Living Standards Survey 2003-2004
Nepal, 2003 - 2004
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Reference ID
NPL_2003_LSS-W2_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Producer(s)
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
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Sep 24, 2020
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Identification
Survey ID Number
NPL_2003_LSS-W2_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Title
Living Standards Survey 2003-2004
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Nepal | NPL |
Study type
Living Standards Measurement Study [hh/lsms]
Series Information
This is the second Living Standards Survey (LSS II ) conducted in Nepal. This study is partially panel with the first Living Standards Survey (LSS I) which was conducted in 1995-1996.
Abstract
Nepal Living Standards Survey II 2003-2004 (LSS II) is the second multi-topic national household survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) from April 2003 to April 2004. As a follow up to the first LSS of 1995-1996 (LSS I), the main objective of the Nepal LSS II was to track changes in living standards and social indicators of Nepalese population between 1995-1996 and 2003-2004. The survey provides information on the different aspects of households' welfare (consumption, income, housing, labour markets, education, health etc.). LSS II data are largely comparable to the LSS I data and follows the methodology of the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) developed by the World Bank.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
Households
Scope
Notes
HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE
- Household Information: Ethnicity, demographic characteristics and identification of household members, information on parents of household members and economic activities undertaken and unemployment/under-employment status of household members 5 years and older.
- Housing: Types of dwelling, housing expenses, expenditure on utilities and amenities and collection of firewood.
- Access to Facilities: Distance of 15 kinds of different public services/facilities from the household's residence.
- Migration: Migration and its determinants for all household members 5 years and older.
- Food Expenses and Home Production: Consumption and expenditures of 68 food items. The monthly consumption of home production, monthly expenses on purchase and annual value of in-kind receipts of foods were included with the reference period of past 12 months.
- Non-food Expenditures and Inventory of Durable Goods: Frequent expenditures (fuels, clothing, day-to-day consumption expenses, etc.) and infrequent non-food expenditures (taxes, ceremonial expenses, durable goods expenses, etc.), valuation of inventory of durable goods and own account production of goods.
- Education: Literacy and educational status of all household members 5 years and older. Schooling/level of educational attainment, past enrolment/dropouts, current enrolment and educational expenditures were captured under this section.
- Health: Chronic and acute illnesses, uses of medical facilities, expenditures on them, familiarity with HIV/AIDS, treatment of children under 5 years with diarrhoea and immunization.
- Marriage and Maternity History: Maternity history of all ever married women aged 15-49 who had given live birth, pre- and post-natal care of all women who had given live birth during the past 36 months and marriage and family planning practices of all currently married women aged 15-49 years.
- Wage Employment: Wage employment in agriculture and outside agriculture for all persons 5 years and older with activities and income on daily, long term and contract bases.
- Farming and Livestock: Agricultural activities like landholding (land owned, land sharecropped/rented/mortgaged-in, increase/decrease in holdings), production and uses of crops, expenditures on agricultural inputs (seeds and young plants, fertilizers and insecticides, hiring labour) earnings/expenditures of farming, ownership of livestock, earnings/expenditures of livestock, and ownership of farming assets and extension services.
- Non-agricultural Enterprises/Activities: Self-employed non-agricultural enterprises and activities such as their types/operation and income/expenditures of the enterprises.
- Credit and Savings: Loans borrowed by the household or any outstanding transaction on borrowing during the reference period, loans owed to others by household or any outstanding transaction on lending during the reference period and other assets (land, property and other fixed assets) owned by the household.
- Remittances and Transfers: Remittances sent from the household members to others including recipient's activities and remittances received by members of the household from others including donor's work activities.
- Other Income: Income from all other sources (especially on financial assets) not covered elsewhere in the questionnaire.
- Children Away from Home: Children (currently non-household members) under 15 years who were away from home including their parents' situation, education, work activities, etc.
