5

Egypt 2005 50.2 25.0 35.7 0.4 na na na 0.4

Egypt 2008 56.2 24.8 33.5 0.3 na na na 0.4

Jordan 1997 47.4 26.8 36.6 0.5 na na na 0.6

Jordan 2002 53.8 26.4 37.1 0.5 na na na 0.5

Jordan 2007 56.3 23.3 22.5 0.4 na na na 0.4

Jordan 2009 40.7 28.7 35.9 0.4 na na na 0.4

Turkey 1993 47.1 26.8 44.7 0.4 na na na 0.4

 Turkey 1998 42.6 36.0 66.8 0.4 na na na 0.3

Turkey 2003 48.1 30.4 40.1 0.3 na na na 0.3

South/Southeast Asia

Bangladesh 1999-2000 43.2 33.9 36.3 0.5 na na na 0.4

Bangladesh 2004 41.9 34.5 38.8 0.5 na na na 0.4

Bangladesh 2007 39.4 37.8 32.2 0.4 na na na 0.3

 Cambodia 2000 33.9 48.2 73.4 0.5 na na na 0.5

 Cambodia 2005 30.6 50.3 70.1 0.4 32.5 45.4 68.7 0.4

 Cambodia 2010 32.5 48.0 60.5 0.4 na na na 0.4

India 1998-1999 51.7 24.4 44.6 0.4 na na na 0.4

India 2005-2006 55.0 22.4 38.4 0.4 65.7 13.0 66.4 0.3

Indonesia 1997 46.9 28.3 34.5 0.3 na na na 0.3

Indonesia 2002-2003 57.0 26.6 37.8 0.3 31.1 39.0 78.1 0.3

Indonesia 2007 60.0 22.1 34.3 0.3 57.8 26.1 98.3 0.3

Nepal 1996 39.2 33.4 58.0 0.4 na na na 0.4

Nepal 2001 44.9 32.6 56.9 0.4 35.5 31.0 84.2 0.4

Nepal 2006 42.3 31.1 53.2 0.4 40.6 32.3 80.5 0.4

 Philippines 2003 30.2 50.9 64.3 0.4 37.5 44.1 70.1 0.4

 Philippines 2008 32.9 48.0 64.2 0.4 na na na 0.4

Vietnam 1997 52.4 18.4 56.9 0.4 na na na 0.4

Vietnam 2002 59.4 17.3 51.8 0.4 na na na 0.4

Vietnam 2005 74.8 8.3 58.6 0.3 92.7 7.3 81.8 0.4

Latin America/Caribbean

 Bolivia 1998 27.3 52.5 60.4 0.3 29.0 47.4 66.7 0.3

 Bolivia 2003 30.2 49.4 61.0 0.3 33.5 47.4 64.2 0.3

 Bolivia 2008 32.8 45.9 57.2 0.3 33.0 44.2 62.1 0.3

 Colombia 1995 33.6 45.4 58.7 0.3 na na na 0.3

 Colombia 2000 36.0 43.7 na na na na na 0.3

 Colombia 2005 38.3 41.6 52.1 0.3 na na na 0.3

 Colombia 2010 40.4 38.7 48.9 0.3 na na na 0.3

 Dominican Republic 1999 33.7 49.2 49.9 0.3 41.6 37.3 65.9 0.3

 Dominican Republic 2002 35.7 44.0 54.0 0.3 39.7 36.1 63.5 0.3

 Dominican Republic 2007 36.4 43.8 53.8 0.3 38.5 41.1 62.2 0.3

 Haiti 1994-1995 30.1 53.0 61.8 0.4 37.1 44.1 62.3 0.4

 Haiti 2000 30.4 54.1 63.2 0.4 41.4 44.4 62.3 0.4

 Haiti 2005-2006 30.6 50.4 65.5 0.4 38.4 42.0 63.9 0.4

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 33.8 46.0 70.8 0.5 30.1 45.2 76.5 0.5

 Nicaragua 2001 33.5 44.5 68.4 0.5 na na na 0.5

 Peru 2000 32.6 46.3 58.9 0.3 na na na 0.4

Peru 2004-2008 27.1 51.1 53.0 0.3 na na na 0.3

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married women only (refer to Appendix A). 

* An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or it is not comparable. 
17 

3.3 Education, Employment, and Media Exposure 

Table 3 presents the education and employment status of adolescents age 15-19. Table 4 presents 

information about adolescents’ exposure to various sources of media at least once a week. This 

information helps frame the resources that may contribute to adolescent sexual and reproductive 

behaviors and experiences. Figure 2 presents trends in the proportion of adolescents who were neither 

educated nor employed in the year preceding the survey. 

Key Findings 

• More than a third of adolescent women have no education in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa 

and South/Southeast Asia. The same is true for men in four sub-Saharan African countries. In 

Latin American/Caribbean countries and in some North Africa/West Asia/Europe countries, the 

proportion of adolescents not educated is as low as 14 percent. 

• In the majority of countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia, the 

proportion of women with no education is greater than the proportion of men. This trend is 

consistent across time. 

• The percentage of women with no education has declined over the last decade in the majority of 

countries. The same trend appears for men with no education although the declines are less 

dramatic. 

• The percentage of women currently working is decreasing in the majority of countries while the 

percentage of men currently working is increasing. In many countries, higher proportions of men 

are currently working compared to women. 

• In all but three countries, higher percentages of women are neither in school nor working 

compared to men. The proportion of women and men neither in school nor working is decreasing 

in the majority of countries. 

• In the majority of countries, the proportion of adolescents with no media exposure is decreasing. 

The strongest exception to this trend is Zimbabwe, where the proportion of adolescents with no 

media exposure has increased 9 percentage points among women and 13 percentage points 

among men since the 1999 DHS. 
18 

Table 3 Individual characteristics of adolescents: education and employment 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 according to school enrollment and work status, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

No 

education 

Currently 

working 

School enrollment and current work status 

No 

education 

Currently 

working 

School enrollment and current work status 

In school, 

working 

In school, 

not working

Not in 

school, 

working 

Neither in 

school nor 

working 

In school, 

working 

In school, 

not working

Not in 

school, 

working 

Neither in 

school nor 

working 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 57.8 69.1 4.2 12.0 64.9 18.9 na na na na na na 

 Benin 2001 49.8 56.2 6.3 21.5 49.9 22.3 22.0 40.2 6.5 47.3 33.6 12.6

 Benin 2006 38.1 50.1 9.1 32.2 41.0 17.7 14.8 19.3 2.3 63.9 17.0 16.9

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 76.5 56.8 0.6 7.9 56.1 35.3 62.9 67.8 1.2 16.1 66.6 16.1

 Burkina Faso 2003 67.5 74.7 3.8 11.0 70.9 14.3 50.9 49.8 2.5 18.6 47.3 31.6 

 Cameroon 1998 16.7 41.0 3.2 33.0 37.8 26.0 6.9 38.6 1.9 52.0 36.7 9.4

 Cameroon 2004 14.3 28.9 6.6 44.1 22.4 27.0 3.9 27.6 4.4 64.7 23.1 7.8 

 Chad 1996-1997 65.7 37.0 3.3 8.6 33.7 54.4 36.5 57.0 10.5 33.0 46.5 10.0 

 Chad 2004 63.0 64.4 11.5 9.6 52.9 26.0 42.4 64.1 24.1 24.5 40.0 11.4

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 4.2 26.5 9.5 51.5 17.0 22.0 1.7 14.9 4.5 70.5 10.4 14.7

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 2.3 32.5 11.6 45.0 25.4 18.0 1.5 27.0 13.1 63.0 16.1 7.8

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 51.3 62.5 2.0 14.7 60.5 22.8 31.5 55.1 3.9 30.4 51.3 14.5

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 44.3 44.8 1.6 26.1 43.1 29.1 21.4 40.8 2.5 51.0 38.4 8.2

 Eritrea 1995 38.1 17.2 3.2 39.5 14.0 43.3 17.8 23.0 11.0 61.7 12.0 15.3

 Eritrea 2002 21.2 10.1 2.5 43.4 7.6 46.5 na na na na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 61.0 49.5 8.2 19.9 41.3 30.6 38.8 66.9 19.0 27.3 47.9 5.8 

 Ethiopia 2005 40.1 23.6 10.1 35.5 13.5 40.9 21.2 63.0 29.4 34.9 33.7 2.1

 Ethiopia 2011 17.3 26.5 13.6 42.8 13.5 30.1 12.9 65.2 33.8 25.3 31.4 9.5

 Ghana 1998 13.9 29.7 1.1 36.6 28.6 33.7 7.2 na 0.7 48.1 32.0 19.2

 Ghana 2003 12.3 33.0 6.1 41.7 27.0 25.3 8.1 26.0 2.6 57.6 23.3 16.4 

 Ghana 2008 7.1 30.6 8.1 43.4 24.6 23.9 4.8 37.3 14.5 46.2 22.8 16.5

 Guinea 1999 68.5 60.7 3.0 10.6 57.6 28.7 38.1 53.1 6.5 30.6 46.6 16.4 

 Guinea 2005 53.5 55.0 10.4 25.0 44.6 20.0 28.0 31.5 5.1 58.7 26.4 9.8

 Kenya 1998 2.9 22.3 2.2 46.7 20.1 31.0 1.8 16.8 1.5 58.5 15.3 24.7

 Kenya 2003 6.8 28.6 5.8 46.1 22.8 25.3 3.9 25.5 2.2 66.1 23.3 8.4

 Kenya 2008-2009 4.1 19.0 7.5 64.2 11.8 16.5 1.0 59.9 44.5 37.5 15.4 2.6 

 Madagascar 1997 21.1 64.7 1.6 14.5 63.1 20.8 na na na na na na 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 21.2 56.5 1.5 24.7 54.9 18.9 18.0 56.7 0.7 29.9 56.0 13.4

 Madagascar 2008-2009 12.9 56.3 3.6 27.4 55.1 13.9 11.8 57.9 4.2 34.5 53.7 7.6

 Malawi 2000 7.7 39.7 14.2 33.7 25.5 26.6 3.3 32.6 14.7 53.9 17.9 13.4

 Malawi 2004 5.1 37.1 12.0 34.4 25.0 28.5 3.1 19.6 4.0 60.9 15.6 19.5 

 Malawi 2010 2.9 34.8 18.0 38.2 18.5 25.3 1.9 60.3 37.6 32.6 22.7 7.1

 Mali 1995-1996 75.0 44.2 0.8 11.8 43.4 44.0 60.4 49.5 0.4 26.3 49.1 24.2 

 Mali 2001 72.4 50.5 4.6 12.6 45.9 36.9 55.3 57.9 9.0 25.6 48.9 16.5

 Mali 2006 61.1 50.3 7.6 17.5 42.7 32.2 39.9 26.9 3.3 42.2 23.5 31.0 

 Mozambique 1997 28.4 46.4 1.8 14.0 44.6 39.7 9.8 17.5 3.7 45.2 13.9 37.2

 Mozambique 2003 23.5 47.9 10.0 31.9 37.9 20.2 7.3 22.9 4.3 60.8 18.6 16.3 

 Mozambique 2009 12.2 40.8 7.2 33.5 33.6 25.7 4.3 43.0 21.0 45.5 22.0 11.5

 Namibia 2000 3.6 4.6 1.1 67.8 3.5 27.6 6.8 7.1 0.5 69.5 6.6 23.4

 Namibia 2006-2007 2.0 14.7 8.1 62.7 7.6 21.6 3.2 28.7 12.9 53.4 15.9 17.9

 Niger 1998 78.3 41.7 0.5 5.9 41.2 52.4 53.5 66.3 0.6 14.0 65.7 19.7

 Niger 2006 74.4 32.0 1.9 8.5 30.1 59.5 51.8 35.0 0.9 21.8 34.2 43.2 

 Nigeria 1999 25.7 19.1 5.9 39.1 13.2 41.7 13.2 20.3 2.2 55.5 18.1 24.2 

 Nigeria 2003 29.2 24.8 5.5 42.4 19.3 32.8 10.4 25.4 7.9 63.9 17.5 10.7

 Nigeria 2008 24.7 25.3 8.2 46.3 17.9 27.6 13.0 44.8 21.4 46.9 23.3 8.4

 Rwanda 2000 13.9 60.2 4.3 16.4 55.9 23.4 11.7 38.7 1.5 23.4 37.1 37.9

 Rwanda 2005 8.6 43.5 4.5 31.1 39.0 25.4 6.8 29.4 0.9 40.3 28.5 30.3

 Senegal 1992-1993 60.3 na 0.4 10.9 29.2 59.6 na na na na na na

 Senegal 1997 55.1 na na na na na na na na na na na 

 Senegal 2005 47.7 21.5 1.1 26.6 20.3 52.0 28.6 31.8 2.3 43.3 29.5 24.9

 Tanzania 1999 20.8 56.2 5.2 21.0 51.0 22.8 11.6 60.5 6.5 25.5 54.1 14.0

 Tanzania 2004-2005 20.7 57.6 7.7 28.0 49.8 14.5 9.8 40.6 5.8 52.0 34.8 7.4

 Tanzania 2007-2008 13.2 40.6 7.7 41.3 36.4 14.6 6.2 35.7 10.7 57.2 25.8 6.3 

 Tanzania 2010 8.3 45.1 6.2 34.2 42.5 17.1 4.9 52.5 10.5 41.0 42.0 6.4

 Uganda 2000-2001 9.1 54.4 19.5 28.3 34.9 17.3 1.6 27.2 7.5 62.7 19.7 10.1

 Uganda 2006 3.5 60.1 26.0 28.0 35.9 10.1 0.6 83.3 50.8 15.1 32.6 1.6 

Continued...
19 

Table 3—Continued

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

No 

education 

Currently 

working 

School enrollment and current work status 

No 

education 

Currently 

working 

School enrollment and current work status 

In school, 

working 

In school, 

not working

Not in 

school, 

working 

Neither in 

school nor 

working 

In school, 

working 

In school, 

not working

Not in 

school, 

working 

Neither in 

school nor 

working 

 Zambia 1996 8.4 23.7 3.6 29.5 20.1 46.8 6.9 23.4 0.9 52.4 22.5 24.2 

 Zambia 2001-2002 8.0 32.7 5.0 33.3 27.8 34.0 4.0 26.3 2.7 55.7 23.6 18.0 

 Zambia 2007 4.0 18.0 6.3 48.6 13.0 32.1 1.1 37.0 23.0 55.0 14.0 8.1 

 Zimbabwe 1999 1.3 25.8 3.2 41.1 22.6 33.1 0.1 na 0.7 56.5 12.4 30.4 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 0.4 20.5 3.7 37.4 17.7 41.1 0.3 28.3 7.3 47.5 21.0 24.2 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 0.1 14.0 2.0 43.4 12.8 41.8 0.7 27.0 8.6 48.5 18.4 24.5 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 0.1 6.5 2.4 63.3 4.1 30.3 0.5 8.7 3.8 63.1 4.9 28.2 

