The relationship between demographic and socio-economic factors and household size in Uganda

Abstract

This study collected in-depth knowledge of the factors influencing household size in Uganda so as to contribute to more focused targeting of programmes for the poor households. The study main objective was to find out the relationship between demographic and socio-economic factors and household size in Uganda. Secondary data collected by UBOS during the 2006 UDHS was used. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test differences between household size means, while Poisson regression was used to investigate the combined effect of the independent variables on household size.

Households whose heads are married, widowed, divorced are more likely to be larger compared to those headed by the never married. Female headed households are less likely to be bigger compared to male headed ones. Households in rural areas are more likely to be larger compared to those in urban areas. Households in Northern region are more likely to be larger compared to other regions. Households whose heads have attained primary education and above, are more likely to be larger compared to those whose heads have no education. Households whose heads are in the middle and rich wealth groups are more likely to be larger compared to those in the poor wealth group.

It was recommended that: there is need to increase provision of healthcare services including family planning services to the poor so that they produce less, and also improve access to education by the poor households. It is envisaged that access to education may increase age at first marriage leading to the production of few children leading to small households.