- Adequacy of Consumption and Government Services/Facilities: Households' opinion on their standards of living and the standards of government services/facilities that the households consuming.
- Panel Sample Household Tracking: Tracking of the panel households visited in 1995/96 (NLSS I) including their movements if not found, their composition in 1995/96 and situation of both current and the then household members.
URBAN COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
- Population Characteristics and Infrastructure: Characteristics of the community, status of electricity supply, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.
- Access to Facilities: Distance from the community to various places and public facilities and services.
- Markets and Prices: Availability and prices of different food and non-food commodities in the local shops/markets.
- Quality of Life: Quality of welfare items compared to their status 5 years ago.
RURAL COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
- Population Characteristics and Infrastructure: Characteristics of the community, status of electricity supply, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.
- Access to Facilities: Services and amenities, education status and health facilities existing in the VDC of the enumeration area.
- Agriculture and Forestry: Land situation, irrigation systems, and crop cycles, wages paid to hired labour, rental rates for cattle and machinery and use of forestry.
- Migration: Main migratory movements out and in the community.
- Development Programmes, User Groups and Quality of Life: Development programmes, existing user groups and quality of life in the community.
- Rural Primary School: Educational enrolment and infrastructure and supplies in the community.
- Rural Health Facilities: Health facilities, equipment and services available and health personnel in the community.
- Markets and Prices: Local shops, Haat bazaar, availability and prices of different goods in local shops/Haat bazaar, agricultural inputs and conversion of local units into standard units.
- Household Information: Ethnicity, demographic characteristics and identification of household members, information on parents of household members and economic activities undertaken and unemployment/under-employment status of household members 5 years and older.
- Housing: Types of dwelling, housing expenses, expenditure on utilities and amenities and collection of firewood.
- Access to Facilities: Distance of 15 kinds of different public services/facilities from the household's residence.
- Migration: Migration and its determinants for all household members 5 years and older.
- Food Expenses and Home Production: Consumption and expenditures of 68 food items. The monthly consumption of home production, monthly expenses on purchase and annual value of in-kind receipts of foods were included with the reference period of past 12 months.
- Non-food Expenditures and Inventory of Durable Goods: Frequent expenditures (fuels, clothing, day-to-day consumption expenses, etc.) and infrequent non-food expenditures (taxes, ceremonial expenses, durable goods expenses, etc.), valuation of inventory of durable goods and own account production of goods.
- Education: Literacy and educational status of all household members 5 years and older. Schooling/level of educational attainment, past enrolment/dropouts, current enrolment and educational expenditures were captured under this section.
- Health: Chronic and acute illnesses, uses of medical facilities, expenditures on them, familiarity with HIV/AIDS, treatment of children under 5 years with diarrhoea and immunization.
- Marriage and Maternity History: Maternity history of all ever married women aged 15-49 who had given live birth, pre- and post-natal care of all women who had given live birth during the past 36 months and marriage and family planning practices of all currently married women aged 15-49 years.
- Wage Employment: Wage employment in agriculture and outside agriculture for all persons 5 years and older with activities and income on daily, long term and contract bases.
- Farming and Livestock: Agricultural activities like landholding (land owned, land sharecropped/rented/mortgaged-in, increase/decrease in holdings), production and uses of crops, expenditures on agricultural inputs (seeds and young plants, fertilizers and insecticides, hiring labour) earnings/expenditures of farming, ownership of livestock, earnings/expenditures of livestock, and ownership of farming assets and extension services.
- Non-agricultural Enterprises/Activities: Self-employed non-agricultural enterprises and activities such as their types/operation and income/expenditures of the enterprises.
- Credit and Savings: Loans borrowed by the household or any outstanding transaction on borrowing during the reference period, loans owed to others by household or any outstanding transaction on lending during the reference period and other assets (land, property and other fixed assets) owned by the household.
- Remittances and Transfers: Remittances sent from the household members to others including recipient's activities and remittances received by members of the household from others including donor's work activities.