 Armenia 2005 na 3.3 1.5 69.2 1.8 27.5 na 4.9 0.0 64.9 4.9 30.2 

 Armenia 2010 0.1 2.6 3.6 66.3 3.5 26.6 0.0 11.9 4.7 68.4 7.3 19.7 

Egypt 2000 37.5 2.6 0.0 3.0 2.6 94.4 na na na na na na 

Egypt 2005 31.9 6.9 0.2 2.3 6.7 90.8 na na na na na na 

Egypt 2008 25.4 2.4 0.0 4.2 2.7 93.1 na na na na na na 

Jordan 1997 2.9 1.1 0.0 2.5 1.1 96.3 na na na na na na 

Jordan 2002 1.4 na 0.0 0.0 1.2 98.8 na na na na na na 

Jordan 2007 0.8 na 0.0 10.1 0.0 89.9 na na na na na na 

Jordan 2009 2.9 na 0.0 19.8 0.1 80.1 na na na na na na 

Turkey 1993 16.0 na 0.0 0.7 22.8 76.5 na na na na na na 

 Turkey 1998 5.8 33.3 3.4 22.2 29.9 44.5 na na na na na na 

Turkey 2003 16.7 18.7 0.0 0.4 18.7 81.0 na na na na na na 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 14.4 na 0.4 5.2 12.7 81.8 12.7 na na na na na 

Bangladesh 2004 15.3 9.9 0.2 3.3 9.7 86.8 19.4 100.0 na na na na 

Bangladesh 2007 10.0 17.5 0.4 2.4 17.4 79.8 26.2 97.1 na na na na 

 Cambodia 2000 18.8 64.1 5.9 15.3 58.2 20.5 na na na na na na 

 Cambodia 2005 7.9 46.5 8.5 37.0 38.0 16.5 3.3 44.6 11.5 48.9 33.0 6.6 

 Cambodia 2010 3.5 50.8 9.5 32.9 42.3 15.3 na na na na na na 

India 1998-1999 53.4 28.7 0.4 1.4 28.3 69.9 na na na na na na 

India 2005-2006 41.9 22.1 0.2 2.7 22.5 74.6 25.8 83.3 4.3 5.3 79.0 11.4 

Indonesia 1997 2.8 na 0.0 3.3 0.0 96.7 na na na na na na 

Indonesia 2002-2003 1.5 25.3 0.0 0.3 25.3 74.4 na na na na na na 

Indonesia 2007 2.2 29.7 0.7 0.2 29.1 70.0 0.4 na na na na na 

Nepal 1996 69.0 64.2 1.3 1.3 62.9 34.5 na na na na na na 

Nepal 2001 52.2 71.0 3.7 2.1 67.3 26.9 14.0 89.1 9.1 10.9 83.1 0.0 

Nepal 2006 36.9 55.2 3.8 3.6 53.9 38.6 11.6 91.3 8.2 3.7 83.1 4.9 

 Philippines 2003 0.6 20.4 3.8 57.0 16.5 22.7 1.8 25.8 3.2 55.0 22.7 19.1 

 Philippines 2008 0.7 20.6 na na na na na na na na na na 

Vietnam 1997 7.3 88.0 0.5 0.0 87.5 12.0 na na na na na na 

Vietnam 2002 6.6 76.2 0.5 1.1 75.7 22.7 na na na na na na 

Vietnam 2005 9.6 83.0 0.0 0.4 83.0 16.6 8.7 78.5 9.5 16.1 69.0 5.4 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 1.2 31.2 12.7 52.0 18.5 16.8 0.2 34.3 16.5 58.2 17.9 7.5 

 Bolivia 2003 0.5 38.3 16.7 42.4 21.6 19.4 0.1 43.9 18.7 48.5 25.2 7.6 

 Bolivia 2008 0.4 36.9 21.3 48.1 17.0 13.6 0.3 38.1 18.0 58.9 20.0 3.1 

 Colombia 1995 1.0 28.1 9.8 46.9 18.3 25.0 na na na na na na 

 Colombia 2000 0.6 22.6 6.6 45.8 16.0 31.6 na na na na na na 

 Colombia 2005 0.9 23.0 9.5 50.9 13.5 26.1 na na na na na na 

 Colombia 2010 0.3 18.5 9.8 61.0 8.7 20.5 na na na na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 1.2 25.3 15.3 61.6 10.0 13.0 0.6 50.6 34.8 42.3 15.7 7.1 

 Dominican Republic 2002 1.1 15.7 11.6 67.0 4.1 17.2 2.9 51.3 38.0 43.3 13.3 5.4 

 Dominican Republic 2007 0.6 16.0 12.2 63.8 4.1 19.8 1.1 na 0.0 73.3 0.0 26.7 

 Haiti 1994-1995 13.1 na 3.9 60.6 8.8 26.7 13.6 na 7.8 64.4 15.7 12.1 

 Haiti 2000 7.4 15.5 6.5 60.1 9.0 24.4 3.5 26.1 12.5 67.8 13.6 6.1 

 Haiti 2005-2006 4.5 13.5 6.7 67.5 6.9 19.0 4.5 26.8 15.1 67.5 12.4 5.0 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 7.8 18.9 7.0 40.7 11.8 40.4 7.4 50.3 15.4 36.9 34.9 12.8 

 Nicaragua 2001 6.3 19.4 7.3 42.5 12.1 38.1 na na na na na na 

 Peru 2000 1.0 32.8 14.1 46.1 18.2 21.1 na na na na na na 

 Peru 2004-2008 0.4 41.0 20.6 41.8 20.9 16.6 na na na na na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only (refer to Appendix A). 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or it is not comparable. 
20 

Figure 2a School enrollment and work status: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescents age 15-19 that neither went to school in the past year nor were employed, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African 

countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of 12 percentage points between the first and the last survey 

included in the report.) 

Continued... 

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Women 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

Burkina FasoChadNigeriaMozambiqueKenyaZambia

0

908070605040302010

100

E1990s L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Women 

(North Africa/West Asia/Europe) 

ArmeniaEgyptJordanTurkey

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Women 

(South/Southeast Asia) 

BangladeshCambodiaIndiaIndonesiaNepalVietnam

0

908070605040302010

100

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Women 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru
21 

Figure 2a—Continued

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Men 

(Sub-Saharan Afrcia)

Burkina FasoNigerNigeriaKenyaMozambiqueZambia

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Neither in School nor Working — Men 

(Latin American/Caribbean)

BoliviaDominicanRepublicHaiti
22 

Figure 2b School enrollment and work status: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 neither in school nor working from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

 

 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Neither in School nor Working — Women 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin 

America/Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast Asia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Neither in School nor Working — Men

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin 

America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast 

Asia 
23 

Table 4 Individual characteristics of adolescents: media exposure 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who are exposed to specific media on a weekly basis, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Media exposure (at least once a week) 

No media 

exposure 

Media exposure (at least once a week) 

No media 

exposure 

Reads a 

newspaper or 

magazine 

Listens to 

radio 

Watches 

television 

Reads a 

newspaper or 

magazine 

Listens to 

radio 

Watches 

television 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 13.5 na na na na na na na 

Benin 2001 7.8 57.2 31.0 34.4 10.8 81.3 45.1 12.1

Benin 2006 7.7 57.1 34.3 35.8 10.9 78.2 41.1 16.6

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 4.4 na 20.1 78.7 8.0 na 29.1 69.6

Burkina Faso 2003 7.8 50.9 31.6 40.8 7.9 62.4 35.6 30.4

 Cameroon 1998 14.1 na 42.3 54.6 29.0 na 56.6 36.3 

Cameroon 2004 15.2 47.5 44.9 38.8 20.6 65.2 55.2 22.6

 Chad 1996-1997 6.7 na 5.5 89.8 19.1 na 12.0 76.2 

Chad 2004 4.8 21.9 6.8 76.3 9.9 44.2 13.8 52.9

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 15.2 38.4 45.7 37.3 19.8 52.0 55.4 25.4 

Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 na na na na na na na na

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 17.2 na 72.4 26.3 20.3 na 87.7 10.0 

Cote d’Ivoire 2005 16.3 43.9 69.9 25.2 29.7 68.3 72.4 14.1 

 Eritrea 1995 35.6 66.6 27.8 29.9 52.8 74.0 39.3 23.8

Eritrea 2002 45.2 81.9 35.5 14.8 na na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 3.1 14.5 7.1 81.0 8.0 24.2 12.3 68.6

Ethiopia 2005 5.3 19.9 11.0 72.6 8.6 26.5 13.3 65.6 

Ethiopia 2011 9.0 25.8 17.9 61.6 11.5 32.0 20.0 57.7 

 Ghana 1998 25.2 na 62.8 33.3 32.3 na 61.6 31.8

Ghana 2003 19.6 73.0 54.5 18.5 21.8 84.0 55.2 12.2 

Ghana 2008 25.6 73.9 62.1 15.2 20.5 83.7 62.8 10.2

 Guinea 1999 8.0 na 33.3 na 14.4 na 36.2 60.9 

Guinea 2005 7.1 46.6 25.3 na 7.1 54.9 38.2 33.7

 Kenya 1998 41.6 na 27.1 na 51.6 na 44.0 36.1 

Kenya 2003 23.4 74.0 28.2 22.6 32.4 86.5 34.6 10.9 

Kenya 2008-2009 26.3 76.6 31.6 19.5 37.9 87.2 40.2 8.7

 Madagascar 1997 29.4 na 15.7 na na na na na 

Madagascar 2003-2004 20.5 58.2 25.6 38.0 11.9 64.3 29.9 31.9

Madagascar 2008-2009 13.9 55.3 21.5 39.7 11.7 57.1 18.2 39.0

 Malawi 2000 14.6 52.4 4.7 44.1 22.2 69.0 10.9 24.8 

Malawi 2004 17.2 67.0 11.6 29.8 26.5 81.5 23.8 16.2

Malawi 2010 17.0 58.4 20.5 34.7 24.4 73.1 41.1 17.9

 Mali 1995-1996 9.0 64.9 41.3 29.2 15.0 70.5 44.2 23.9

Mali 2001 8.2 64.9 44.9 26.5 13.9 70.5 49.8 21.5

Mali 2006 10.3 71.5 54.8 21.0 8.7 65.9 62.9 19.2 

 Mozambique 1997 15.7 na 18.1 76.0 24.7 na 34.3 59.0

Mozambique 2003 6.2 52.8 24.3 42.2 13.1 77.9 35.8 17.0

Mozambique 2009 na na na na na na na na 

 Namibia 2000 38.4 70.1 32.3 21.1 41.8 80.8 40.2 14.0

Namibia 2006-2007 49.8 80.3 43.9 12.2 47.2 79.1 50.1 13.7 

 Niger 1998 7.3 na 31.7 na 18.5 na 47.8 49.6

Niger 2006 4.4 43.6 18.8 52.5 7.4 61.3 31.7 34.4 

 Nigeria 1999 27.3 na 39.4 53.2 35.0 na 56.9 37.9

Nigeria 2003 12.2 58.4 41.3 34.4 18.8 75.5 51.4 18.9

Nigeria 2008 11.9 53.5 43.5 36.2 20.7 74.1 52.0 18.4 

 Rwanda 2000 6.4 40.0 8.4 57.0 7.6 58.3 11.1 40.2

Rwanda 2005 11.2 56.7 6.9 39.7 6.5 77.5 11.1 21.3 

 Senegal 1992-1993 15.1 68.5 51.2 21.2 na na na na

Senegal 1997 na na na 32.6 na na na na

Senegal 2005 9.7 78.7 68.5 10.8 15.9 54.1 54.0 39.2 

 Tanzania 1999 4.1 23.4 4.1 72.4 7.3 36.4 9.2 58.4

Tanzania 2004-2005 23.8 61.1 23.2 32.3 33.0 75.9 26.3 18.5 

Tanzania 2007-2008 20.1 54.5 23.6 39.1 27.4 67.1 34.6 26.9

Tanzania 2010 26.3 60.3 31.8 29.9 26.3 72.2 38.8 21.2 

 Uganda 2000-2001 20.1 54.9 13.8 41.9 19.7 76.8 14.5 21.5

Uganda 2006 22.8 75.0 14.1 22.2 18.9 85.2 13.0 13.5 

 Zambia 1996 26.5 58.5 32.3 35.0 42.1 73.1 38.7 21.8

Zambia 2001-2002 10.7 44.2 28.2 49.5 14.7 56.0 33.7 39.0

Zambia 2007 29.3 58.3 36.3 29.4 24.6 69.4 44.4 19.8 

Continued...
24 

Table 4—Continued

 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Media exposure (at least once a week) 

No media 

exposure 

Media exposure (at least once a week) 

No media 

exposure 

Reads a 

newspaper or 

magazine 

Listens to 

radio 

Watches 

television 

Reads a 

newspaper or 

magazine 

Listens to 

radio 

Watches 

television 

 Zimbabwe 1999 32.1 54.4 33.1 37.6 30.0 66.6 35.0 27.4

Zimbabwe 2005-2006 28.4 50.6 38.2 40.0 31.7 60.7 38.5 32.4

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 17.7 34.1 38.1 46.7 20.0 43.2 38.1 40.7 

North Africa/West Asia/

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 29.6 35.9 89.3 7.7 25.9 35.0 96.2 3.8 

Armenia 2005 64.0 35.8 97.7 1.0 26.0 35.1 99.0 1.0

Armenia 2010 48.4 24.6 91.1 8.4 20.6 15.3 94.2 5.8

 Egypt 2000 18.9 67.1 93.3 3.7 na na na na 

Egypt 2005 8.7 67.0 93.9 3.8 na na na na

Egypt 2008 2.9 43.8 95.6 3.0 na na na na

 Jordan 1997 37.9 54.7 90.5 5.9 na na na na

Jordan 2002 27.2 44.3 79.7 14.2 na na na na

Jordan 2007 19.9 23.7 96.0 3.0 na na na na

Jordan 2009 na na na na na na na na 

 Turkey 1993 46.1 79.1 84.0 na na na na na

Turkey 1998 36.6 na na na na na na na 

Turkey 2003 19.2 na na na na na na na

South/Southeast Asia 

 Bangladesh 1999-2000 7.5 37.3 38.0 44.3 na na na 10.6 

Bangladesh 2004 7.7 44.6 52.7 31.8 na na na 4.2

Bangladesh 2007 5.5 28.3 50.6 37.3 na na na 34.3

 Cambodia 2000 17.1 50.8 66.4 23.0 na na na na

Cambodia 2005 19.4 57.1 78.1 13.5 10.5 64.6 78.6 12.3

Cambodia 2010 16.7 42.3 64.2 24.5 na na na na 

 India 1998-1999 14.6 33.3 38.0 47.0 na na na na

India 2005-2006 10.9 27.7 39.7 46.7 35.4 46.8 39.1 32.6

 Indonesia 1997 24.7 na 77.4 21.0 na na na na

Indonesia 2002-2003 8.9 46.3 74.9 17.9 na na na na

Indonesia 2007 6.0 32.3 72.0 21.3 na na na na 

 Nepal 1996 3.6 na 9.4 na na na na na

Nepal 2001 10.3 na 21.9 na 22.1 na 34.7 na

Nepal 2006 6.2 60.9 34.8 30.8 13.1 73.9 35.8 22.9 

 Philippines 2003 49.6 83.3 86.3 5.1 40.4 84.3 85.8 5.5

Philippines 2008 33.6 69.6 87.8 6.0 na na na na 

 Vietnam 1997 19.9 na 62.1 na na na na na

Vietnam 2002 30.5 na 78.5 na na na na na 

Vietnam 2005 15.7 24.6 83.6 14.3 15.6 35.5 58.1 33.3 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 61.9 na 78.0 15.7 68.5 na 82.4 11.3 

