Socio-Economic Characteristics

Using the methodology outlined above, a total of 2,620 interviews were conducted in eastern DRC with individuals randomly selected in the provinces of North Kivu (1,081 interviews), South Kivu (815 interviews), and the district of Ituri (724 interviews). The interviews were conducted in 200 villages and six urban areas randomly selected. The sample was designed so that results are representative for each of the areas under study: North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Kinshasa, and Kisangani. Figure 1 illustrates the geographic distribution of the final sample in the eastern provinces.

Figure 1: Geographic distribution of respondents (Eastern DRC)

The sample was selected regardless of any selection criteria with the exception that only adults aged 18 or older were to be interviewed and that same-sex interviews were to be conducted (i.e., women interviewed women and men interviewed men). As a result, the sample presents a great variety of socioeconomic characteristics and ethnicity. Overall, the sample comprises more than 80 ethnic groups, with six groups accounting for 56 percent of respondents: Nande (19%), Shi (10%), Hunde (8%), Lega (8%), Alur (7%) and Hutu (5%). Table 1 provides detail of the main ethnic groups by zone under study.

The mean age of respondents was 37 years old (median 34.0, S.D. 13.6). Most respondents described themselves as married or in a marital relationship (72%, including 9% in a polygamous relationship), and the average household size was 6.8 (median 6.0, S.D. 3.6). Most respondents lived in households that had children (90%) and 78 percent had their own children. Regarding religion, most respondents described themselves as Catholic (49%), Protestant (34%), or Muslim (5%).

Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents in Eastern DRC

* Ethnic groups are provided by alphabetical order. Only groups that represented 5% or more of the respondents in any of the three regions are provided.

Respondents had generally completed little or no formal education: 22 percent had not attended any school, 19 percent had some primary education, and 14 percent completed primary education only. Over a quarter (26%) had some but incomplete secondary education. Two-thirds (66%) self- reported being able to write a simple sentence like, “it is hot today.” Most respondents live by agriculture and husbandry (60%), day labor (10%), or small commercial activity (11%), and generate only meager incomes from those activities. Over 93 percent of the sampled individuals reported income below US$2/day and 85 percent had income below US$1/day; 22 percent reported no income. Most (71%) judged their income insufficient to sustain their livelihoods.