Demographic Health Survey 2010

1.2.3 Sample Design
The sample for the RDHS-III survey covered the population residing in ordinary households
across the country. A national sample of 10,644 households was selected. The sample was first stratified
to provide adequate representation of urban and rural areas as well as all 12 provinces including the “City
of Kigali,” the nation’s capital. Decentralization reforms were introduced after this sample was drawn,
resulting in new geographically-based divisions that regroup the former districts into five new provinces.
However, the sample used posed no obstacle to adequate representation of the new provinces and the data
in this report present key indicators corresponding to the five recently created provinces (South, West,
North, East, and the City of Kigali).
The survey used a two-stage sample design. The first stage involved selecting primary sampling
units (PSUs) based on the list of enumeration areas covered in 2002 General Population and Housing
Census (RGPH) prepared by the National Census Bureau. These enumeration areas provided the master
frame for the drawing of 462 clusters (351 rural and 111 urban), selected with a representative probability
proportional to their size. A strictly proportional sample allocation would have resulted in a very low
number of urban households in certain provinces such as Umutara. It was therefore necessary to slightly
over-sample urban areas in order to survey a sufficient number of households to produce reliable
estimates for urban areas. The second stage involved selecting a sample of households in these
enumeration areas. In order to adequately guarantee the accuracy of the indicators, it was necessary to
control the total size of the households drawn by setting the number of households to be surveyed at 20 in
urban clusters and 24 in rural clusters. Because of the nonproportional distribution of the sample among
the different strata and the fact that the number of households was set for each cluster, weighting was
used to ensure the validity of the sample at both national and regional levels.
All women age 15-49 years who were either usual residents of the selected household or visitors
present in the household on the night before the survey were eligible to be interviewed (approximately
11,500 women). In addition, in a subsample of every second household selected for the survey, a sample
of 5,000 men age 15-59 years was selected to be interviewed. In this subsample, all men and women
eligible for the individual survey were also eligible for the HIV test. In addition, in this subsample of
households, all women eligible for the survey and all children under the age of five were eligible for the
anemia test. Finally, in this same subsample of households, all women eligible for the survey and all
children under the age of five were eligible for height and weight measurements to determine their
nutritional status.
1.2.4 Sample Coverage
All of the 462 clusters selected for the sample were able to be surveyed for the RDHS-III. A total
of 10,644 households were selected, of which 10,307 households were identified and occupied at the time
of the survey. Among these households, 10,272 completed the Household Questionnaire, yielding a
response rate of nearly 100 percent (Table 1.1).
In the 10,272 households surveyed, 11,539 women age 15-49 years were identified as being
eligible for the individual interview; interviews were completed with 11,321 of these women, yielding a
response rate of 98 percent. Male interviews were conducted in every second household. A total of 4,959
men age 15-59 years were identified in the subsample of households. Of these 4,959 men, 4,820
completed the individual interviews, yielding a response rate of 97 percent.
The response rates were slightly higher in rural areas for both men and women.