Bolivia 2003 51.6 89.3 75.1 5.4 54.7 92.6 75.2 3.6

Bolivia 2008 42.1 90.7 80.8 2.7 45.7 94.0 84.0 0.1

 Colombia 1995 71.2 na 83.3 na na na na na 

Colombia 2000 na na na na na na na na

Colombia 2005 na na na na na na na na

Colombia 2010 na na na na na na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 53.0 91.0 93.9 0.9 21.9 71.3 78.7 10.7

Dominican Republic 2002 54.9 89.6 92.7 2.0 48.0 85.9 87.2 4.1 

Dominican Republic 2007 55.3 85.8 93.1 2.4 46.8 89.6 93.0 2.2 

 Haiti 1994-1995 38.9 66.5 39.1 25.5 56.0 65.4 34.2 23.8

Haiti 2000 39.4 65.7 38.4 24.7 36.0 70.6 32.1 22.8 

Haiti 2005-2006 32.5 77.4 35.6 17.2 21.8 86.0 29.8 12.2

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 56.0 na 73.0 18.5 59.0 na 79.9 14.4 

Nicaragua 2001 47.1 87.8 71.3 5.4 na na na na 

 Peru 2000 24.2 72.7 63.3 13.7 na na na na

 Peru 2004-2008 28.4 76.0 64.9 10.2 na na na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only (refer to Appendix A). 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or it is not comparable. 
25 

4 Adolescent Marriage, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Risk 

4.1 Marital Status, Early Marriage, Early Sexual Debut 

Sexual activity is a reproductive health risk indicator. For adolescent women in many settings, 

marriage is a milestone strongly associated with the onset of sexual activity, and, consequently, with the 

risk of pregnancy. Populations in which age at marriage is low also tend to be populations with early 

childbearing and high fertility. Further, early sexual debut, within or outside of marriage, is linked to 

sexually transmitted infections including HIV, unwanted pregnancies, and coerced sex by older partners 

(Hindin and Fatusi, 2009; Ashford, 2001; Kaestle et al., 2005; and Bearinger et al., 2007). Therefore, for 

both demographic and health reasons, there is an interest in looking at trends in age at marriage and age at 

first sex. Table 5 presents information on the proportion of adolescents who are married/in union, the 

proportion married before age 15, and the proportion sexually active before age 15. Two accompanying 

figures present trends in the proportions of adolescent women married before age 15 (Figure 3) and 

adolescent women and men sexually active before age 15 (Figure 4). 

Key Findings 

• In all countries and years for which data are available for both adolescent women and men, higher 

proportions of adolescent women report being married/in union than do adolescent men. The 

disparity is highest in Niger, where the proportion of adolescent women married is 56 percentage 

points higher than that of adolescent men, and lowest in Armenia (less than one percent 

difference). 

• In the majority of countries, the most recent survey indicates less than one-third of adolescent 

women and less than 3 percent of adolescent men are married or in union by age 15. 

• A decrease over time is suggested in the proportion of adolescent women married by age 15 in 

Eritrea, Guinea, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In Cameroon and Madagascar, the proportion of 

adolescent men married before age 15 may have increased slightly over time. 

• Within countries, the proportion of adolescent women having sex before age 15 compared with 

the percentage of adolescent men sexually active at this age varies considerably. Overall, the 

proportion of adolescents having sex before age 15 decreased except in the Latin 

America/Caribbean region. 
26 

Table 5 Marriage and sexual activity of adolescents 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who are currently married or in union, who were first married by age 15, and who had first 

sexual intercourse by age 15, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Married/ 

in union 

Married before 

age 15 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

before age 15

Married/ 

in union 

Married before 

age 15 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

before age 15

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 28.6 5.1 13.5 na na na 

Benin 2001 23.3 5.0 16.0 1.1 0.2 23.8 

Benin 2006 21.7 5.3 13.2 1.5 0.1 12.9 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 33.8 6.3 12.0 1.4 0.0 7.6 

Burkina Faso 2003 31.6 4.2 7.3 1.1 0.0 4.7 

 Cameroon 1998 33.6 11.0 26.0 3.5 0.3 17.8 

Cameroon 2004 30.9 11.2 18.0 6.0 2.0 11.5 

 Chad 1996-1997 46.7 18.6 21.9 5.1 0.0 7.9 

Chad 2004 42.0 17.9 19.2 0.9 0.1 10.7 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 16.4 3.7 23.5 2.7 0.2 25.3 

Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 19.3 5.0 22.5 1.8 0.1 24.3 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 23.9 7.4 22.1 1.3 0.0 13.8 

Cote d’Ivoire 2005 19.6 7.4 20.4 1.8 0.5 16.7 

 Eritrea 1995 32.5 20.0 18.5 1.5 0.0 na 

Eritrea 2002 29.0 8.5 8.8 na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 23.2 14.4 13.5 1.2 0.6 5.1 

Ethiopia 2005 21.8 12.7 11.1 2.1 0.0 1.7 

Ethiopia 2011 19.1 8.0 7.1 2.1 0.4 1.2 

 Ghana 1998 13.4 3.8 7.3 2.7 0.3 3.7 

Ghana 2003 12.0 2.5 7.4 0.6 0.2 3.9 

Ghana 2008 8.3 2.6 8.2 0.8 0.0 3.6 

 Guinea 1999 43.9 20.2 27.3 2.1 0.3 19.8 

Guinea 2005 35.6 12.2 19.7 2.7 0.0 17.9 

 Kenya 1998 15.4 2.1 15.0 0.8 0.1 31.7 

Kenya 2003 17.9 3.5 14.5 1.3 0.0 30.9 

Kenya 2008-2009 12.0 1.4 11.5 0.4 0.1 22.3 

 Madagascar 1997 27.9 11.5 19.4 na na na 

Madagascar 2003-2004 27.2 8.8 16.0 5.5 0.1 7.7 

Madagascar 2008-2009 33.7 11.8 17.2 11.4 2.0 8.4 

 Malawi 2000 32.6 5.6 16.5 3.5 0.2 29.1 

Malawi 2004 32.9 6.2 14.1 2.3 0.0 18.0 

Malawi 2010 23.4 3.6 12.1 2.3 0.1 26.4 

 Mali 1995-1996 48.6 16.0 23.7 4.0 0.5 14.7 

Mali 2001 45.9 19.4 26.0 0.6 0.0 10.6 

Mali 2006 50.4 22.8 23.5 8.5 0.0 6.3 

 Mozambique 1997 45.0 14.3 28.6 2.8 0.6 23.5 

Mozambique 2003 38.2 14.0 27.7 4.9 0.9 31.3 

Mozambique 2009 43.4 12.9 23.1 5.2 0.8 27.3 

 Namibia 2000 5.0 1.7 9.8 2.0 0.0 31.3 

Namibia 2006-2007 5.3 1.1 7.4 0.3 0.1 19.2 

 Niger 1998 59.9 27.3 na 3.3 0.1 10.0 

Niger 2006 59.0 28.0 25.7 2.9 0.0 5.3 

 Nigeria 1999 26.6 13.8 16.2 2.4 0.6 8.3 

Nigeria 2003 31.7 16.1 20.3 1.1 0.7 7.9 

Nigeria 2008 28.7 12.4 15.3 0.9 0.1 6.2 

 Rwanda 2000 6.6 0.3 3.0 1.4 na 9.3 

Rwanda 2005 2.5 0.2 5.2 0.2 na 15.3 

Rwanda 2007-2008 2.6 na na 0.5 na na 

 Senegal 1992-1993 28.8 9.7 11.4 na na na 

Senegal 1997 27.8 8.2 9.6 na na na 

Senegal 2005 28.5 10.2 9.1 6.3 1.3 12.7 

 Tanzania 1999 25.0 3.9 14.5 2.3 0.3 23.9 

Tanzania 2004-2005 26.3 4.6 11.4 1.1 0.0 13.0 

Tanzania 2007-2008 21.3 3.2 10.7 1.4 0.2 10.8 

Tanzania 2010 18.4 2.8 11.3 4.2 0.0 7.8 

 Uganda 2000-2001 28.9 6.6 14.2 6.4 0.3 15.5 

Uganda 2006 19.6 3.0 11.8 1.8 0.0 13.9 

 Zambia 1996 24.8 3.6 21.7 0.6 0.0 39.3 

Zambia 2001-2002 24.2 4.9 17.5 1.5 0.0 27.2 

Zambia 2007 17.8 3.1 12.3 1.2 0.0 16.2 

Continued...
27 

Table 5—Continued

Survey 

Adolescent women Adolescent men 

Married/ 

in union 

Married before 

age 15 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

before age 15

Married/ 

in union 

Married before 

age 15 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

before age 15

 Zimbabwe 1999 21.7 1.7 3.2 0.6 0.0 6.3 

Zimbabwe 2005-2006 20.8 2.6 4.9 0.4 0.0 5.2 

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 23.2 2.8 3.9 1.0 0.1 3.6 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 8.5 0.6 0.6 1.3 0.0 1.3 

Armenia 2005 6.9 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.6 

Armenia 2010 7.9 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.4 

Egypt 2000 11.6 1.3 na na na na 

Egypt 2005 12.3 1.0 na na na na 

Egypt 2008 13.1 1.1 na na na na 

Jordan 1997 8.0 1.2 na na na na 

Jordan 2002 6.0 0.6 na na na na 

Jordan 2007 5.7 0.3 na na na na 

Jordan 2009 6.6 0.6 na na na na 

Turkey 1993 13.4 1.8 na na na na 

Turkey 1998 15.2 2.3 na na na na 

Turkey 2003 11.9 1.4 na na na na 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 46.6 27.3 na na na na 

Bangladesh 2004 46.6 26.3 na na na na 

Bangladesh 2007 45.6 21.1 na na na na 

 Cambodia 2000 12.1 1.1 1.0 na na na 

Cambodia 2005 10.1 1.2 0.7 1.6 0.0 0.4 

Cambodia 2010 10.2 0.9 0.4 na na na 

India 1998-1999 33.8 14.3 na na na na 

India 2005-2006 27.1 11.9 8.0 2.8 1.3 2.7 

Indonesia 1997 17.1 3.3 3.3 na na na 

Indonesia 2002-2003 14.0 2.8 2.8 na na na 

Indonesia 2007 12.8 1.7 1.8 na na na 

Nepal 1996 43.3 14.4 13.0 na na na 

Nepal 2001 39.8 9.1 8.8 na na na 

Nepal 2006 32.2 5.5 5.5 na na na 

 Philippines 2003 9.0 1.2 1.4 2.1 0.3 2.8 

Philippines 2008 10.3 1.5 2.1 na na na 

Vietnam 1997 7.7 0.5 na na na na 

Vietnam 2002 4.1 0.3 na na na na 

Vietnam 2005 6.1 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.2 0.3 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 10.5 2.6 4.5 4.3 0.1 15.1 

Bolivia 2003 11.0 2.4 6.2 3.3 0.2 15.3 

Bolivia 2008 13.4 2.5 7.3 3.6 0.0 10.4 

 Colombia 1995 13.5 3.8 7.8 na na na 

Colombia 2000 14.4 3.8 9.9 na na na 

Colombia 2005 13.5 4.5 13.7 na na na 

Colombia 2010 13.7 4.0 13.5 na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 17.9 11.4 13.0 3.3 0.5 16.4 

Dominican Republic 2002 22.4 10.4 12.8 3.0 0.2 18.4 

Dominican Republic 2007 18.8 9.6 14.0 2.7 0.4 21.1 

 Haiti 1994-1995 14.9 3.0 8.4 2.1 0.6 20.1 

Haiti 2000 16.1 4.7 12.0 2.4 0.2 28.3 

Haiti 2005-2006 16.6 5.6 15.3 2.1 0.5 41.9 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 25.6 13.1 12.2 na na 30.3 

Nicaragua 2001 22.3 9.4 10.9 na na na 

 Peru 2000 10.3 2.1 5.1 na na na 

 Peru 2004-2008 10.8 2.0 5.3 na na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only (refer to 

Appendix A). In the ever-married samples, the denominators are adjusted by the all women factor. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or it is not comparable. 
28 

Figure 3a Marriage before age 15: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who were first married before age 15, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of two percentage points between the first and the last survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

0

40302010

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Marriage before age 15 — Women 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

MalawiGuineaMaliEritreaUgandaCongo(Brazzaville)EthiopiaLinear(Guinea)

0

40302010

E1990S L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Marriage before age 15 — Women 

(North Africa/West Asia/Europe) 

ArmeniaEgyptJordanTurkey

3210

E1990S L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Detail graph

0

40302010

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Marriage before age 15 — Women 

(South/Southeast Asia) 

BangladeshCambodiaIndiaIndonesiaNepalPhilippinesVietnam

0

40302010

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Marriage before age 15 — Women 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru
29 

Figure 3b Marriage before age 15: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 married before age 15 from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

0

10

20

30

40

Marriage before age 15 — Women 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin

America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast Asia 
30 

Figure 4a Sexual intercourse before age 15: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who had first sexual intercourse before age 15, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African countries, linegraph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of five percentage points between the first and the last survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

50

4540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Women 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

CameroonGuineaEritreaMozambiqueZambiaEthiopia

50

4540353025201510

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Women 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru

50

4540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Women 

(South/Southeast Asia) 

CambodiaIndonesiaNepalPhilippines
31 

Figure 4a—Continued

50

4540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Men 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

BeninKenyaCameroonNamibiaRwandaTanzaniaZambiaMali

50

4540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Men 

(Latin American/Caribbean)

BoliviaDominicanRepublicHaiti
32 

Figure 4b Sexual intercourse before age 15: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who have had sexual intercourse before age 15 from the most recent DHS/AIS 

survey. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Women

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa South/Southeast 

Asia

North 

Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

Latin America/ 

Caribbean

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Sexual intercourse before age 15 — Men

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa South/

Southeast 

Asia 

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

Latin 

America/

Caribbean
33 

4.2 Premarital Sex 

Table 6 presents the percentage of never-married adolescents who have never had sexual 

intercourse (also called primary abstinence) and of never-married adolescents who were previously 

sexually active but have not had sexual intercourse in the 12 months before the survey (also called 

secondary abstinence). Abstaining from sex decreases the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted 

infections, including HIV. The accompanying Figure 5 shows trends over time in the proportions of 

never-married adolescents who have never had sexual intercourse. 

Key Findings 

• In the majority of countries and consistently across time, higher proportions of never-married 

adolescent women have never engaged in sexual intercourse compared with never-married 

adolescent men. A similar trend is apparent for never-married adolescents who were once 

sexually active, but were not sexually active in the 12 months prior to the survey; the proportion 

of adolescents having never engaged in sexual intercourse is higher among women than men. 

• In the Latin America/Caribbean region, data suggest the percentage of never-married adolescent 

women who have never had sexual intercourse has decreased—that is, more women in this region 

report engaging in premarital sex. In the sub-Saharan Africa region, the percentage of nevermarried adolescent men who have never had sex appears to have increased—that is, fewer men in 

this region report premarital sex. 

• In over half of countries surveyed, data suggest a decrease in the proportion of never-married 

adolescent women who were previously but are not currently sexually active (16 of 31 countries 

for which data are available). Among the comparable population of adolescent men, data suggest 

an increase over time for the majority of countries (21 of 26 countries for which data are 

available). 