- Other Income: Income from all other sources (especially on financial assets) not covered elsewhere in the questionnaire.
- Children Away from Home: Children (currently non-household members) under 15 years who were away from home including their parents' situation, education, work activities, etc.
- Adequacy of Consumption and Government Services/Facilities: Households' opinion on their standards of living and the standards of government services/facilities that the households consuming.
- Panel Sample Household Tracking: Tracking of the panel households visited in 1995/96 (NLSS I) including their movements if not found, their composition in 1995/96 and situation of both current and the then household members.
URBAN COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
- Population Characteristics and Infrastructure: Characteristics of the community, status of electricity supply, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.
- Access to Facilities: Distance from the community to various places and public facilities and services.
- Markets and Prices: Availability and prices of different food and non-food commodities in the local shops/markets.
- Quality of Life: Quality of welfare items compared to their status 5 years ago.
RURAL COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE
- Population Characteristics and Infrastructure: Characteristics of the community, status of electricity supply, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.
- Access to Facilities: Services and amenities, education status and health facilities existing in the VDC of the enumeration area.
- Agriculture and Forestry: Land situation, irrigation systems, and crop cycles, wages paid to hired labour, rental rates for cattle and machinery and use of forestry.
- Migration: Main migratory movements out and in the community.
- Development Programmes, User Groups and Quality of Life: Development programmes, existing user groups and quality of life in the community.
- Rural Primary School: Educational enrolment and infrastructure and supplies in the community.
- Rural Health Facilities: Health facilities, equipment and services available and health personnel in the community.
- Markets and Prices: Local shops, Haat bazaar, availability and prices of different goods in local shops/Haat bazaar, agricultural inputs and conversion of local units into standard units.
Topics
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Food (production, crisis) | FAO |
| Access to Finance | FAO |
| Migration & Remittances | FAO |
| Infrastructure | FAO |
| Health | FAO |
| Animal health | FAO |
| Poverty | FAO |
| Prices statistics | FAO |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) | National Planning Commission Secretariat |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| The World Bank | Technical assistance |
| UK Department for International Development | Technical assistance |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The World Bank | WB | Financial support |
| UK Department for International Development | DFID | Financial support |
| Government of Nepal | GoN | Financial support |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
SAMPLE DESIGN
The sampling design of the NLSS II included two components. The first one was nationally representative random cross-section sample of 4008 households from six explicit strata of the country. The second one was panel sample of 1232 households drawn from those households interviewed in NLSS I.
SAMPLE FRAME
The 2001 Population Census of Nepal provided a basis for this survey's sample frame. The size of each ward (as measured by number of households) was taken as a unit of sample frame. Some larger ards were divided into smaller units (sub-wards) of clearly defined territorial areas supported by reliable cartography while some of the smaller wards with fewer than 20 households were appended to neighbouring wards in the same VDC. The resulting sampling frame consisted of 36,067 enumeration areas (wards or sub-wards) spread over 3 ecological zones, 5 development regions, 75 districts, 58 Municipalities and 3,914 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the country. The sample frame was sorted by district, VDC, ward and sub-ward and districts were numbered from geographical East to West.The three ecological zones are Mountains in the north (altitude 4877 to 8848 meters), Hills in the middle (altitude 610 to 4876 meters) and Tarai in the south. Mountains make up 35 percent of total land area of the country, while Hills and Tarai 42 percent and 23 percent respectively.
STRATIFICATION
The design of the cross-section part of NLSS II was similar to that of the NLSS I. The total sample size (4,008 households) was selected in two stages: 12 households in each of 334 Primary Sampling Units. The sample of 334 PSUs was selected from six strata using Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling with the number of households as a measure of size. The numbers are all multiples of 12 with the intention of implementing a two-stage selection strategy with that many households per PSU in the second stage. Within each PSU, 12 households were selected by systematic sampling from the total number of households listed.
