The findings of the Albanian Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 have finally been published. The result of a collaboration between The Institute of Public Health (IPH) and the Institute of Statists (INSTAT) and with support from UNICEF, the UNFMA, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and UN women, the report provides and exhaustive look at number of social criteria in Albania.
In this series, we will take a look at some of the main topics that were tackled by the surveys and the responses that they yielded.
Housing Characteristics and Household Population
Under this section, a variety of matters were addressed including household water and sanitation facilities, demographics of Albanian households, education attainment, and matters pertaining to household wealth.
The report found that 83% of households in Albania have access to what is referred to as an “improved source of drinking water” which includes piped water, public taps, tube wells, boreholes, springs, and rainwater. This means that 17% are using unimproved sources which increase the prevalence of waterborne disease, as well as the burden of service delivery through an increased demand for healthcare. The statistics gathered showed very little difference between rural and urban areas.
Also noted was the fact that only 5% of households use an appropriate treatment method to make water safe for drinking- these include adding bleach or chlorine, as well as boiling. This increase in the number of people with access to improved sources is equal to 21% between 2008-09 and 2017-18.
In terms of adequate sanitation, 90% of urban households have access to suitable facilities including draining into a sewer system, whilst only 47% of households in rural areas have similar access.
In terms of household wealth, the survey found that only 28% of rural households have a computer and 58% have access to a television.
When it comes to the demographic of each family, 83% are headed by men and the average household size is 3.3 individuals, with a negligible difference between rural and urban areas. On average, household sizes are decreasing throughout the country and have fallen by 0.4 individuals in the last decade, a trend that is especially noticeable in rural areas.
Additionally, 11% are single-parent families headed by the mother, despite the father still being alive, when compared with 1% living with the father only despite the mother still being alive. There has been little change in terms of the proportion of children living with both parents as figures stayed almost the same over the last 10 years. There also appears to be a North/South divide when it comes to single apparent households with 19% living with the mother only in Berat, and 5% living with the mother only in Kukes.
When it comes to the education of women, the figures paint a less than rosy picture. Results found that 4% of girls aged 6 and over did not attend school, 21% dropped out before the end of primary school, 31% finished primary school but did not continue, and only 17 continued to degree level. Whilst this is an increase on previous statistics, it is still a very low number when you compare it to Western countries where numbers are more than double. That said, literacy levels are high with 99% of the population being considered literate if they are between the ages of 15 and 49 years old.
Almost 20,0000 respondents took the surveys across a variety of age ranges. 79% identified as Muslim, 97% as Albanian with 2% identifying as Egyptian and 1% Roma, with 60% living in urban areas.