• The highest percentages of adolescents who have never or not recently been sexually active are 

reported in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Niger, and Armenia. 
34 

Table 6 Premarital sexual intercourse among adolescents 

Percentage of never-married adolescents age 15-19 who have never had sexual intercourse (primary abstinence), and the percentage who have had 

sexual intercourse but not in the past 12 months (secondary abstinence), DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

 Survey 

Never-married adolescent women Never-married adolescent men 

Who have never 

had sexual 

intercourse 

Who have had 

sexual intercourse 

but not in the past 

12 months Number 

Who have never 

had sexual 

intercourse 

Who have had 

sexual intercourse 

but not in the past 

12 months Number 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 66.3 72.1 762 na na na 

 Benin 2001 58.1 64.8 939 49.5 60.1 490 

 Benin 2006 65.1 71.5 2,383 62.1 71.1 995 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 78.1 80.3 941 72.6 76.7 590 

 Burkina Faso 2003 76.1 79.0 1,881 74.4 78.2 867 

 Cameroon 1998 54.3 61.3 823 53.9 59.1 516 

 Cameroon 2004 67.3 73.5 1,792 62.3 68.7 1,112 

 Chad 1996-1997 87.8 88.6 883 68.4 71.7 461 

 Chad 2004 93.8 94.6 745 69.6 73.5 402 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 44.6 50.2 1,254 34.3 43.8 658 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 36.4 41.9 1,018 38.8 45.7 1,116 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 48.1 57.1 578 45.1 49.4 177 

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 43.3 48.9 971 50.0 60.0 877 

 Eritrea 1995 99.4 99.8 704 97.5 98.3 234 

 Eritrea 2002 97.9 98.4 1,381 na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 98.0 98.5 2,597 86.6 90.3 579 

 Ethiopia 2005 97.5 99.0 2,394 94.6 96.1 1,304 

 Ethiopia 2011 97.3 98.1 3,087 93.8 96.2 2,941 

 Ghana 1998 74.0 79.0 761 82.9 85.3 320 

 Ghana 2003 70.6 76.5 991 80.8 86.1 1,097 

 Ghana 2008 69.1 77.3 929 78.8 84.8 902 

 Guinea 1999 73.6 80.1 719 49.9 56.6 382 

 Guinea 2005 64.5 68.2 1,024 50.9 59.3 632 

 Kenya 1998 67.6 76.8 1,543 46.2 54.2 805 

 Kenya 2003 72.5 82.4 1,478 50.5 71.2 839 

 Kenya 2008-2009 72.6 82.8 1,535 56.4 75.6 773 

 Madagascar 1997 65.4 72.6 1,029 na na na 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 67.2 73.3 1,024 59.6 63.1 389 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 75.3 79.5 2,381 65.6 68.1 1,472 

 Malawi 2000 67.6 76.4 1,813 40.5 58.0 634 

 Malawi 2004 74.8 82.8 1,525 49.2 67.8 629 

Malawi 2010 75.9 84.8 3,693 46.8 69.3 1,704 

 Mali 1995-1996 67.6 72.8 947 66.3 73.6 421 

 Mali 2001 70.0 75.6 1,318 66.7 77.1 657 

 Mali 2006 91.9 93.6 1,471 84.6 88.0 782 

 Mozambique 1997 57.6 65.9 971 35.8 46.7 367 

 Mozambique 2003 46.9 52.1 1,391 32.8 39.5 636 

 Mozambique 2009 48.5 53.3 484 38.4 45.5 849 

 Namibia 2000 54.9 64.7 1,409 36.4 55.4 676 

 Namibia 2006-2007 60.0 68.3 2,122 48.4 62.8 907 

 Niger 1998 96.0 97.5 652 77.3 83.3 727 

 Niger 2006 98.5 99.2 676 86.5 93.3 601 

 Nigeria 1999 77.8 81.7 1,286 75.5 79.5 496 

 Nigeria 2003 73.0 76.7 1,145 76.0 82.6 448 

 Nigeria 2008 76.0 80.2 4,586 78.6 84.0 2,508 

 Rwanda 2000 93.2 97.5 2,429 79.7 93.8 751 

 Rwanda 2005 90.6 96.8 2,510 77.5 94.7 1,100 

 Rwanda 2007-2008 na 100.0 1,346 na 100.0 1,451 

 Senegal 1992-1993 91.6 94.2 1,005 na na na 

 Senegal 1997 91.7 94.5 1,376 na na na 

 Senegal 2005 97.0 98.7 2,497 74.5 83.6 848 

 Tanzania 1999 65.1 68.4 662 45.0 51.2 763 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 70.3 77.5 1,618 53.0 67.2 629 

 Tanzania 2007-2008 70.3 76.2 1,527 65.6 76.3 1,736 

 Tanzania 2010 67.9 73.1 1,744 65.7 74.9 616 

 Uganda 2000-2001 70.8 78.7 1,094 65.5 77.6 412 

 Uganda 2006 73.4 81.2 1,502 66.0 79.8 584 

Continued...
35 

Table 6—Continued

 Survey 

Never-married adolescent women Never-married adolescent men 

Who have never 

had sexual 

intercourse 

Who have had 

sexual intercourse 

but not in the past 

12 months Number 

Who have never 

had sexual 

intercourse 

Who have had 

sexual intercourse 

but not in the past 

12 months Number 

 Zambia 1996 57.4 69.2 1,457 34.0 49.5 456 

 Zambia 2001-2002 58.5 71.8 1,322 37.2 56.7 451 

 Zambia 2007 64.5 76.1 1,268 56.0 71.3 1,399 

 Zimbabwe 1999 87.3 90.4 1,118 71.1 77.9 708 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 88.9 92.4 1,640 73.0 82.5 1,886 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 88.9 92.0 1,440 76.2 84.0 1,716 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 100.0 100.0 1,061 86.8 87.3 260 

 Armenia 2005 100.0 100.0 1,044 86.6 87.7 292 

 Armenia 2010 100.0 100.0 790 80.4 83.0 227 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 91.4 94.4 2,193 61.9 66.9 675 

 Bolivia 2003 82.1 88.0 3,394 61.2 67.2 1,151 

 Bolivia 2008 82.0 86.9 3,001 64.9 71.6 1,067 

 Colombia 1995 84.3 87.9 1,809 na na na 

 Colombia 2000 72.7 76.9 1,866 na na na 

 Colombia 2005 67.8 72.9 5,718 na na na 

 Colombia 2010 60.3 64.6 7,545 na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 93.0 93.3 189 55.0 60.1 219 

 Dominican Republic 2002 90.0 91.4 3,207 53.5 61.6 532 

 Dominican Republic 2007 83.8 85.6 4,096 52.8 62.2 5,357 

 Haiti 1994-1995 85.4 87.0 1,072 54.5 60.4 339 

 Haiti 2000 81.5 85.9 1,888 49.1 61.4 748 

 Haiti 2005-2006 73.6 80.5 2,180 37.9 54.8 1,183 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 96.9 98.0 2,172 45.8 51.2 626 

 Nicaragua 2001 93.6 95.5 2,185 na na na 

 Peru 2000 87.6 91.6 5,008 na na na 

Peru 2004-2008 85.2 88.4 6,636 na na na 

Note: Countries with no trend data for the indicators have been omitted from the table. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
36 

Figure 5a Premarital sexual intercourse: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who have never had sexual intercourse, among those who are never-married, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 (For subSaharan African countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of seven percentage points for women and 10 percentage points for men between the first and the last survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

9590858075706560555045403530

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Women

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

Congo(Brazzaville)MaliGuineaMozambiqueCameroonZambiaMadagascarMalawiLinear(Guinea)Linear(Cameroon)

9590858075706560555045403530

100

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Women

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru

9590858075706560555045403530

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Men

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

BeninKenyaMaliNamibiaTanzaniaZambia

9590858075706560555045403530

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Men

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaDominicanRepublicHaiti
37 

Figure 5b Premarital sexual intercourse: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who have never had sexual intercourse, among those who are never-married, 

from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Women 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Never Had Sexual Intercourse — Men 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe
38 

4.3 Recent Sexual Activity, Multiple Partners, and Condom Use 

Indicators for risk of pregnancy, STIs, and HIV include an individual’s number of sexual partners 

and condom use. Table 7 presents information on these indicators from all adolescents who were sexually 

active in the 12 months immediately preceding the survey. Specifically, the table presents the percentage 

of adolescents who have had sex in the 12 months preceding the survey. Among these sexually active 

adolescents, the table shows the percentage who have had sex with more than one partner and those who 

have had sex with a partner who was neither a spouse nor living with the adolescent (nonmarital nor 

noncohabiting; previously labeled higher risk sex). Finally, among adolescents who had sex with a 

nonmarital and noncohabiting partner, the table presents the percentage that used a male condom at last 

sexual intercourse. The accompanying Figure 6 graphs trends over time in the proportions of sexually 

active adolescents who had sex with a nonmarital or noncohabiting partner in the past 12 months. 

Key Findings 

• The proportion of adolescent women age 15-19 who report having sexual intercourse in the past 

12 months has increased in more than half of countries surveyed. The proportion of adolescent 

men reporting recent sexual intercourse has decreased by small margins in the majority of 

countries. 

• Higher proportions of adolescent men have had sexual intercourse with more than one partner in 

the past 12 months compared with adolescent women. This gender difference is more than ten 

times higher in the Chad 2004, Niger 2006, and Haiti 2000 surveys. 

• A similar trend is observed for the adolescents who had sex with a nonmarital or noncohabiting 

partner; the proportion of men who had sex with a nonmarital or a noncohabiting partner is 

greater in nearly every instance than the corresponding proportion of women. 

• In the majority of countries, among adolescent women and men who reported sex with a 

nonmarital or noncohabiting partner in the past 12 months, condom use at last sex increased. 

However, condom use remains low. 
39 

Table 7 Sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, and condom use among adolescents 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who had sexual intercourse in the past 12 months; among adolescents who had sexual intercourse in the past 12 months, the percentage who had 

sexual intercourse with more than one sexual partner in the past 12 months, the percentage who had sexual intercourse with a partner who neither was a spouse (nonmarital) nor who lived 

with the respondent in the past 12 months (noncohabiting); among adolescents who had sex with a nonmarital or noncohabiting partner, the percentage that reported condom use at last 

sexual intercourse, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Adolescent 

women 

Adolescent women who had 

sexual intercourse in 

past 12 months 

Adolescent women who had 

sexual intercourse with a 

nonmarital or noncohabiting 

partner in past 12 months 

Adolescent 

men 

Adolescent men who had 

sexual intercourse in 

past 12 months 

Adolescent men who had 

sexual intercourse with a 

nonmarital or noncohabiting 

partner in past 12 months 

 Survey 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with 2+ 

partners in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with a 

nonmarital or 

noncohabiting 

partner in past 

12 months 

Who reported 

using a 

condom at last 

sexual 

intercourse Number 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with 2+ 

partners in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with a 

nonmarital or 

noncohabiting 

partner in past 

12 months 

Percentage 

who reported 

using a 

condom at last 

sexual 

intercourse Number 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 38.3 10.5 53.7 na na na na na na na 

 Benin 2001 46.6 3.4 57.1 17.6 328 40.7 27.1 98.5 34.0 199 

 Benin 2006 41.5 2.9 53.8 26.4 685 29.7 18.1 95.4 41.0 287 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 37.5 9.4 37.4 na na 24.4 na 94.1 na 138 

 Burkina Faso 2003 41.6 3.6 36.8 46.4 425 22.4 20.2 97.6 61.6 192 

 Cameroon 1998 52.2 na 53.1 na na 43.4 na 94.1 na na 

 Cameroon 2004 48.2 11.2 55.7 47.4 720 36.5 35.1 96.6 55.8 432 

 Chad 1996-1997 43.4 2.0 16.0 na na 32.3 5.0 89.4 na na 

 Chad 2004 45.1 1.7 10.0 12.8 61 27.2 24.8 97.0 20.2 107 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 58.4 17.6 79.4 19.5 727 57.4 21.8 98.6 32.5 384 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 66.6 12.8 72.0 31.5 626 55.1 16.6 96.8 45.2 607 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 48.7 13.3 69.2 na na 51.5 1.8 99.2 na na 

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 60.5 6.7 70.1 40.2 523 41.1 32.3 97.4 57.2 360 

 Eritrea 1995 30.9 na 4.8 na na 3.2 * * * * 

 Eritrea 2002 28.0 na na na na na na na na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 25.7 2.5 7.8 22.3 74 10.6 19.1 89.0 28.3 57 

 Ethiopia 2005 12.6 0.4 7.2 (27.1) 29 5.8 3.9 68.0 44.0 53 

 Ethiopia 2011 21.6 1.3 8.3 na na 8.6 8.9 78.2 50.0 190 

 Ghana 1998 27.7 na 67.0 na na 16.4 na 87.2 na na 

 Ghana 2003 31.6 4.9 72.1 33.5 262 14.7 16.2 97.9 46.2 159 

 Ghana 2008 29.0 4.1 73.6 24.4 218 15.8 19.4 96.2 40.3 139 

 Guinea 1999 36.8 9.6 34.7 na na 44.5 2.4 98.2 na na 

 Guinea 2005 49.7 5.1 47.1 24.3 386 42.1 31.6 99.8 34.0 279 

 Kenya 1998 34.6 10.1 60.6 na na 46.2 0.1 98.4 na na 

 Kenya 2003 33.4 4.4 46.7 23.4 289 30.1 24.1 96.6 41.0 249 

 Kenya 2008-2009 27.6 4.6 56.0 41.0 272 24.7 17.4 98.0 54.7 188 

 Madagascar 1997 46.7 na 46.5 na na na na na na na 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 49.0 7.6 42.9 5.4 321 41.0 25.6 89.2 12.3 152 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 49.0 6.5 45.8 4.7 888 39.6 34.6 88.4 9.4 598 

 Malawi 2000 49.5 2.2 33.8 31.5 479 44.3 21.2 93.4 28.9 274 

 Malawi 2004 45.8 2.2 27.5 34.9 302 34.3 14.4 94.5 35.6 210 

Malawi 2010 36.0 1.8 33.5 43.7 602 32.3 15.1 92.8 46.8 524 

 Mali 1995-1996 57.0 na 25.4 na na 29.3 4.5 91.5 na na 

 Mali 2001 57.8 3.3 28.3 13.6 419 24.1 24.0 98.3 22.6 158 

 Mali 2006 50.5 3.5 20.7 13.7 325 20.7 19.3 93.1 30.2 169 

 Mozambique 1997 50.0 na 38.5 na na 54.3 na 95.2 na na 

 Mozambique 2003 64.7 9.7 48.6 30.8 772 62.3 36.3 95.4 30.2 400 

 Mozambique 2009 68.4 6.0 40.2 41.6 261 57.1 17.8 91.1 35.5 469 

 Namibia 2000 38.8 3.4 90.9 51.8 528 45.6 17.0 87.3 63.0 276 

 Namibia 2006-2007 35.3 3.1 84.1 67.1 667 37.5 16.8 98.0 81.3 334 

 Niger 1998 55.4 0.9 3.6 na na 19.8 3.6 85.2 na na 

 Niger 2006 57.1 0.4 0.7 * 7 9.5 21.5 76.3 31.0 45 

 Nigeria 1999 35.3 na 38.9 na na 22.5 na 90.3 na na 

 Nigeria 2003 47.8 1.9 34.2 22.3 280 18.3 26.8 94.1 32.8 78 

 Nigeria 2008 41.7 2.3 33.3 28.6 903 16.7 14.5 94.5 36.3 398 

 Rwanda 2000 9.2 2.3 24.0 28.0 58 7.5 12.1 82.0 49.3 47 

 Rwanda 2005 5.8 2.3 53.0 27.6 80 5.5 4.9 96.4 37.0 59 

 Rwanda 2007-2008 na na na na na na na na na na 

Continued... 