The NLSS II cross-section sample was allocated into six explicit strata as follows: Mountains (408 households in 34 PSUs), Kathmandu valley urban area (408 households in 34 PSUs), Other Urban areas in the Hills (336 households in 28 PSUs), Rural Hills (1,224 households in 102 PSUs), Urban Tarai (408 households in 34 PSUs) and Rural Tarai (1,224 households in 102 PSUs). The NLSS II panel sample is composed of 100 of the 275 PSUs visited by the NLSS I in 1995/96. The panel PSUs were selected with equal probability within each of the four strata defined by NLSS I, as follows: 12 (out of 33) in the Mountains, 18 (out of 50) in the Urban Hills, 33 (out of 92) in the Rural Hills and 37 (out of 100) in the Tarai. In NLSS I, the strata were composed of Mountains (424 households), Urban Hills (604 households), Rural Hills (1,136 households) and Tarai (1,224 households). The sampling frame was taken from the Population Census 1991.
The sampling design of the NLSS II included two components. The first one was nationally representative random cross-section sample of 4008 households from six explicit strata of the country. The second one was panel sample of 1232 households drawn from those households interviewed in NLSS I.
SAMPLE FRAME
The 2001 Population Census of Nepal provided a basis for this survey's sample frame. The size of each ward (as measured by number of households) was taken as a unit of sample frame. Some larger ards were divided into smaller units (sub-wards) of clearly defined territorial areas supported by reliable cartography while some of the smaller wards with fewer than 20 households were appended to neighbouring wards in the same VDC. The resulting sampling frame consisted of 36,067 enumeration areas (wards or sub-wards) spread over 3 ecological zones, 5 development regions, 75 districts, 58 Municipalities and 3,914 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the country. The sample frame was sorted by district, VDC, ward and sub-ward and districts were numbered from geographical East to West.The three ecological zones are Mountains in the north (altitude 4877 to 8848 meters), Hills in the middle (altitude 610 to 4876 meters) and Tarai in the south. Mountains make up 35 percent of total land area of the country, while Hills and Tarai 42 percent and 23 percent respectively.
STRATIFICATION
The design of the cross-section part of NLSS II was similar to that of the NLSS I. The total sample size (4,008 households) was selected in two stages: 12 households in each of 334 Primary Sampling Units. The sample of 334 PSUs was selected from six strata using Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling with the number of households as a measure of size. The numbers are all multiples of 12 with the intention of implementing a two-stage selection strategy with that many households per PSU in the second stage. Within each PSU, 12 households were selected by systematic sampling from the total number of households listed.
The NLSS II cross-section sample was allocated into six explicit strata as follows: Mountains (408 households in 34 PSUs), Kathmandu valley urban area (408 households in 34 PSUs), Other Urban areas in the Hills (336 households in 28 PSUs), Rural Hills (1,224 households in 102 PSUs), Urban Tarai (408 households in 34 PSUs) and Rural Tarai (1,224 households in 102 PSUs). The NLSS II panel sample is composed of 100 of the 275 PSUs visited by the NLSS I in 1995/96. The panel PSUs were selected with equal probability within each of the four strata defined by NLSS I, as follows: 12 (out of 33) in the Mountains, 18 (out of 50) in the Urban Hills, 33 (out of 92) in the Rural Hills and 37 (out of 100) in the Tarai. In NLSS I, the strata were composed of Mountains (424 households), Urban Hills (604 households), Rural Hills (1,136 households) and Tarai (1,224 households). The sampling frame was taken from the Population Census 1991.
Deviations from the Sample Design
During the implementation of NLSS II, altogether 13 rural enumeration areas (PSUS) could not be interviewed comprising 8 from cross-section and 5 from the panel samples. The missing panel PSUs include 1 from Central Hills, 1 from Mid Western Mountains, 1 from Far Western Mountains, 1 from Far Western Hills and 1 from Far Western Terai. One of these five PSUs, the one from the Far Western Terai (Pipaladi-2 of Kanchanpur), vanished completely due to the merging of enumeration area to the Royal Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. The other four PSUs could not be enumerated due to the ongoing conflict even after the repeated attempts. All together 370 households could not be re-interviewed.
