USAID DHS Indicator Data

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) USAID

Version:  View help for Version V2

Name File Type Size Last Modified
_RECORD_COUNT.csv text/csv 27.8 KB 03/27/2025 11:14:AM
_WEBPAGE-2025-03-24.html text/html 8.5 KB 03/24/2025 10:32:PM
countries.htm text/html 34.4 KB 03/24/2025 04:50:PM
data_fields.html text/html 14.2 KB 03/27/2025 10:41:AM
info_citation.html text/html 2.2 KB 03/24/2025 04:50:PM
usaid_dhs_indicators_CODEBOOKS.zip application/zip 45 MB 03/24/2025 04:50:PM
usaid_dhs_indicators_PUBS_NODATA.zip application/zip 432.8 MB 03/27/2025 11:03:AM
usaid_dhs_indicators_countries_AtoL.zip application/zip 2.1 GB 03/27/2025 11:06:AM
usaid_dhs_indicators_countries_MtoZ.zip application/zip 2.2 GB 03/27/2025 10:57:AM

Project Citation: 

USAID. USAID DHS Indicator Data. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-04-19. https://doi.org/10.3886/E224462V2

Project Description

Project Title:  View help for Project Title USAID DHS Indicator Data
Summary:  View help for Summary This collection consists of summary data for countries, country subdivisions, and demographic categories that were generated from USAID's Demographic Health Survey (DHS). The indicators are population-level estimates that were generated from sample surveys that were conducted in over 90 low and middle income countries at various points over several decades. Almost 2,000 indicators capture information related to: fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, gender, HIV/AIDS, literacy, malaria, nutrition, and sanitation.

Each set of files is associated with a specific health survey for a given year and country. The surveys include:
  • AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS)
  • Demographic Health Survey (DHS)
  • Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS)
  • Service Provisions Assessment (SPA)
  • Other qualitative surveys (OTH)
The top-level folder includes a list of country codes and field names used in all of the data files, and a file list with a record count. The data was extracted from the DHS program's API, and is structured as follows:

  • Datasets are organized in folders that are named with a two-letter country code, survey name, and year.
  • Each survey has three sets of files: a National file with country-level records, a Subnational file with country subdivision-level records, and a Background file with categorical records (such as urban / rural, education level, income level, etc.)
  • Each set of files comes in two formats: a long-format JSON file with key-value pairs of labels and values, and a wide-format CSV file where labels have been pivoted to column headings.
  • A _CODEBOOKS folder contains CSV, JSON, and HTML files that describe the variables and all coded values, and PDF documentation for the overall DHS statistics program.
  • Reports associated with a specific survey that were available via the API are stored in the survey folder with the data.
  • A PUBS_NODATA folder includes reports that were available via the API, but that did not have machine-readable data associated with them.
Countries for which data was included in the indicators API include:

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic of the), Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini (Swaziland), Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

***
Microdata: Yes                                                                                    
Level of Analysis: Country                                              
Variables Present: Yes                                                    
File Layout: .csv; .json                                                                              
Codebook: Yes                                                                      
Methods: No                                         
Weights (with appropriate documentation): Yes - 
link: https://dhsprogram.com/data/Using-DataSets-for-Analysis.cfm#CP_JUMP_14042 
Publications: No                                                                               
Aggregate Data: Yes 

Original Distribution URL:  View help for Original Distribution URL https://api.dhsprogram.com/

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms demographic characteristics; demographic statistics; health; survey; world population
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage World
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1984 – 2023
Universe:  View help for Universe Countries that participated in DHS surveys
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) aggregate data; survey data


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Published Versions

V2 [2026-04-19]

V1 [2025-03-27]

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