 
40 

Table 7—Continued

Adolescent 

women 

Adolescent women who had 

sexual intercourse in 

past 12 months 

Adolescent women who had 

sexual intercourse with a 

nonmarital or noncohabiting 

partner in past 12 months 

Adolescent 

men 

Adolescent men who had 

sexual intercourse in 

past 12 months 

Adolescent men who had 

sexual intercourse with a 

nonmarital or noncohabiting 

partner in past 12 months 

 Survey 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with 2+ 

partners in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with a 

nonmarital or 

noncohabiting 

partner in past 

12 months 

Who reported 

using a 

condom at last 

sexual 

intercourse Number 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with 2+ 

partners in 

past 12 

months 

Who had 

sexual 

intercourse 

with a 

nonmarital or 

noncohabiting 

partner in past 

12 months 

Percentage 

who reported 

using a 

condom at last 

sexual 

intercourse Number 

 Senegal 1992-1993 26.8 na 16.2 na na na na na na na 

 Senegal 1997 27.2 na 16.0 na na na na na na na 

 Senegal 2005 25.5 2.4 14.1 31.2 128 22.1 19.2 97.8 44.1 200 

 Tanzania 1999 48.0 14.7 52.1 na na 50.6 1.7 95.4 na na 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 42.9 4.8 41.5 40.0 400 33.7 26.5 98.1 39.0 210 

 Tanzania 2007-2008 40.9 4.8 49.1 48.2 398 25.1 14.2 95.3 41.2 423 

 Tanzania 2010 40.5 4.8 56.4 49.2 496 28.4 24.1 90.8 45.7 166 

 Uganda 2000-2001 45.7 4.0 36.1 49.6 266 27.2 21.1 81.4 51.5 97 

 Uganda 2006 36.1 3.6 44.0 36.0 308 21.5 21.2 94.4 46.1 121 

 Zambia 1996 44.2 10.5 53.5 na na 50.9 0.7 99.4 na na 

 Zambia 2001-2002 45.6 6.1 47.9 30.2 396 44.3 26.5 97.1 32.5 197 

 Zambia 2007 38.2 5.0 52.2 36.0 314 29.6 15.2 96.1 42.1 403 

 Zimbabwe 1999 29.3 3.1 26.6 37.4 113 22.6 19.4 99.0 59.1 160 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 28.0 2.8 24.8 40.1 150 18.0 15.2 96.5 54.4 330 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 29.7 3.0 22.8 na na 16.5 14.7 95.1 63.3 332 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 8.5 na * (48.7) 34 13.9 na (93.6) na na 

 Armenia 2005 7.0 na * (84.2) 36 12.3 (17.3) (100.0) na na 

 Armenia 2010 8.1 0.0 4.1 * * 17.8 (32.9) (94.6) (83.2) 39 

South/Southeast Asia 

 Cambodia 2000 12.2 0.5 0.7 * * na na na na na 

 Cambodia 2005 10.5 0.1 1.2 * * 5.5 30.8 69.8 80.2 64 

 Cambodia 2010 10.6 0.6 1.4 * * na na na na na 

India 1998-1999 na na na * * na na na 5.9 22 

India 2005-2006 96.1 0.1 0.1 na na 98.7 14.8 5.9 na na 

Indonesia 1997 89.7 na na na na na na na na na 

Indonesia 2002-2003 94.2 na na na na na na na na na 

Indonesia 2007 94.1 na na na na na na na na na 

Nepal 1996 84.5 na na na na na na na na na 

Nepal 2001 95.2 na na na na na 8.3 na na na 

Nepal 2006 95.6 0.2 0.1 na na 100.0 4.1 5.3 na na 

 Philippines 2003 9.7 na 9.1 (18.4) 23 9.5 33.4 79.9 21.2 70 

 Philippines 2008 12.6 na 15.5 8.7 54 na na na na na 

Vietnam 1997 na na na na na na na na na na 

Vietnam 2002 na na na na na na na na na na 

Vietnam 2005 96.9 na na na na 96.7 na na na na 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 15.5 na 37.9 na na 36.4 na 88.6 na na 

 Bolivia 2003 22.3 3.8 49.1 22.5 424 35.2 37.1 88.3 37.7 373 

 Bolivia 2008 25.0 na na 46.2 305 31.1 30.5 88.2 na na 

 Colombia 1995 25.3 na 48.6 na na na na na na na 

 Colombia 2000 35.8 na 55.6 33.4 450 na na na na na 

 Colombia 2005 39.1 10.5 58.6 40.1 1,581 na na na na na 

 Colombia 2010 46.0 10.6 65.6 49.9 2,747 na na na na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 30.0 na 40.3 na na 42.9 na 92.3 na na 

 Dominican Republic 2002 34.8 5.8 25.5 35.7 404 41.0 39.8 94.3 50.5 214 

 Dominican Republic 2007 36.2 10.1 40.4 47.9 815 40.5 33.5 95.7 71.4 2,174 

 Haiti 1994-1995 26.0 na 45.2 na na 41.5 5.1 94.9 na na 

 Haiti 2000 29.0 1.9 71.5 20.3 485 40.2 31.2 99.0 32.7 305 

 Haiti 2005-2006 33.2 2.8 71.1 32.3 637 46.4 27.8 99.1 33.0 557 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 32.2 na 23.0 na na 53.9 na 86.1 na na 

 Nicaragua 2001 30.9 2.2 17.6 10.4 171 na na na na na 

 Peru 2000 18.2 2.4 10.8 17.6 111 na na na na na 

Peru 2004-2008 21.9 2.7 8.5 21.9 140 na na na na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only. 

* An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed. 

() Numbers in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
41 

Figure 6a Sexual intercourse with nonmarital/noncohabiting partner: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who had sexual intercourse with a nonmarital/noncohabiting partner, among adolescents who had sexual intercourse in the past 12 months, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that 

showed a minimum change of five percentage points between the first and the last survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year —

Women 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

Congo(Brazzaville)GhanaChadGuineaNigeriaRwandaUgandaNamibia

0

908070605040302010

100

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year —

Women 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year — Men 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

ChadGhanaNigerUgandaNamibiaRwandaEthiopia

0

908070605040302010

100

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year — Men 

(Latin American/Caribbean)

BoliviaDominicanRepublicHaiti
42 

Figure 6b Sexual intercourse with nonmarital/noncohabiting partner: Current status 

Percentage of adolescents age 15-19 who have had sexual intercourse with a nonmarital/noncohabiting partner in 

the past year, among those who had sexual intercourse in the past year, from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

 

 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year — Women 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America/ 

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast Asia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Sexual Intercourse with Nonmarital/Noncohabiting Partner in the Past Year — Men 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin 

America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast

Asia 
43 

4.4 Age-Mixing in Sexual Relationships 

Adolescent women who have sex with older partners (e.g., six years or older) are at higher risk of 

contracting sexually transmitted infections and of coerced sex than those having sex with similar age 

partners. The probability of STI or HIV transmission is higher among individuals with more years of 

sexual exposure, and adolescent women’s agency and power to negotiate (safe) sex with older partners 

may be more limited than with similar age partners (Luke and Kurz, 2002). Table 8 presents the 

percentage of adolescent women who had sex in the past 12 months with a male sexual partner at least 10 

years older than themselves. 

Key Findings 

• In the majority of countries, 5 percent or less of adolescent women who had sexual intercourse in 

the past 12 months reported having sexual intercourse with a man 10 or more years older than 

themselves. The highest percentage was reported in Ethiopia (21 percent in the most recent 

survey) while only four other countries reported percentages greater than 10 percent. 

 
44 

Table 8 Age-mixing in sexual relationships among adolescent women 

Percentage who had sexual intercourse with a partner who was 10 or more years older 

than themselves among adolescent women age 15-19 who had sexual intercourse in 

the past 12 months, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

 

Adolescent women who had sexual intercourse 

in the past 12 months 

 Survey 

Who had sexual 

intercourse 

with a partner 

10+ years older Number 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 na 412 

Benin 2001 na 574 

Benin 2006 5.4 1,273 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 na 541 

Burkina Faso 2003 na 1,155 

 Cameroon 1998 na 669 

Cameroon 2004 1.4 1,293 

 Chad 1996-1997 na 745 

Chad 2004 2.9 613 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 10.8 915 

Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 na na 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 na 377 

Cote d’Ivoire 2005 3.3 746 

 Ethiopia 2000 na 954 

Ethiopia 2005 na 411 

Ethiopia 2011 21.1 865 

 Ghana 1998 na 252 

Ghana 2003 3.7 363 

Ghana 2008 3.6 297 

 Guinea 1999 na 486 

Guinea 2005 5.9 819 

 Kenya 1998 na 640 

Kenya 2003 1.7 619 

Kenya 2008-2009 2.1 486 

 Madagascar 1997 na 725 

Madagascar 2003-2004 na 748 

Madagascar 2008-2009 5.1 1,940 

 Malawi 2000 na 1,419 

Malawi 2004 0.4 1,095 

Malawi 2010 0.6 1,800 

 Mali 1995-1996 na 1,072 

Mali 2001 na 1,483 

Mali 2006 5.4 1,568 

 Mozambique 1997 na 918 

Mozambique 2003 1.6 1,588 

Mozambique 2009 1.1 1,163 

 Namibia 2000 na 581 

Namibia 2006-2007 3.6 793 

 Niger 1998 na 950 

Niger 2006 0.1 981 

 Nigeria 1999 na 627 

Nigeria 2003 4.0 819 

Nigeria 2008 3.5 2,708 

 Rwanda 2000 na 241 

Rwanda 2005 4.6 151 

Rwanda 2007-2008 na 1,387 

 Senegal 1992-1993 na 382 

Senegal 1997 na 528 

Senegal 2005 2.6 906 

Continued... 

 
45 

Table 8—Continued

 

Adolescent women who had sexual intercourse 

in the past 12 months 

 Survey 

Who had sexual 

intercourse 

with a partner 

10+ years older Number 

 Tanzania 1999 na 436 

Tanzania 2004-2005 2.9 963 

Tanzania 2007-2008 2.3 1,253 

Tanzania 2010 na 879 

 Uganda 2000-2001 na 738 

Uganda 2006 2.9 700 

 Zambia 1996 na 885 

Zambia 2001-2002 na 826 

Zambia 2007 2.3 601 

 Zimbabwe 1999 na 424 

Zimbabwe 2005-2006 na 603 

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 15.3 578 

North Africa/West Asia/Europe 

 Armenia 2000 na 98 

Armenia 2005 na 78 

Armenia 2010 15.4 70 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Dominican Republic 1999 na 77 

Dominican Republic 2002 na 1,584 

Dominican Republic 2007 9.8 2,017 

 Haiti 1994-1995 na 336 

Haiti 2000 na 678 

Haiti 2005-2006 6.6 896 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 na 3,307 

Nicaragua 2001 na 3,141 

 Peru 2000 na 5,645 

 Peru 2004-2008 2.0 1,651 

Note: Countries with no data for the indicators have been omitted from the table. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not 

comparable. 
46 

4.5 Self-reported Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Symptoms 

In addition to HIV/AIDS, other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) are a serious consequence 

of unprotected sexual activity. Worldwide, the highest rates of STIs occur annually among young people 

age 15-24, and young women are disproportionately affected (Dehne and Riedner, 2005). Table 9 

presents information on self-reported prevalence of STIs and STI symptoms from adolescents who have 

ever had sexual intercourse. 

Key Findings 

• Among adolescent women, data suggest an increase in the proportion of women who reported 

having an STI or symptoms of an STI. Armenia appears to be an exception to this trend because 

there is a 24 percentage point decrease between surveys. There does not appear to be an 

increasing or decreasing trend among men. 

 
47 

Table 9 Self-reported prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and STI symptoms among adolescents 

Percentage reporting having an STI and/or symptoms of an STI in the past 12 months among adolescents age 15-19 who 

ever had sexual intercourse, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Adolescent women who ever had sexual 

intercourse 

Adolescent men who ever had sexual 

intercourse 

Survey 

Who had STI or STI 

symptom in the past 

12 months Number 

Who had STI or STI 

symptom in the past 

12 months Number 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 na 570 na na 

 Benin 2001 2.6 687 4.2 253 

 Benin 2006 6.5 1,516 4.4 393 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 na 708 na 171 

 Burkina Faso 2003 3.9 1,344 11.5 230 

 Cameroon 1998 na 834 na 261 

 Cameroon 2004 11.5 1,470 8.0 534 

 Chad 1996-1997 na 940 na 174 

 Chad 2004 4.4 661 9.2 127 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 17.7 1,007 9.3 452 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 28.8 935 8.4 704 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 na 497 na 100 

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 24.9 811 13.9 459 

 Eritrea 1995 na 424 na na 

 Eritrea 2002 na 648 na na 

 Ethiopia 2000 na 1,139 4.7 92 

 Ethiopia 2005 1.4 904 0.5 97 

 Ethiopia 2011 3.3 971 2.3 236 

 Ghana 1998 na 344 na 64 

 Ghana 2003 13.6 448 8.3 221 

 Ghana 2008 29.1 383 7.4 200 

 Guinea 1999 na 791 na 201 

 Guinea 2005 35.4 987 7.1 341 

 Kenya 1998 na 808 na 440 

 Kenya 2003 3.9 782 2.2 432 

 Kenya 2008-2009 3.8 646 1.2 341 

 Madagascar 1997 na 878 na na 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 3.2 839 5.3 184 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 2.8 2,117 7.1 733 

 Malawi 2000 8.4 1,643 13.3 404 

 Malawi 2004 7.7 1,249 8.6 340 

Malawi 2010 8.4 2,203 8.5 950 

 Mali 1995-1996 na 1,244 na 162 

 Mali 2001 25.8 1,635 13.1 230 

 Mali 2006 18.6 1,718 12.3 214 

 Mozambique 1997 na 1,277 na 250 

Mozambique 2003 11.2 1,796 8.5 464 

 Mozambique 2009 7.8 713 5.0 575 

 Namibia 2000 na 726 1.8 448 

Namibia 2006-2007 7.7 972 2.9 471 

 Niger 1998 na 1,088 na 197 

 Niger 2006 2.0 1,050 9.7 100 

 Nigeria 1999 na 765 na 137 

 Nigeria 2003 3.9 877 5.6 112 

 Nigeria 2008 4.8 3,001 4.5 559 

 Rwanda 2000 3.4 354 2.9 163 

 Rwanda 2005 4.5 311 4.1 249 

 Senegal 1992-1993 na na na na 

 Senegal 1997 na 675 na na 

 Senegal 2005 8.3 1,034 4.5 289 

 Tanzania 1999 na 478 na 447 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 3.5 1,108 6.8 304 

 Tanzania 2007-2008 5.7 910 4.5 630 

 Tanzania 2010 7.4 987 5.0 240 

 Uganda 2000-2001 13.3 841 2.7 171 

 Uganda 2006 20.7 700 9.9 128 

Continued... 