Response Rate
98.5 percent
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 2003-07 | Phase 1 |
| 2003-08 | 2003-11 | Phase 2 |
| 2003-12 | 2004-02 | Phase 3 |
| 2004-03 | 2004-04 | Phase 4 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Data Processing
Data Editing
Data collection, data entry, inconsistency checking, and error removing were done in the field itself. A distinctive feature of NLSS II was the use of computers for data entry in the field. All the sixteen field teams were provided with Pentium II laptop computers with solar power supply for use in rural areas with no electricity. The main goal of the fieldwork was to get actual figures from the respondents. To get the true figures from the respondents before the teams returned from the field (assigned ward) they had to go through all inconsistencies, errors or warnings. The enumerators revisited the households to correct the information whenever the data entry program showed any types of error. The data entry program developed in LSD composed of inconsistency corrections and error checks. After the completion of the fieldwork, the teams sent the data diskettes back to the central office (CBS) from the field as soon as possible. The intensive field supervision from CBS included checking and verifying of the data entered comparing it with the filled data in the questionnaire. Data processing and analysis were done using STATA statistical software package.
Data Appraisal
Data Appraisal
The survey was unable to reach/interview all the sampled PSUs and their households. With the consultation of the design experts it was decided not to replace the affected PSUs for enumeration and ultimately, they were dropped. In a few exceptional cases, data entry could not be done in the field for some rural PSUs but was done at the nearest market or district headquarters. And despite every effort to reduce other limitations, we also acknowledge the usual difficulties inherent in a household survey covering all parts of the country (e.g. discrepancies in reported use of metric/non-metric units of measurements, a longer recall period resulting in under/over reporting of certain income source or consumption item).
Access policy
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Bureau of Statistics | National Planning Commission Secretariat | [email protected] | Link |
| LSMS Data Manager | The World Bank | [email protected] | Link |
Confidentiality
Confidentiality of the respondents is guaranteed by Article 8 of Statistics Act 1958.
Restriction on publication of information and details
Any information or details relating to any person, family, firm or company, which have been supplied, obtained or prepared pursuant to Section 3 or Section 4 or Section 5 or Section 6 or Section 7 or any part of such information or details, shall not be disclosed or published directly except to the Director General or to any other officer of the Bureau without the written permission of the person or of his or her authorized representative supplying such information or details.
For the purpose of institution of any suit under this Act, nothing mentioned in Sub-section (1) shall be deemed to bar the production of such information before any court.
Access conditions
The dataset has been anonymized and is available as a Public Use Dataset. It is accessible to all users for statistical and research purposes only, under the following terms and conditions:
1. The data and other materials will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organizations without the written agreement of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to the CBS.
4. No attempt will be made to produce links among datasets provided by the CBS or among data from the CBS and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the CBS will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
6. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the requested data will be sent to the CBS.
1. The data and other materials will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organizations without the written agreement of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to the CBS.
4. No attempt will be made to produce links among datasets provided by the CBS or among data from the CBS and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the CBS will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
6. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the requested data will be sent to the CBS.
Citation requirements
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal. Living Standards Survey 2003-2004. Ref. NPL_2003_LSS-II_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [source] on [date].
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal. Living Standards Survey 2003-2004. Ref. NPL_2003_LSS-II_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [source] on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal bears no responsibility for any outcomes or for interpretations or inferences arising from the use of the dataset.
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI_NPL_2003_LSS-W2_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office of Chief Statistician | OCS | Food and Agriculture Organization | Adoption of metadata for FAM |
| Development Economics Data Group | DECDG | World Bank | Production of metadata |
DDI Document version
NPL_2003_LSS-W2_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01