 
48 

Table 9—Continued

Adolescent women who ever had sexual 

intercourse 

Adolescent men who ever had sexual 

intercourse 

Survey 

Who had STI or STI 

symptom in the past 

12 months Number 

Who had STI or STI 

symptom in the past 

12 months Number 

 Zambia 1996 na 1,168 na 304 

 Zambia 2001-2002 5.8 1,038 5.6 291 

 Zambia 2007 4.1 757 4.5 633 

 Zimbabwe 1999 6.9 467 4.6 210 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 9.9 691 4.8 522 

 Zimbabwe 2011 9.2 662 8.4 428 

North Africa/West Asia/ 

Europe 

 Armenia 2000 24.9 100 3.0 38 

 Armenia 2005 12.8 79 (2.9) 39 

 Armenia 2010 0.5 72 0.0 47 

South/Southeast Asia 

 Cambodia 2000 2.9 468 na na 

 Cambodia 2005 11.8 392 2.5 105 

 Cambodia 2010 10.2 410 na na 

India 2005-2006 10.5 6,795 7.4 371 

Indonesia 1997 na 1,309 na na 

Indonesia 2002-2003 na 949 na 11 

Indonesia 2007 1.5 845 na 29 

Nepal 1996 na 952 na na 

Nepal 2001 na 941 na 70 

Nepal 2006 5.5 785 1.4 99 

 Philippines 2003 na 278 7.6 141 

 Philippines 2008 na 375 na na 

Vietnam 2005 8.0 85 na na 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 na 493 na 295 

 Bolivia 2003 na 1,086 3.4 494 

 Bolivia 2008 15.2 1,056 2.1 418 

 Colombia 1995 na 642 na na 

 Colombia 2000 30.4 907 na na 

 Colombia 2005 8.8 3,025 na na 

 Colombia 2010 9.4 4,547 na na 

 Dominican Republic 1999 na 82 na 110 

 Dominican Republic 2002 9.8 1,663 0.9 270 

 Dominican Republic 2007 20.9 2,145 3.4 2,786 

 Haiti 1994-1995 na 374 na 165 

 Haiti 2000 8.2 803 8.0 401 

 Haiti 2005-2006 19.4 1,097 8.3 762 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 na 1,201 na 409 

 Nicaragua 2001 25.9 1,096 na na 

 Peru 2000 21.1 1,256 na na 

 Peru 2004-2008 16.1 1,897 na na 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only (refer to 

Appendix A). 

Countries with no data for the indicators have been omitted from the table. 

() Numbers in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
49 

5 Adolescent Family Planning, Motherhood, and Maternal 

Care 

5.1 Condom and Contraceptive Use 

Recent research with DHS data suggests that, relative to adults, adolescents may be at increased 

risk of unwanted pregnancies due to lower contraceptive prevalence among this age group (Kennedy et 

al., 2011). Along with other contraceptive methods, the use of condoms provides a valuable measure of 

family planning and pregnancy prevention. Additionally, the use of male condoms serves as a measure of 

protection against STIs and HIV. Table 10 presents the percentage of all adolescent women age 15-19 

who are currently using the male condom and who currently use other modern contraceptive methods. 

Key Findings 

• Across all surveys in all countries, less than 15 percent of adolescent women age 15-19 report 

current condom use. In the majority of countries, less than five percent report current condom 

use. In some countries, data suggest a slight increase in condom use over time among this 

population although data from an equal number of countries suggest no change. 

• Adolescent women’s use of other modern methods of contraception varies across region. In the 

majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, less than 10 percent of adolescent women report use 

of a modern contraceptive method. Among ever-married sample surveys, women from Indonesia 

reported the highest proportion of contraceptive use (ranging from 42 to 45 percent across 

surveys). As with condom use, data do not suggest substantial change over time. 
50 

Table 10 Current use of condom or other modern method of contraception among 

adolescent women 

Percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who use currently condoms or other modern 

contraceptive method, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Survey 

Currently using 

male condom 

Currently using any 

modern contraceptive 

method other than 

male condom 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 1.5 0.7 

 Benin 2001 3.6 1.0 

 Benin 2006 4.4 0.8 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 5.0 0.7 

 Burkina Faso 2003 6.3 1.1 

 Cameroon 1998 4.1 0.7 

 Cameroon 2004 11.3 1.1 

 Chad 1996-1997 0.5 0.4 

 Chad 2004 0.4 0.5 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 9.8 0.7 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 na na 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 6.0 2.1 

 Eritrea 1995 0.0 0.3 

 Eritrea 2002 0.4 0.5 

 Ethiopia 2000 0.3 1.0 

 Ethiopia 2005 0.3 2.1 

 Ethiopia 2011 0.1 5.1 

 Ghana 1998 2.8 2.0 

 Ghana 2003 5.2 1.2 

 Ghana 2008 3.6 1.6 

 Guinea 1999 2.3 0.7 

 Guinea 2005 5.4 2.0 

 Kenya 1998 1.6 2.7 

 Kenya 2003 1.8 3.0 

 Kenya 2008-2009 2.0 2.9 

 Madagascar 1997 0.3 1.3 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 1.1 4.1 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 0.7 6.8 

 Malawi 2000 2.8 4.1 

 Malawi 2004 2.6 5.1 

Malawi 2010 2.5 6.5 

 Mali 1995-1996 1.4 1.8 

 Mali 2001 1.0 2.8 

 Mali 2006 0.7 2.7 

 Mozambique 1997 0.4 0.9 

 Mozambique 2003 9.2 9.6 

 Mozambique 2009 3.2 2.1 

 Namibia 2000 10.8 11.8 

 Namibia 2006-2007 14.0 10.5 

 Niger 1998 0.0 1.3 

 Niger 2006 na 1.0 

 Nigeria 1999 1.8 1.4 

 Nigeria 2003 2.6 2.1 

 Nigeria 2008 3.8 0.9 

 Rwanda 2000 0.3 0.2 

 Rwanda 2005 0.2 0.1 

 Rwanda 2007-2008 0.3 1.2 

 Senegal 1992-1993 0.6 0.1 

 Senegal 1997 0.8 0.5 

 Senegal 2005 1.0 0.5 

 Tanzania 1999 3.7 2.1 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 2.7 2.7 

 Tanzania 2010 6.1 3.4 

 Uganda 2000-2001 5.7 3.3 

 Uganda 2006 3.1 2.0 

 Zambia 1996 3.5 1.2 

 Zambia 2001-2002 4.0 4.3 

 Zambia 2007 3.8 4.6 

Continued... 
51 

Table 10—Continued

Survey 

Currently using 

male condom 

Currently using any 

modern contraceptive 

method other than 

male condom 

 Zimbabwe 1999 1.8 8.5 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 1.3 8.3 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 1.0 9.0 

North Africa/West Asia/Europe 

 Armenia 2000 0.2 1.3 

 Armenia 2005 0.0 0.3 

 Armenia 2010 0.2 0.2 

Egypt 2000 0.1 21.3 

Egypt 2005 na 23.7 

Egypt 2008 na 19.3 

Jordan 1997 0.5 11.6 

Jordan 2002 2.6 10.4 

Jordan 2007 3.3 11.7 

Jordan 2009 3.0 12.5 

Turkey 1993 2.5 6.7 

 Turkey 1998 0.9 1.5 

Turkey 2003 6.4 10.5 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 4.2 26.1 

Bangladesh 2004 4.0 28.7 

Bangladesh 2007 3.9 32.4 

 Cambodia 2000 0.1 0.8 

 Cambodia 2005 0.3 1.1 

India 1998-1999 1.3 3.3 

India 2005-2006 3.2 3.6 

Indonesia 1997 0.0 42.2 

Indonesia 2002-2003 0.5 44.1 

Indonesia 2007 0.2 44.6 

Nepal 1996 2.2 2.1 

Nepal 2001 4.4 4.8 

Nepal 2006 5.7 8.1 

 Philippines 2003 0.1 1.2 

 Philippines 2008 0.3 1.4 

Vietnam 1997 1.9 13.0 

Vietnam 2002 na 13.8 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 0.5 1.1 

 Bolivia 2003 1.2 3.4 

 Bolivia 2008 2.1 4.1 

 Colombia 1995 1.5 6.1 

 Colombia 2000 3.8 8.3 

 Colombia 2005 6.2 10.4 

 Colombia 2010 8.4 15.9 

 Dominican Republic 1999 2.5 6.4 

 Dominican Republic 2002 1.3 9.6 

 Dominican Republic 2007 2.9 11.5 

 Haiti 1994-1995 1.7 0.5 

 Haiti 2000 2.0 1.6 

 Haiti 2005-2006 5.7 1.8 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 0.8 10.0 

 Nicaragua 2001 1.0 12.8 

 Peru 2000 0.9 4.8 

 Peru 2004-2008 2.4 5.6 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currentlymarried respondents only (refer to Appendix A). 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
52 

5.2 Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood 

The health consequences of adolescent pregnancy are well documented for both the mother and 

the baby. It is estimated that almost 11 percent of births worldwide are by women 15-19 years old (WHO, 

2011). Table 11 presents information from adolescent women age 15-19 about adolescent pregnancies 

including live births, births before age 15, and current pregnancies. The accompanying Figures 7 and 8 

graph trends over time in the percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who have ever been pregnant 

and the percentage who have had a live birth. 

Key Findings 

• In the majority of countries, data suggest a slight decline over time in the proportion of adolescent 

women who have ever been pregnant. The highest proportions of adolescent women ever 

pregnant were reported in surveys from Mali, Mozambique, and Niger. 

• A similar trend is suggested for the proportion of adolescent women who have had a live birth. 

Data from the majority of countries suggest a slight decline over time and the highest proportions 

are reported in Mali, Mozambique, and Niger. 

• Small percentages of adolescent women report giving birth by age 15 (less than five percent in 

the majority of countries). There is no clear indication of an increase or decrease in these 

percentages over time. 

• Similarly, small percentages of adolescent women report being currently pregnant with their first 

child (less than 7 percent in the majority of countries). Again, there is no clear indication of an 

increase or decrease in these percentages over time. 
53 

Table 11 Adolescent pregnancy and motherhood 

Percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, who have had a live birth, who gave birth 

by the age of 15, and who are pregnant with the first child, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

 Adolescent women 

 Survey 

Ever 

pregnant 

Had a 

live birth 

Had a birth by 

age 15 

Pregnant with 

their first child 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 26.0 19.5 0.6 6.5 

 Benin 2001 21.5 15.4 2.1 6.1 

 Benin 2006 21.4 16.9 2.3 4.6 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 25.4 20.2 2.2 5.2 

 Burkina Faso 2003 23.2 17.4 0.9 5.8 

 Cameroon 1998 31.2 25.0 4.0 6.2 

 Cameroon 2004 28.4 22.7 3.2 5.7 

 Chad 1996-1997 38.5 29.8 3.8 8.7 

 Chad 2004 36.6 30.2 5.9 6.4 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 27.3 20.8 2.1 6.4 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 19.1 15.0 na 4.1 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 31.0 24.7 5.8 6.3 

 Cote d’Ivoire 2005 18.2 15.2 2.4 3.1 

 Eritrea 1995 23.0 18.8 1.8 4.2 

 Eritrea 2002 14.0 11.0 1.0 3.0 

 Ethiopia 2000 16.3 12.8 1.1 3.5 

 Ethiopia 2005 16.6 13.6 1.7 3.1 

 Ethiopia 2011 12.4 10.1 1.0 2.3 

 Ghana 1998 14.1 11.7 0.3 2.4 

 Ghana 2003 13.8 10.3 0.6 3.5 

 Ghana 2008 13.3 9.9 0.5 3.4 

 Guinea 1999 37.2 32.0 7.3 5.2 

 Guinea 2005 31.8 25.6 5.4 6.3 

 Kenya 1998 20.9 17.3 1.4 3.5 

 Kenya 2003 23.0 18.5 1.5 4.5 

 Kenya 2008-2009 17.7 14.5 1.3 3.2 

 Madagascar 1997 35.7 30.7 6.1 5.0 

 Madagascar 2003-2004 34.0 27.9 5.3 6.1 

 Madagascar 2008-2009 31.7 26.0 4.4 5.7 

 Malawi 2000 33.0 25.4 1.3 7.6 

 Malawi 2004 34.1 25.3 1.5 8.7 

Malawi 2010 25.6 20.1 1.3 5.5 

 Mali 1995-1996 41.5 33.6 3.2 7.8 

 Mali 2001 40.4 33.5 5.3 6.9 

 Mali 2006 35.5 30.1 5.3 5.4 

 Mozambique 1997 40.0 30.4 4.2 9.6 

 Mozambique 2003 41.0 34.0 4.7 7.0 

 Mozambique 2009 26.9 22.8 na 4.1 

 Namibia 2000 17.6 14.7 0.9 2.9 

 Namibia 2006-2007 15.4 12.6 1.3 2.8 

 Niger 1998 43.1 36.3 4.2 6.7 

 Niger 2006 39.3 32.7 5.2 6.6 

 Nigeria 1999 21.9 18.4 6.5 3.5 

 Nigeria 2003 25.2 21.0 3.4 4.3 

 Nigeria 2008 22.9 18.0 3.0 4.8 

 Rwanda 2000 6.8 4.8 0.2 2.1 

 Rwanda 2005 4.1 3.3 0.2 0.8 

 Rwanda 2007-2008 5.7 4.5 0.3 1.2 

 Senegal 1992-1993 23.8 20.1 3.2 3.6 

 Senegal 1997 22.3 18.2 2.0 4.1 

 Senegal 2005 18.9 15.3 2.0 3.6 

 Tanzania 1999 24.5 19.7 1.2 4.9 

 Tanzania 2004-2005 26.0 19.6 1.1 6.5 

 Tanzania 2007-2008 12.9 10.2 0.7 2.7 

 Tanzania 2010 22.8 17.2 1.0 5.7 

 Uganda 2000-2001 31.4 25.6 2.4 5.8 

 Uganda 2006 24.9 19.2 1.5 5.7 

 Zambia 1996 30.7 23.9 1.5 6.8 

 Zambia 2001-2002 31.6 25.9 2.0 5.7 

 Zambia 2007 27.9 21.7 1.8 6.2 

Continued... 
54 

Table 11—Continued

Adolescent women 

 Survey 

Ever 

pregnant 

Had a 

live birth 

Had a birth by 

age 15 

Pregnant with 

their first child 

 Zimbabwe 1999 20.5 16.2 0.7 4.3 

 Zimbabwe 2005-2006 21.2 15.8 1.3 5.5 

 Zimbabwe 2010-2011 23.5 18.6 0.9 4.9 

North Africa/West Asia/Europe

 Armenia 2000 6.0 4.4 na 1.6 

 Armenia 2005 4.7 2.4 na 2.3 

 Armenia 2010 4.9 3.5 na 1.4 

Egypt 2000 8.5 5.8 0.2 2.7 

Egypt 2005 9.4 5.9 0.2 3.6 

Egypt 2008 9.6 6.0 0.1 3.7 

Jordan 1997 5.7 4.0 0.2 1.8 

Jordan 2002 4.3 3.0 0.0 1.2 

Jordan 2007 4.1 3.0 0.0 1.0 

Jordan 2009 4.7 3.2 0.0 1.4 

Turkey 1993 9.3 6.2 0.1 3.2 

 Turkey 1998 10.2 7.9 0.3 2.3 

Turkey 2003 7.5 5.7 0.2 1.8 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 34.7 29.8 6.5 10.2 

Bangladesh 2004 32.7 27.9 6.3 4.8 

Bangladesh 2007 32.7 26.6 5.0 4.9 

 Cambodia 2000 8.2 5.6 0.1 2.7 

 Cambodia 2005 7.8 5.2 0.2 2.7 

 Cambodia 2010 8.2 5.3 0.1 2.9 

India 1998-1999 20.6 16.4 2.5 4.3 

India 2005-2006 16.0 12.1 1.2 3.9 

Indonesia 1997 12.2 9.4 0.8 2.7 

Indonesia 2002-2003 10.4 8.3 0.7 2.0 

Indonesia 2007 8.5 6.6 0.4 1.9 

Nepal 1996 23.9 18.7 0.9 5.3 

Nepal 2001 21.4 16.2 0.2 5.2 

Nepal 2006 18.5 13.4 0.5 5.1 

 Philippines 2003 8.0 6.1 0.3 1.8 

 Philippines 2008 9.9 7.3 0.2 2.6 

Vietnam 1997 5.7 3.5 na 2.2 

Vietnam 2002 3.4 1.7 0.2 1.6 

Vietnam 2005 2.3 2.0 na 0.4 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 13.7 11.5 1.1 2.3 

 Bolivia 2003 15.7 12.6 1.1 3.0 

 Bolivia 2008 17.9 14.3 1.4 3.6 

 Colombia 1995 17.4 13.5 1.3 3.9 

 Colombia 2000 19.1 15.1 1.2 4.0 

 Colombia 2005 20.5 16.2 1.7 4.3 

 Colombia 2010 19.5 15.8 1.8 3.7 

 Dominican Republic 1999 20.8 16.8 1.2 4.0 

 Dominican Republic 2002 23.3 18.9 2.6 4.3 

 Dominican Republic 2007 20.6 16.2 1.9 4.3 

 Haiti 1994-1995 14.5 10.8 1.0 3.6 

 Haiti 2000 18.0 13.6 1.0 4.4 

 Haiti 2005-2006 14.0 11.6 0.8 2.4 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 27.0 22.1 2.7 4.9 

 Nicaragua 2001 24.7 20.6 2.1 4.0 

 Peru 2000 13.0 10.7 0.8 2.3 

 Peru 2004-2008 13.0 10.5 0.7 2.5 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only 

(refer to Appendix A). In the ever-married sample, the denominators are adjusted by the all woman factor. 

na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is not comparable. 
55 

Figure 7a Adolescent pregnancy: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who have ever been pregnant, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African countries, line-graph trends 

are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of five percentage points between the first and the last survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

50

504540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Ever Been Pregnant 

(Sub-Saharan Africa)

Congo(Brazzaville)Cote d'IvoireGuineaMaliEritreaMalawiMozambiqueUgandaLinear (Coted'Ivoire)Linear(Guinea) 5

0

504540353025201510

E1990s L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Ever Been Pregnant 

(North Africa/West Asia/Europe) 

ArmeniaEgyptJordanTurkey

50

504540353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Ever Been Pregnant 

(South/Southeast Asia) 

BangladeshCambodiaIndiaIndonesiaNepalPhilippinesVietnam

50

504540353025201510

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

Ever Been Pregnant 

(Latin America/Caribbean) 

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru
56 

Figure 7b Adolescent pregnancy: Current status 

Percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 that have ever been pregnant from the most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Ever Been Pregnant 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast Asia
57 

Figure 8a Adolescent women who had a live birth: Trends 

Trends in percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who had a live birth in the five years preceding the survey, DHS/AIS 1990-2011. (For sub-Saharan African 

countries, line-graph trends are only presented for selected countries that showed a minimum change of five percentage points between the first and the last 

survey included in the report.) 

Continued... 

50

40353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Live Birth in Five Years Preceding the Survey (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Congo(Brazzaville)Cote d'IvoireGuineaMozambiqueUgandaLinear (Coted'Ivoire)Linear (Guinea)

50

40353025201510

E1990s L1990s E2000s M2000s L2000s

Live Birth in Five Years Preceding the Survey

(North Africa/West Asia/Europe) 

ArmeniaEgyptJordanTurkey

50

40353025201510

L1990s E2000s L2000s

Live Birth in Five Years Preceding the Survey (South/Southeast Asia) 

BangladeshCambodiaIndiaIndonesiaNepalPhilippinesVietnam

50

40353025201510

Live Birth in Five Years Preceding the Survey (Latin America/Caribbean) 

E1990s L1990s E2000s L2000s

BoliviaColombiaDominicanRepublicHaitiNicaraguaPeru
58 

Figure 8b Adolescent women who had a live birth: Current status 

Percentage of adolescent women age 15-19 who have had a live birth in the five years preceding the survey from the 

most recent DHS/AIS survey. 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Live Birth in Five Years Preceding the Survey 

(Levels from most recent survey)

Sub-Saharan Africa Latin America/

Caribbean

North Africa/ 

West Asia/ 

Europe

South/

Southeast Asia 
59 

5.3 Fertility Planning 

Given the health consequences of adolescent pregnancy for both mother and child, data 

describing the level of unwanted fertility among adolescents may inform pregnancy prevention resources 

and related health messages. In assessing fertility planning data, it is important to recognize that women 

may declare a birth or current pregnancy as wanted once the child is born, and this post rationalization 

may in fact result in an underestimate of the true extent of unwanted births. Table 12 presents data on the 

fertility planning status of adolescent women who gave birth in the preceding five years or are currently 

pregnant—specifically, if the respondent wanted the most recent birth or current pregnancy. 

Key Findings 

• Among adolescent women who gave birth in the last five years or are currently pregnant, fertility 

planning varied considerably across countries. The percentage of adolescent women who wanted 

their recent birth/current pregnancy ranged from 29 percent in Namibia’s most recent survey to 

95 percent in Egypt. 

• Data suggest a decreasing trend in wanting the recent birth/current pregnancy among adolescent 

women in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Additionally, four countries (Eritrea, 

Rwanda, Bolivia, and Colombia) reported a decrease of 20 percentage points or more between 

surveys in the proportion of adolescent women who wanted their most recent birth or current 

pregnancy. 

 
60 

Table 12 Fertility planning status of adolescent women 

Percentage of births/current pregnancies that were wanted among adolescent women age 

15-19 who had a live birth in the five years preceding the survey or are currently pregnant, 

DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Survey 

Wanted previous birth(s) 

or current pregnancy 

Number of previous 

births/current 

pregnancies 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 72.9 307 

Benin 2001 76.1 319 

Benin 2006 72.1 805 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 81.8 445 

Burkina Faso 2003 78.8 763 

 Cameroon 1998 63.0 432 

Cameroon 2004 66.1 960 

 Chad 1996-1997 90.1 853 

Chad 2004 84.6 663 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 44.2 505 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 63.1 292 

 Eritrea 1995 82.7 289 

Eritrea 2002 58.9 330 

 Ethiopia 2000 58.6 741 

Ethiopia 2005 65.8 708 

Ethiopia 2011 68.0 616 

 Ghana 1998 37.7 136 

Ghana 2003 32.2 174 

Ghana 2008 30.8 157 

 Guinea 1999 81.4 608 

Guinea 2005 75.9 609 

 Kenya 1998 49.2 444 

Kenya 2003 50.9 536 

Kenya 2008-2009 44.5 374 

 Madagascar 1997 77.9 654 

Madagascar 2003-2004 84.0 686 

Madagascar 2008-2009 83.1 1,621 

 Malawi 2000 60.2 1,143 

Malawi 2004 64.7 973 

Malawi 2010 55.3 1,483 

 Mali 1995-1996 75.4 903 

Mali 2001 78.0 1,375 

Mali 2006 80.2 1,443 

 Mozambique 1997 70.9 806 

Mozambique 2003 68.9 1,274 

 Namibia 2000 27.7 284 

Namibia 2006-2007 28.7 392 

 Niger 1998 87.4 888 

Niger 2006 91.7 895 

 Nigeria 1999 79.1 414 

Nigeria 2003 80.6 553 

Nigeria 2008 83.3 1,939 

 Rwanda 2000 70.5 211 

Rwanda 2005 50.2 119 

Rwanda 2007-2008 31.8 97 

 Senegal 1992-1993 69.8 457 

Senegal 1997 67.8 533 

Senegal 2005 73.7 887 

 Tanzania 1999 77.7 258 

Tanzania 2004-2005 74.9 676 

Tanzania 2010 63.5 598 

 Uganda 2000-2001 61.7 667 

Uganda 2006 49.5 584 

 Zambia 1996 58.3 747 

Zambia 2001-2002 53.6 687 

Zambia 2007 44.0 524 

Continued... 
61 

Table 12—Continued

Survey 

Wanted previous birth(s) 

or current pregnancy 

Number of previous 

births/current 

pregnancies 

 Zimbabwe 1999 55.5 338 

Zimbabwe 2005-2006 60.1 514 

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 59.2 522 

North Africa/West Asia/Europe 

 Armenia 2000 84.7 91 

Armenia 2005 84.0 56 

Armenia 2010 

Egypt 2000 95.1 530 

Egypt 2005 92.1 699 

Egypt 2008 95.1 519 

Jordan 1997 75.4 203 

Jordan 2002 76.7 136 

Jordan 2007 90.2 210 

Jordan 2009 89.3 219 

Turkey 1993 77.2 276 

Turkey 1998 74.2 216 

Turkey 2003 81.9 191 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 72.5 1,370 

Bangladesh 2004 77.0 1,351 

Bangladesh 2007 75.9 1,175 

 Cambodia 2000 85.0 343 

Cambodia 2005 83.7 309 

India 1998-1999 83.1 5,795 

India 2005-2006 83.6 5,099 

Indonesia 1997 88.8 970 

Indonesia 2002-2003 92.2 754 

Indonesia 2007 89.0 605 

Nepal 1996 65.4 599 

Nepal 2001 73.4 600 

Nepal 2006 69.7 518 

 Philippines 2003 61.8 259 

Philippines 2008 64.3 322 

Vietnam 1997 91.3 102 

Vietnam 2002 85.7 55 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 53.6 455 

Bolivia 2003 37.6 731 

Bolivia 2008 33.5 768 

 Colombia 1995 54.4 460 

Colombia 2000 44.0 521 

Colombia 2005 40.0 1,735 

Colombia 2010 33.7 2,057 

 Dominican Republic 1999 53.5 70 

Dominican Republic 2002 50.8 1,393 

Dominican Republic 2007 50.1 1,392 

 Haiti 1994-1995 32.6 235 

Haiti 2000 30.9 499 

Haiti 2005-2006 38.3 437 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 67.7 1,170 

Nicaragua 2001 51.5 958 

 Peru 2000 38.3 832 

 Peru 2004-2008 31.0 1,113 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currentlymarried respondents only (refer to Appendix A). 

AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) which did not collect data on these indicators have been 

omitted from the table. 

 
62 

5.4 Antenatal and Delivery Care 

The use of skilled providers for antenatal care (ANC) services and delivery care improves health 

outcomes for young mothers and their babies (Reynolds et al., 2006). A skilled provider is defined here as 

doctor, nurse, midwife, or auxiliary nurse/midwife. Table 13 presents information on the receipt of 

antenatal and delivery care services for the most recent live birth in the five years preceding the survey 

among adolescent women. 

Key Findings 

• In the majority of countries the proportion of adolescent women who received antenatal care from 

a skilled provider increased over time. 

• In 11 of 41 countries (Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Jordan, Philippines, 

Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Peru), more than 90 percent of adolescent women received 

ANC from a skilled provider. 

• Similarly, in the majority of countries the proportion of adolescent women who received delivery 

care from a skilled provider increased. However, smaller proportions of adolescent women 

received delivery care compared to ANC. 
63 

Table 13 Antenatal and delivery care among adolescent women 

Percentage that received antenatal care from a skilled provider1, and the percentage assisted by a skilled provider 

for their most recent birth among adolescent women with a live birth in the five years preceding the survey, DHS/AIS 

1990-2011 

Survey 

Received antenatal care 

from a skilled provider 

Assisted by a skilled 

provider at delivery 

Number of live births 

among adolescent 

women 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 80.0 65.7 203 

Benin 2001 86.5 73.9 189 

Benin 2006 85.9 78.0 516 

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 63.0 39.2 291 

Burkina Faso 2003 73.1 45.3 484 

 Cameroon 1998 78.0 63.5 295 

Cameroon 2004 85.8 66.8 604 

 Chad 1996-1997 38.3 18.6 509 

Chad 2004 47.3 18.5 410 

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 89.3 91.9 322 

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 83.1 49.6 191 

 Eritrea 1995 48.3 22.0 201 

Eritrea 2002 72.7 33.7 220 

 Ethiopia 2000 29.5 11.1 472 

Ethiopia 2005 26.3 7.0 440 

Ethiopia 2011 39.7 11.3 402 

 Ghana 1998 95.0 49.6 107 

Ghana 2003 94.1 44.9 118 

Ghana 2008 97.6 55.2 100 

 Guinea 1999 77.4 42.4 418 

Guinea 2005 86.4 45.3 413 

 Kenya 1998 91.4 44.1 313 

Kenya 2003 81.8 48.5 343 

Kenya 2008-2009 88.8 52.6 255 

 Madagascar 1997 73.6 41.1 451 

Madagascar 2003-2004 73.8 40.2 427 

Madagascar 2008-2009 83.3 42.2 1,022 

 Malawi 2000 93.9 58.5 726 

Malawi 2004 94.2 58.7 605 

Malawi 2010 98.8 86.8 1,002 

 Mali 1995-1996 51.7 47.0 598 

Mali 2001 59.5 49.0 856 

Mali 2006 39.2 31.8 926 

 Mozambique 1997 71.7 44.9 527 

Mozambique 2003 88.4 58.6 833 

 Namibia 2000 90.2 82.5 220 

Namibia 2006-2007 94.0 79.5 282 

 Niger 1998 34.6 18.2 603 

Niger 2006 45.5 20.4 562 

 Nigeria 1999 44.5 22.2 285 

Nigeria 2003 53.2 29.9 356 

Nigeria 2008 40.9 27.1 1,168 

 Rwanda 2000 90.8 36.3 125 

Rwanda 2005 89.3 47.8 84 

Rwanda 2007-2008 92.1 80.4 62 

 Senegal 1992-1993 73.3 45.6 285 

Senegal 1997 82.6 43.6 352 

Senegal 2005 86.1 53.2 541 

 Tanzania 1999 92.6 52.9 179 

Tanzania 2004-2005 93.7 54.1 437 

Tanzania 2010 88.0 58.4 373 

 Uganda 2000-2001 94.6 52.2 409 

Uganda 2006 95.8 57.6 371 

 Zambia 1996 93.2 47.7 475 

Zambia 2001-2002 92.5 47.1 467 

Zambia 2007 93.9 60.0 342 

Continued... 
64 

Table 13—Continued

Survey 

Received antenatal care 

from a skilled provider 

Assisted by a skilled 

provider at delivery 

Number of births among 

adolescent women 

 Zimbabwe 1999 91.5 79.4 234 

Zimbabwe 2005-2006 91.7 67.2 329 

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 83.9 64.4 361 

North Africa/West Asia/Europe 

 Armenia 2000 89.1 98.9 51 

Armenia 2005 * * 27 

Armenia 2010 (100.0) (100.0) 30 

Egypt 2000 58.2 64.3 301 

Egypt 2005 76.2 76.6 380 

Egypt 2008 76.8 81.0 275 

Jordan 1997 98.3 98.3 101 

Jordan 2002 96.8 98.7 78 

Jordan 2007 100.0 100.0 124 

Jordan 2009 na na 119 

Turkey 1993 68.6 85.0 152 

 Turkey 1998 75.8 85.4 135 

Turkey 2003 85.3 86.9 115 

South/Southeast Asia 

Bangladesh 1999-2000 35.4 11.0 934 

Bangladesh 2004 52.2 13.3 923 

Bangladesh 2007 53.1 18.1 798 

 Cambodia 2000 46.3 33.9 201 

Cambodia 2005 71.4 51.0 186 

India 1998-1999 67.5 40.7 3,733 

India 2005-2006 76.9 45.8 2,983 

Indonesia 1997 90.5 41.2 682 

Indonesia 2002-2003 87.5 59.3 543 

Indonesia 2007 88.3 59.2 418 

Nepal 1996 48.3 12.3 403 

Nepal 2001 60.3 20.4 379 

Nepal 2006 80.3 32.1 325 

 Philippines 2003 84.8 55.9 163 

Philippines 2008 96.3 98.7 199 

Vietnam 1997 61.2 68.1 58 

Vietnam 2002 (63.5) (83.8) 28 

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 75.6 70.9 286 

Bolivia 2003 81.4 74.5 488 

Bolivia 2008 88.2 76.4 502 

 Colombia 1995 84.6 89.3 290 

Colombia 2000 87.3 85.9 341 

Colombia 2005 93.6 93.8 1,112 

Colombia 2010 96.7 96.4 1,433 

 Dominican Republic 1999 (97.7) (96.0) 43 

Dominican Republic 2002 97.9 98.6 854 

Dominican Republic 2007 92.6 95.7 899 

 Haiti 1994-1995 67.7 44.6 137 

Haiti 2000 84.2 42.2 318 

Haiti 2005-2006 86.7 33.5 312 

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 84.0 72.5 730 

Nicaragua 2001 86.1 91.2 648 

 Peru 2000 42.6 46.0 600 

 Peru 2004-2008 91.8 81.7 790 

1

 A skilled provider includes doctor, nurse, midwife, and auxiliary nurse/midwife. 

Note: Grey shading indicates that the sample is restricted to ever-married or to currently-married respondents only 

(refer to Appendix A). 

AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) which did not collect data on these indicators have been omitted from the table. 

* An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed. 

() Numbers in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases.na indicates information is not available because it 

was not collected or is not comparable. 
65 

6 Summary and Conclusions 

This descriptive report used data from 112 DHS/AIS surveys conducted throughout 1990-2011 in 

41 countries to examine the status and trends of key sociodemographic, sexual, and reproductive health 

indicators among adolescents age 15-19 years old. The report provides a descriptive analysis of 

adolescents’ background characteristics; marriage, sexual activity, and sexual risks; and family planning, 

motherhood, and maternal care. The findings suggest that while some aspects of adolescent sexual and 

reproductive health are improving, there remain gender disparities and areas for focused improvement 

efforts. 

Data indicate higher proportions of adolescent women are married by age 15 compared with 

adolescent men. Countries like Eritrea, Guinea, and Nepal have seen notable declines in the proportion of 

adolescent women in early marriages. There remain high numbers in Niger, Mali, Bangladesh, and 

Turkey where one in every five adolescent women are married by age 15. The proportion of adolescents 

sexually active before age 15 appears to be decreasing in most countries except in the Latin 

America/Caribbean region. 

Data concerning premarital sex and abstinence among never-married adolescents suggest higher 

proportions of men engage in premarital sex compared with adolescent women. This disparity may be 

narrowing in some countries in Latin America/Caribbean, such as Bolivia and Dominican Republic, 

where the proportion of never-married adolescent women who have never had sex is decreasing. Finally, 

data from the sub-Saharan Africa region suggest the proportion of never-married sexually active 

adolescent men is increasing. 

Among all adolescents, substantially higher proportions of adolescent men have had sexual 

intercourse with more than one partner in the past 12 months compared with adolescent women. The 

same gender disparity may exist for sex with a nonmarital or a noncohabiting partner: higher proportions 

of adolescent men than adolescent women have sex with a nonmarital or noncohabiting partner. Although 

condom use is increasing, it remains low among adolescents. These results may indicate the need to target 

sexual health messages to adolescents and to continue a focus on the accessibility and acceptability of 

condoms for STI and pregnancy prevention. 

There is no specific trend observed in adolescent women’s use of contraception; however, the low 

percentages of adolescent contraceptive use and the range of fertility planning responses suggests that 

adolescents may have considerable unmet contraceptive need. Although far from universal, data suggest 

improvements in the use of ANC and skilled delivery care among adolescent women who have recently 

given birth or are currently pregnant. 

In summary, this report discusses the current status and trends over time of several key indicators 

relevant to adolescent sexual and reproductive health using data from 41 countries from surveys 

conducted throughout 1990-2011. This trend data helps to monitor the progress and setbacks of the past 

two decades and includes several findings that may have implications for policy and programs focused on 

adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Targeted efforts to increase adolescent women’s age at 

marriage may be particularly important in countries with no evidence of decline in early marriage. 

Promotion of condom use, particularly among adolescents with multiple partners and 

nonmarital/noncohabiting partners, is a widespread need in the adolescent population. Finally, efforts to 

improve levels of contraceptive use and antenatal/delivery care among adolescent women are necessary 

as they appear to face various levels of unmet reproductive need. 

 
66 

Beyond the information provided in this report, additional research is necessary to further 

understand adolescent sexual and reproductive behaviors. While this descriptive report examines current 

status and trends, it would be most useful in combination with further research examining the 

relationships between related adolescent behaviors, risks, and health outcomes. 
67 

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69 

Appendix A: Summary of Included Surveys 

Table A.1 Summary of adolescents included from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) 

Number of adolescent women and men age 15-19 included in the tables of this report, DHS/AIS 1990-2011 

Number of Number of 

Country/year 

Type of 

survey 

Adolescent 

women 

Nevermarried 

adolescent 

women 

Adolescent 

women who 

had sex 

in last 

12 months 

Adolescent 

men 

Nevermarried 

adolescent 

men 

Adolescent 

men who 

had sex 

in last 

12 months 

Sub-Saharan Africa 

 Benin 1996 DHS 1,075 762 412 na na na

Benin 2001 DHS 1,233 939 574 496 490 202

Benin 2006 DHS 3,067 2,383 1,273 1,010 995 300

 Burkina Faso 1998-1999 DHS 1,444 941 541 599 590 146

Burkina Faso 2003 DHS 2,776 1,881 1,155 877 867 197

 Cameroon 1998 DHS 1,282 823 669 539 516 234

Cameroon 2004 DHS 2,684 1,792 1,293 1,224 1,112 447

 Chad 1996-1997 DHS 1,716 883 745 490 461 158

Chad 2004 DHS 1,360 745 613 406 402 111

 Congo (Brazzaville) 2005 DHS 1,566 1,254 915 677 658 389

Congo (Brazzaville) 2009 AIS 1,305 1,018 870 1,137 1,116 627

 Cote d’Ivoire 1998-1999 DHS 775 578 377 180 177 93

Cote d’Ivoire 2005 AIS 1,232 971 746 898 877 369

 Eritrea 1995 DHS 1,129 704 349 237 234 *

Eritrea 2002 DHS 2,001 1,381 na na na na

 Ethiopia 2000 DHS 3,710 2,597 954 600 579 64

Ethiopia 2005 DHS 3,266 2,394 411 1,335 1,304 78

Ethiopia 2011 DHS 4,009 3,087 865 2,832 2,941 160

 Ghana 1998 DHS 910 761 252 330 320 54

Ghana 2003 DHS 1,148 991 363 1,107 1,097 163

Ghana 2008 DHS 1,025 929 297 911 902 144

 Guinea 1999 DHS 1,321 719 486 392 382 174

Guinea 2005 DHS 1,648 1,024 819 664 632 279

 Kenya 1998 DHS 1,851 1,543 640 811 805 375

Kenya 2003 DHS 1,856 1,478 619 856 839 258

Kenya 2008-2009 DHS 1,761 1,535 486 776 773 192

 Madagascar 1997 DHS 1,553 1,029 725 na na na

Madagascar 2003-2004 DHS 1,528 1,024 748 416 389 171

Madagascar 2008-2009 DHS 3,956 2,381 1,940 1,711 1,472 677

 Malawi 2000 DHS 2,867 1,813 1,419 660 634 293

Malawi 2004 DHS 2,392 1,525 1,095 650 629 223

Malawi 2010 DHS 5,005 3,693 1,800 1,748 1,704 565

 Mali 1995-1996 DHS 1,883 947 1,072 441 421 129

Mali 2001 DHS 2,565 1,318 1,483 668 657 161

Mali 2006 DHS 3,104 1,471 1,568 876 782 181

 Mozambique 1997 DHS 1,836 971 918 382 367 207

Mozambique 2003 DHS 2,454 1,391 1,588 673 636 419

Mozambique 2009 AIS 948 484 649 901 849 515

 Namibia 2000 DHS 1,499 1,409 581 694 676 316

Namibia 2006-2007 DHS 2,246 2,122 793 910 907 341

 Niger 1998 DHS 1,714 652 950 759 727 150

Niger 2006 DHS 1,718 676 981 620 601 59

 Nigeria 1999 DHS 1,775 1,286 627 511 496 115

Nigeria 2003 DHS 1,716 1,145 819 453 448 83

Nigeria 2008 DHS 6,493 4,586 2,708 2,532 2,508 422

 Rwanda 2000 DHS 2,617 2,429 241 762 751 58

Rwanda 2005 DHS 2,585 2,510 151 1,120 1,100 61

Rwanda 2007-2008 Interim DHS 1,387 1,346 1,387 1,461 1,451 na

 Senegal 1992-1993 DHS 1,426 1,005 382 na na na

Senegal 1997 DHS 1,937 1,376 528 na na na

Senegal 2005 DHS 3,556 2,497 906 926 848 205

 Tanzania 1999 Interim DHS 909 662 436 790 763 400

Tanzania 2004-2005 DHS 2,245 1,618 963 637 629 215

Tanzania 2007-2008 AIS 1,984 1,527 810 1,769 1,736 444

Tanzania 2010 DHS 2,172 1,744 879 645 616 183 

 Uganda 2000-2001 DHS 1,615 1,094 738 441 412 120

Uganda 2006 DHS 1,936 1,502 700 595 584 128 

Continued...
70 

Table A.1—Continued

Number of Number of 

Country/year 

Type of 

survey 

Adolescent 

women 

Nevermarried 

adolescent 

women 

Adolescent 

women who 

had sex 

in last 

12 months 

Adolescent 

men 

Nevermarried 

adolescent 

men 

Adolescent 

men who 

had sex 

in last 

12 months 

 Zambia 1996 DHS 2,003 1,457 885 460 456 234

Zambia 2001-2002 DHS 1,811 1,322 826 459 451 203

Zambia 2007 DHS 1,574 1,268 601 1,416 1,399 419

 Zimbabwe 1999 DHS 1,447 1,118 424 713 708 161

Zimbabwe 2005-2007 DHS 2,152 1,640 603 1,899 1,886 342

Zimbabwe 2010-2011 DHS 1,945 1,440 578 1,735 1,716 294

North Africa/West Asia/Europe 

 Armenia 2000 DHS 1,160 1,061 * 263 260 (37)

Armenia 2005 DHS 1,123 1,044 * 292 292 (36)

Armenia 2010 DHS 861 790 70 229 227 (41)

 Egypt 2000 DHS 615** na na na na na

Egypt 2005 DHS 803** na na na na na

Egypt 2008 DHS 620** na na na na na

 Jordan 1997 DHS 207** na na na na na

Jordan 2002 DHS 158** na na na na na

Jordan 2007 DHS 236** na na na na na

Jordan 2009 DHS 249** na na na na na

 Turkey 1993 DHS 332** na na na na na

Turkey 1998 DHS 1,720 na na na na na

Turkey 2003 DHS 238** na na na na na

South/Southeast Asia 

 Bangladesh 1999-2000 DHS 1,514** na na 23*** na na

Bangladesh 2004 DHS 1,598** na na 30** na na

Bangladesh 2007 DHS 1,424** na na 20** na na

 Cambodia 2000 DHS 3,618 na 443 na na na

Cambodia 2005 DHS 3,601 na 376 1,662 na 91

Cambodia 2010 DHS 3,734 na 395 na na na

 India 1998-1999 DHS 8,276** na na na na na

India 2005-2006 DHS 6,842** na 6,576 373** na 368*

 Indonesia 1997 DHS 1,310** na na na na na

Indonesia 2002-2003 DHS 956** na na 11*** na na

Indonesia 2007 DHS 845** na na 29*** na na

 Nepal 1996 DHS 982** na na na na na

Nepal 2001 DHS 941** na na 70** na na

Nepal 2006 DHS 787** na 752 99** na na

 Philippines 2003 DHS 2,648 2,400 256 918 895 87

Philippines 2008 DHS 2,749 2,441 347 na na na

 Vietnam 1997 DHS 129** na na na na na

Vietnam 2002 DHS 69** na na na na na

Vietnam 2005 AIS 85** na na (22)** na na

Latin America/Caribbean 

 Bolivia 1998 DHS 2,497 2,193 386 713 675 260

Bolivia 2003 DHS 3,874 3,394 864 1,199 1,151 422

Bolivia 2008 DHS 3,518 3,001 880 1,110 1,067 346

 Colombia 1995 DHS 2,166 1,809 548 na na na

Colombia 2000 DHS 2,264 1,866 810 na na na

Colombia 2005 DHS 6,902 5,718 2,696 na na na

Colombia 2010 DHS 9,100 7,545 4,188 na na na

 Dominican Republic 1999 DHS 257 189 77 231 219 99

Dominican Republic 2002 DHS 4,550 3,207 1,584 555 532 227

Dominican Republic 2007 Special DHS 5,580 4,096 2,017 5,614 5,357 2,272

 Haiti 1994-1995 DHS 1,290 1,072 336 350 339 145

Haiti 2000 DHS 2,342 1,888 678 768 748 309

Haiti 2005-2006 DHS 2,701 2,180 896 1,211 1,183 562

 Nicaragua 1997-1998 DHS 3,307 2,172 1,065 696 626 375

Nicaragua 2001 DHS 3,141 2,185 972 na na na

 Peru 2000 DHS 5,645 5,008 1,030 na na na

Peru 2004-2008 (cont.) Continuous 7,554 6,636 1,651 na na na

Note: The Kenya 1998 DHS did not include North Eastern Kenya region in the survey. 

* An asterisk indicates that a sample is fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed. 

** Two asterisks signify a sample is limited to ever-married respondents. 

*** Three asterisks signify a sample is limited to currently married respondents only. 

( ) Numbers in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases.na indicates information is not available because it was not collected or is 

not comparable.